| 51% attack | When a group of miners control more than 50% of a network’s computing power. This gives them control over the transactions which go through the network |
| Address | A bunch of numbers and letters, where crypto can be sent to/from. It will look something like this: 1BvBMSEYstWetqTFn5Au4m4GFg7xJaNVN2. Think of it as the BSB/Acc number for crypto |
| Airdrop | A method of distributing / earning crypto in exchange for performing a number of tasks, usually organized, and paid out by a company. For example: Fill in a form, sign up to a mailing list, download an app and follow on Twitter, for $20 of crypto. Similar to the central banks printing helicopter money & giving it away to everyone. Some would say it’s socialist |
| Algorithm | In it’s purest form, an algorithm is a set of instructions to complete a task. For example, a recipe to make spaghetti is a form of algorithm. However, the term is more commonly used in the world of computing, where an algorithm is a set of instructions given to a computer to perform a task |
| AML (Anti-money-laundering) | A set of rules/regulations/laws, purposed at minimizing money laundering |
| API (Application Program Interface) | The method of exchanging requests, and responses, between two computing systems. An analogy would be, I’m in a restaurant, ordering spaghetti. The waiter receives my order, gives it to the Kitchen, and brings me the meal. In this case, the waiter is the API, the request is to make the spaghetti, and the response is to deliver it |
| Arbitrage | Buying something at a price, and selling it in a different market at a higher price |
| Asset classes | Something which you can invest in, with a value that will change according to a market. Examples among others are cash, property shares, and crypto |
| ASIC/ASIC Miner (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) | A super powerful computer chip designed to complete a specific task. Applicable for mining cryptocurrency, because it can allow for up to 100,000x the computation power of an everyday computer |
| Bank-xiety | Uneasiness, distress and mental apprehension over the interaction and use of banks. If pain persists please visit your local Bitcoin practitioner |
| Atomic swap | The trading of one cryptocurrency for another, without the use of a middleman |
| BIP (Bitcoin improvement proposal) | A suggestion to improve the way Bitcoin works |
| Bit | A simple unit of information used in computing which can only be in two states: 0 or 1 |
| Bitcoin | A decentralized consensys network, hard money, grandfather of all cryptocurrency, and the thing that the word “blockchain” came from (Bitcoin came first) |
| Bitcoin Laundry | A method of making bitcoin transactions anonymous and untraceable |
| Blockchain (Private) | A segregated database that uses some cryptography & timestamping to attempt to make information more secure |
| Blockchain (Public) | Technical: A public network that uses some form of consensus mechanism (proof of work / proof of stake), a segregated database, cryptography & timestamping to attempt to make information more secure |
| Blockchain (Public) | Non-technical. A really, really, really expensive way to store data publically… Also known as a rube-goldberg machine when used outside of Bitcoin |
| Block height | The number of blocks in the chain between it and the genesis block |
| Block reward | The payout made to the miner for mining the cryptocurrency |
| Bonds | A form of loan taken out by a company, between an investor |
| Burning/Coin burn | A method of deflating a currency, where you are destroying some of it, and thus increasing the value of that currency in circulation |
| Centralized, CEX (Centralized exchange) | A ‘centralized’ cryptocurrency exchange is a trading platform where you can deposit, withdraw and trade fiat currency and crypto for one |
| Censorship | The act of hiding information with the purpose of achieving a goal |
| Censorship resistant | Something transparent, that is not vulnerable to the act of censorship. Cryptocurrency is considered censorship resistant, as you can send and receive it without government interference. This is contrary to fiat currencies, where governments have control over the transactions made |
| Cleptocurrency | Just about all cryptocurrencies. First coined by @AleksSvetski in Why Bitcoin Matters. |
| Confirmation | The action of a Bitcoin currency being verified by blocks, for it to be deemed legitimate. The purpose of confirmation is to prevent double |
| Consensus | A feature used in the blockchain system to verify transactions |
| cRipple | Another name for Ripple or XRP |
| Cryptocurrency | A digital, decentralized currency that uses cryptography for security |
| Cryptography | The use of sophisticated mathematical equations for securing information |
| DAO/DAC (Decentralised autonomous organization/Company) | An organization which uses similar technology to block chain, where rules for the organization are enforced digitally |
| DAPP (Decentralised application) | A piece of software application which uses similar technology to block chain, where rules for the software application are enforced digitally |
| DDos (Distributed Denial of service) | A type of attack on a computer, where the attackers send mass amounts of data, causing the computer to break |
| Decentralized | Not controlled, owned or managed by a single person or authority |
| Deep/dark web | A separate part of the internet which is only accessible with a TOR browser (privacy focused web browser) |
| Deflation | When the price of products goes down, typically due to a weak economy |
| Derivatives | A term which refers to a range of different financial investments. Typically, it’s a contract between two parties, where the investment has special conditions attached to it |
| Difficulty | A unit of measurement for how hard it is to find a new bitcoin block |
| DLT (Distributed ledger technology) | A database technology, where data is distributed across multiple servers, and kept in sync by a set of ‘verified’ operators who each have a copy of the ‘ledger’. Very similar to redundant databases, just more expensive and ‘modern’ |
| Dollar cost averaging | An investment strategy, which involves buying a fixed amount of a particular investment on a recurring schedule |
| Double spending | Using the same digital currency more than one, by reproducing the digital information |
| DYOR (Do Your Own Research) | A recommendation to undertake due diligence before acquiring/investing in any crypto project |
| ERC-20 | Tokens designed and used on the Ethereum platform, which follows a set of rules so they can be shared and exchanged for other tokens |
| ERC-223 | A new token standard for Ethereum which prevents tokens from being lost in unhandled transactions |
| Escrow | A financial arrangement between two people where a middle man holds the payment until the obligation is fulfilled |
| Faucet | A system which rewards bitcoin in exchange for the completion of a task |
| Fiat money/Money | Money issued by “the state” or a “government” that has value because they said so. In other words “value by decree”. Fun Fact: every form of fiat money in history has failed. Catastrophically failed |
| FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) investing | Purchasing an asset which is at a peak in value, so you don’t miss out on the potential to make a profit |
| Fork | A technical event where the majority agree on introducing a new rule to a blockchain network |
| FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) | The spread of negative information about an asset, causing investors to sell, and resulting in a change in price |
| Fungibility | Interchangeability of a unit or asset. It’s able to be bought/sold on one market, and bought/sold to another. One of the core tenets of a good money |
| GAS | The internal pricing for running a transaction or contract in Ethereum |
| Genesis block | The genesis block is the first block in any blockchain-based protocol. It is the foundation on which additional blocks are sequentially added to form a chain of blocks, resulting in the term, blockchain being coined. |
| GPU (Graphics processing unit) | The processing unit of a computer, used to mine cryptocurrencies |
| Halving | The concept of the mining reward of bitcoin halving in value, approximately every 4 years |
| Hard Money | A money that is characterised by a high stock to flow ratio. AKA Sound Money. AKA Bitcoin |
| Hashing | A function that converts an input of letters and numbers into an encrypted output of a fixed length |
| Hash rate | Unit of measurement of a networks processing power |
| Hedging | An investment strategy used to lower the risk of your portfolio |
| HODL (Hold On for Dear Life) | A spin on the investing lingo of ‘Hold’, which describes people who do not sell their cryptocurrency despite changes in price |
| HODLer | It is someone who does not sell but rather holds on to Bitcoins or other cryptocurrency. |
| ICO (Initial Coin Offering) | When someone offers coins for a crypto currency for sale, to assist in the funding of the coin |
| Immutable | Means ‘not able to be changed’. Usually used in the context of data |
| Inflation | When the general level of prices goes up, meaning you need more money to pay for something |
| KYC | Know Your Customer. A process where companies are forced by the state to verify their customers identity to help prevent or lower the risk of money laundering |
| Lightning network | A network built on top of bitcoin, which allows you to facilitate frequent and rapid payments of Bitcoin |
| Micro-transactions | A transaction, usually under $1, which is too small to be processed individually |
| Monero | A privacy focused, public blockchain network, similar to bitcoin which basically works like a tumbler when funds are sent between participants on the network. Helps with increasing fungibility |
| Money | something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment |
| Mining | Using your computer to solve maths problems, until the winning equation is solved, the block is unlocked, and you are rewarded in Bitcoin |
| Mining pool | When a group of miners work together to mine Bitcoin, whilst distributing the rewards between the participants |
| Memory Pool | A group of unconfirmed transactions, which are stuck on the bitcoin network |
| Money laundering | Process of transforming illegal money into legal money |
| NFC (Near Field Communication) | A piece of technology which allows you to transfer information/data from device to device |
| Node | A connection point on a network. Can be a node on Bitcoin, or a Node on Lightning, a node on the internet |
| Off chain transactions | A transaction made outside the blockchain. This is usually an unofficial agreement and transaction which does not make use of Bitcoin’s security |
| Open source | A program where the source code is available to the public, for use, modification, and distribution |
| Options | A financial contract which gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation,to buy or sell an asset at a specified price |
| Paper wallet | A method of storing Bitcoin where you write or print out the private key and bitcoin address on a piece of paper |
| Permissioned Network | A network where participants are required to have permission to either access the network, operate a node, or perform any function. Kind of like cRipple, or “private blockchains” |
| Permissionless Network | A network (such as Bitcoin) which doesn’t care who or what you are, where you can participate anywhere, anytime in whatever capacity you want |
| Proof of Keys | Annual event held on 3rd January to encourage the bitcoin community to take possession of all bitcoins held by trusted third parties on their behalf |
| Protocol token | A cryptographic token which is required to access services that the underlying protocol provides |
| Private key | The key used in a public cryptographic interaction, which proves ownership of an address |
| Privacy | A Human Right. Nobody likes to leave the door open when they’re in the bathroom, the same way nobody enjoys having somebody watching over their shoulder all the time or having ol Zuckerberg peeking into all their messages. Privacy is also extremely important for money as it ensures it remains fungible. One of the core tenets of a good money |
| Public key | The key used in a public cryptographic interaction, which is shared with the public in order to receive funds |
| QR code (Quick response) | A square barcode which stores data, which can be read by pointing a smartphone camera at it |
| Ripple | A company that owns a lot of XRP |
| XRP | A token with no actual value that’s been sold to potentially millions of people around the world |
| Safu | Alternate term for safe when referring to coins/funds |
| Satoshi | The smallest possible unit of Bitcoin. One hundred millionth of a bitcoin, or .00000001 BTC |
| Satoshi Nakomoto | The name used by the unknown person who developed Bitcoin, and authored the whitepaper outlining how it works |
| Scamcoin/Shitcoin | A term used for a coin/project which is garbage |
| Scarcity | An attribute of an asset, where it is limited in supply |
| Securities | Blanket terms for tradable assets such as a stock, bond or option |
| Smart contract/Self executing contract | An transaction between two people in the form of computer code, kept on the blockchain. The transaction will usually be contingent on a condition. The transaction only happens when the conditions of the agreement are met |
| Sound Money | A form of “money” that is not easily inflated, manipulated, confiscated or able to be issued by a state or central party. Gold was the old world example. Bitcoin is the new world example |
| SEC | Securities and exchange commission. The U.S.governing body responsible for upholding financial and economic integrity through a legal framework |
| SegWit (Segregated Witnesses) | An improvement on the Bitcoin code which allows it to handle more transactions |
| Side chains | Separate blockchains attached to the main blockchain, through the use of a two-way peg |
| Silk Road | A notorious online black market on the deep web, best known for selling illegal drugs. It is commonly recognised as the first real world use case of Bitcoin |
| Stacking Sats (#stackingsats) | The act (or art) of accumulating satoshis in small/regular amounts |
| Stock to flow ratio | A ratio between how much “stock” of a unit (could be money) one has versus how much is being created / produced, ie; it’s “flow” or “supply”. A high stock to flow ratio means that new supply has a limited impact on the overall stock, and is therefore a desirable attribute for money, and in fact, necessary for Sound Money |
| Spoofing | When a group of people with significant resources behave in unusual ways in the market, to control the cost of the coin, keeping it at a specific price |
| SPV (Simplified payment verification) | A method for verifying if particular transactions are included in a block without downloading the entire block |
| Security Token | A government regulated token which usually represents a share in a company |
| Soft fork | A software update to the blockchain which is backward compatible with previous versions of the software |
| TCP/IP (Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) | A standard which defines how network interact with each other |
| Testnet | An alternative Bitcoin blockchain where developers can test and experiment with the code |
| Timestamp | Digital record of the time of occurence of a particular event |
| TOR Network | The Onion Routing Network. It has a TOR Browser which allows you to surf the web completely privately |
| Tokenomics (Token/economics) | The study of how cryptocurrencies work within the broader ecosystem |
| TOR | A tool used to anonymously surf the web, and access the deep/dark web |
| Total supply | The maximum amount of cryptocurrneych that can be produced |
| TPS (Transactions per second) | Term used in relation to cryptocurrencies, and how many transactions that currency can process per second |
| Tumbler | An online tool which “mixes” or “tumbles” bitcoin transactions together so that their origin is obfuscated. Helps with increasing fungibility |
| Trustless | Not needing to trust a 3rd party to verify and complete a transaction. Blockchains are not trustless. Rather, the trust is distributed across a large network of people |
| Utility token | A digital token of cryptocurrency, which can later be redeemed for a good or service offered by the issuer |
| Wallet | A device, physical medium, program or a service which stores the public and/or private keys and can be used to track ownership, receive or spend cryptocurrencies |
| Weak hands | A term used to describe people who cannot handle volatile markets, causing them to sell preemptively |
| White-paper | A document explaining the purpose of a technology. All coins and crypto related technologies will have a whitepaper |
| ZeroCoin | A project purported to / attempting improve upon privacy elements of public blockchain networks such as Bitcoin |
| Zero Confirmation Transaction/Unconfirmed transaction | An exchange that has not yet been recorded and verified on the blockchain |
