A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
An address a string of alphanumeric characters which is derived from the public key and serves as an identifier for a destination of a payment.
The term used to refer to cryptocurrency projects which came after Bitcoin. ie - "Alternative to Bitcoin".
The first phase of a new softwares release cycle. A product in alpha doesn't usually include all planned features, and may be unstable and contain serious bugs.
B
Used to describe a financial market in which the prices are dropping, or where the sentiment is indicating that they are likely to go down.
The phase of the software release cycle which follows the alpha release. Beta software usually has all of the intended final features, but is likely to still contain a number of bugs. This phase of the software cycle is used to capture wider testing of the software to find issues before final release.
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that can be sent from user to user on a peer-to-peer network. It is a payment system designed to be free of any central authority.
A group of transactions which have been validated and appended to the blockchain by a miner. In Bitcoin a new block is added to the blockchain roughly every 10 minutes.
The data structure of a cryptocurrency which holds the complete transaction history. Each time a new block is mined it is cryptographically linked to the previous block, which forms a "chain" of blocks - a Blockchain.
A third party service which allows users to search historical transaction data for a particular cryptocurrency. Can be used to check the adddress transactions have been sent to and if the transactions have confirmed.
The cryptocurrency a miner receives for successfully adding a new block to the blockchain. In Bitcoin the block reward is made up of the block subsidy plus all fees paid by transcations included in the block.
Used to describe a financial market in which the prices are rising, or where the sentiment is indicating that they are likely to rise.
C
A way of storing private keys which is completely offline. Most commonly done with a hardware wallet.
The term used to describe a transaction which has been included in a block and is now part of the blockchain. A transaction in an unconfirmed state is not considered to be settled.
A medium of exchange for goods and services. Put simply - money.
A digital form of money, usually refering to projects that were created as a self sovereign form of money which can't be controlled by governments.
A mathematical discipline used to secure important communications. Cryptographic algorithms are used to convert one form of text into another obfuscated form which can only be deciphered by the intended recipient.
D
A computer application that is run on a distributed network, rather than on a centralized server.
An investment strategy which involves dividing up the total purchase amount and buying over regular intervals. This strategy averages out the cost price over time and essentially smooths out volatility.
The process of distributing power away from a central authority.
The term used to describe when a confirmed payment is fraudulently re-spent. This is the main problem that Satoshi sought to solve with the invention of Bitcoin.
E
Ethereum is a peer to peer network designed to be a programmable blockchain. The network also has a native currency, which is called Ether or ETH. Developers are using Ethereum to create new types of applications called Dapps (decentralized applications).
A business which allows users to trade currencies between each other. They can either trade between fiat/fiat, fiat/crypto or crypto/crypto.
An exchange rate is the value of one currency versus another currency. An BTC exchange rate of US$9000, means it would cost US$9000 to buy 1 BTC.
F
Fiat in Latin means 'let it be done' -This is in effect what governments have established with paper money. There is no intrinsic worth in the currency, neither is it backed by anything of value, but because the government has said it is currency of value- Let it be done! - its value becomes whatever is decided by that government, therefore it is controlled by said government. Fiat currency is the main type of currency used globally, including Australia.
The anxiety that you may be missing out or left behind on a possible enormous swing indicated in a currency you don't own any, or enough of. YIKES!
A fork can mean either:
- A cryptocurrency which has split off a blockchain to pursue a new path as a separate project.
- A change in rules for cryptocurrency.
- A situation where two or more blocks have the same height. This is usually resolved when one block has been further built upon to create a valid longest chain. The other miners will orphan their blocks and rejoin the longest chain.
The trifecta producing mass hysteria, caused by false information intentionally dispersed, to persuade, attack or coerce, in order to make financial or other gain.
G
The price you pay, charged by miners on the Ethereum network to execute your transaction. The gas you pay basically powers the deal, and is different for each transaction based on the effort or speed needed to make that transaction. Without Gas, why would miners bother? The miners receive the gas in Ether.
Genesis - meaning beginning. A starting point block in Bitcoin that was created by Satoshi Nakamoto on January 3 2009. Every blockchain based network has its own Genesis Block. Every other block mined necessarily references the original block in that chain for the network to be accountable, trustworthy and transparent.
H
The Bitcoin Halving is an event that happens after every 210,000 blocks are mined on the Bitcoin network. Every Halving the miner's block reward subsidy is halved, until eventually the subsidy is gone and the block reward will only be made up of transaction fees.
I
A method of fundraising which involves creating a cryptocurrency and selling it to raise capital.
Inflation refers to the decrease in purchasing power over time. In relation to cryptocurrency, inflation describes the rate at which new coins are created and enter the system. A high inflation rate will generally have a diluting effect on the value of a currency.
Really?
J
K
Guidelines which require financial services to verify the identity of their customers. The objective of KYC is to prevent businesses being used for money laundering.
L
The use of borrowed money or borrowed capital to increase the potential return of an investment. This allows traders to open a position that is larger than the balance of their account.
An open source retail payment system built on top of a base layer blockchain like Bitcoin. It is refered to as layer 2 technology.
Its main purpose is to enable extremely fast and cheap payments, much faster and cheaper than onchain (layer 1) transactions, while retaining the same level of security.
It is used for the kind of payments that you would expect when shopping; fast, cheap and reliable. It also allows for micro-payments: the sending of extremely small amounts of money, in the order of one ten-thousandth of a cent at a time.
Its main purpose is to enable extremely fast and cheap payments, much faster and cheaper than onchain (layer 1) transactions, while retaining the same level of security.
It is used for the kind of payments that you would expect when shopping; fast, cheap and reliable. It also allows for micro-payments: the sending of extremely small amounts of money, in the order of one ten-thousandth of a cent at a time.
A cryptocurrency that was forked from Bitcoin in October 2011 by Charlie Lee. Litecoin is sometimes referred to as being silver to Bitcoin's gold. Litecoin has served as a good testing ground for changes to Bitcoin, as they can be deployed in a live environment with an almost identical codebase, with real value at stake.
M
The total trading value of a cryptocurrency. It is determined by multiplying the circulating supply by the market price.
The mempool, or "memory pool", is all of the unconfirmed transactions that a Bitcoin node is holding. They use this pool of transactions to construct the next block.
The entities which compete to add blocks to the blockchain.
The process in which new blocks are added to the blockchain and new coins are brought into circulation. It also secures the network through a concept called "Proof of Work".
A list of words which is derived from a private key. It is used as a backup, to be able to restore your wallet on another device. Also known as a "Seed".
A colloquial term used to describe a large price rise. ie - Going to the moon!
A way of securing an address by requiring more than one key to authorize a transaction.
N
The blockchain network is all the nodes (computers, devices etc) that receive, store and broadcast the information on the blockchain to each other. The more nodes on the network the safer it is, as all must be in sync and verified by one another for each transaction to be accepted and added to the blockchain . This huge network ensures the vast spread of the information to everyone else, ensuring every single one is carrying the same information, and therefore protecting the blockchain from hackers.
That sad little group of individuals who missed out on purchasing crypto at lower prices, and instead of admitting they missed the boat, hope against hope and predict that BTC is a Titanic, and will crash.. And yet for some reason, they just cant paddle away!
Latin for Knot, and this describes to some extent the work a node does on the blockchain. All nodes are connected to each other and distribute their data, tying the blockchain together. Valid transactions on one node are constantly being shared with all the other nodes, creating a secure yet open framework available to all, as well as a reliable history. The more nodes- the stronger the blockchain.
The number that all miners are searching to find in order to start their mining of a block. It is a N..umber used...ONCE. See what I did there?
The type of crypto wallet or exchange where you control and bear full responsibility for your own crypto and transactions. Many benefits. Main drawback- you alone hold the keys, if you lose the keys- too bad, so sad.
O
If you consider cryptocurrency to be a Highway and you want to get onto it - this term describes how you do it - onramp is exchanging your fiat to crypto - offramp is exchanging your crypto to fiat.
Software code made publicly available by the company who owns it to anyone who wants to tinker with it. Those who do so are free to view, share, modify, adjust and alter to their heart's content.
Occasionally similar blocks will be mined at the same time by two different miners, but one of the blocks gets accepted by the network before the other, for various reasons. The one that didn't get accepted becomes the orphan...disconnected, no hash ancestry, empty, alone and afraid.
Over the Counter Trade is when two private entities do business without the intermediary of an exchange, usually a trading desk and an individual. Generally fast, private and useful for large volume deals and transactions.
P
A network of two or more computers that all connect to each other - all share, communicate, download and interact equally without the need for a central server.
Not actually a wallet at all - Just the 'key' or 'password' that is recorded physically on paper to access an offline wallet. This means the password cant be hacked, but also the danger if it is lost, damaged or destroyed, access to your wallet is gone forever. A fairly old fashioned solution.
A private key is your personal access to your wallet. Your wallet uses your private key to sign transactions, to authorize them to be sent. It’s basically a long string of letters and numbers, used like your own personal signature that cannot be forged. Your private key is the secret gateway to all your crypto currency, so it should not be shared.
Adopting a fictitious name in order to remain anonymous. E.g. In bitcoin circles -Satoshi Nakamoto
Q
An encoded black and white image similar to a bar code, which can be scanned with a phone camera to read the data. Used as a simple way to scan a Bitcoin address with a mobile wallet.
R
When someone has a bad trade, or loses a lot of money. Slang for "wrecked".
S
One hundred millionth of a bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC). The smallest denomination of on-chain Bitcoin (the Lighting Network's base unit is a milli-sat).
The pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin. The real identity of the person or group of people behind the pseudonym is unknown.
A Proof-of-Work mining algorithm used by some cryptocurrencies, most commonly Litecoin. Scrypt was initially created to avoid ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) being developed, which would disadvantage miners with less powerful hardware. Eventually though, Scrpyt capable ASICs were developed and are now used to mine LTC.
T
A separate, replica blockchain, specifically used as a testing ground for various experiments, design or other purposes on the blockchain. Just like with a flight simulator, no actual harm (or flying) can be done.
The moving of cryptocurrency from one wallet to another. This transfer is permanently and unalterably embedded in the blockchain, and validated by all the other nodes in the blockchain.
A transaction fee is paid to the miners as an incentive to include your transaction in a block. The chances of your transaction getting picked up by a miner are generally determined by the size of your fee compared to other fee paying transactions. Size does matter.
U
A transaction that has been created and broadcast to the network, but has not yet been included in a block. A transaction is not considered as received until it has been confirmed.
UTXO's are the bitcoin balances on the blockchain. When you make a bitcoin transaction, your wallet uses the UTXO's as inputs into the payment, and when the transaction is complete the recipient will now have the bitcoin as a new UTXO ready to use.
V
Any rapid, drastic and unpredictable fluctuation of trading price, up or down. An exciting wild rollercoaster ride which can leave you exhilarated, or sick to the stomach.
W
In crypto speak, a wallet is the electronic means by which you can keep your digital currency assets safe and also accessible, so you can spend them, like...... a wallet.
A model for the incoming ideal of the internet, which would be decentralised , and each person could control their own information and privacy.
A white paper is an open detailed report provided by an authority on the subject in order to persuade, enlighten and educate regarding the proposed idea, solution or position of its writer. Government plans historically were always written on colour coded paper - white for open and public. Hence the whitepaper provided by Satoshi Nakamoto, was an open publication of his description of Bitcoin and how it works. Well worth a read!
X
An XPUB is a key which can generate many new addresses without having to expose your private keys. The addresses are generated deterministically, so you can share many new addresses that are all related to your wallet.
Y
In cryptocurrency this might mean you are going ‘all in’ on trading a coin that you hope will be a big success.
Z
A transaction which has not yet been included in a block and added to the blockchain. A zero-conf transaction is not considered a completed payment.
In cryptography, Zero Knowledge Proofs are mathematical techniques used to verify a transaction or event happened without sharing or revealing underlying data.
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