A very small payment made possible with digital currencies.
Micro-transaction
Mainnet
The version of a protocol that uses real money. A cryptocurrency is generally considered to be “live” after the first Mainnet block (the genesis block) is mined.
Mining Algorithm
A mathematical problem that is solved by participants of a blockchain to verify transactions in exchange for block rewards.
mBTC
A sub-unit of Bitcoin: 1000 mBTC equal 1 BTC.
Mining Contract
An agreement that allows individuals to sell their computing power for the purposes of verifying transactions on a blockchain.
McAfee
John McAfee (the creator of McAfee antivirus) is a cybersecurity mogul who is known for promoting cryptocurrency and speculating about altcoins.
Minting
The process by which users on a PoS blockchain verify transactions and receive new coins for their participation.
Mnemonic
A series of words that can be used to recover an account or wallet.
Mixing Service
A third party that enables anonymous transactions by grouping payments together, obscuring their sources.
Miner Fee
A fee paid to voluntary participants for using their computing power to verify transactions. When a miner mines a block they get a block reward as well as all the transaction fees in it.
Mobile Wallet
Software that allows individuals to store their cryptocurrencies on handheld devices.
Monero
A cryptocurrency that is very popular on the Darknet because it is considered to be more anonymous than Bitcoin and similar coins.
Money Laundering
A method of intentionally obscuring the source of illegally-obtained funds.
Moon
A cryptocurrency meme that refers to the skyrocketing of a coin's price. When Hodlers’ coins go to the Moon, they can all buy Lambos.
Multisig
A feature that requires several keys to authorize a single transaction, especially for dividing responsibility among separate parties.
Miner
An individual that volunteers computing power to verify transactions on a blockchain in exchange for block rewards.
Masternode
A node (device running the full software of a cryptocurrency) that fulfills more purposes than regular nodes - such as increasing privacy, providing instant transactions, and participating in governance.
Mining
The process by which new coins are created as transactions on a network are verified.
Mining Pool
A group of people online who agree to combine their mining rigs into one for more collective mining power. They split rewards evenly based on each person's mining power.
Machine Learning
The ability of machines and computers to integrate data and learn from it without being programmed to do so.
Mt. Gox
A cryptocurrency exchange led by Mark Karpeles that allegedly lost millions of dollars in user funds.
MyEtherWallet
A popular online wallet that supports Ether and most ERC20 tokens.
Multi-Layer
When a blockchain features several levels for scalability and encryption purposes, it can be said to be "Multi-Layered."
Mining Rig
A mining rig is a computer used for mining cryptocurrencies. The rig might be a dedicated computer or it could be a computer that fills other needs too.
Multi-Signature
A feature that requires several keys to authorize a single transaction, especially for dividing responsibility among separate parties.
Metamask
Metamask is a Chrome extension which allows users to store and transact Ethereum and other ERC-20 tokens.
Margin Trading
The practice of borrowing money to buy and sell assets.
Market Order
A pre-planned trade set to execute if a cryptocurrency reaches a certain price.
Market Cap
The total value of a cryptocurrency. Calculated by multiplying a coin’s price by its total supply.
Merged Mining
The process of allowing two different cryptocurrencies using the same consensus algorithm to be mined simultaneously.
Margin Call
A trade in which an investor sells their position to repay the lender of a loan.
