Here is an ‘A to Z’ glossary of Crypto-Currency language that you may never use, but for the aspiring boffins this will help you unravel the industry jargon!
A unique address that identifies where a cryptocurrency sits on the blockchain. It’s this location at which the coin’s ownership data is stored and where any changes are registered when it is traded. Addresses look different among cryptocurrencies but are usually a string of more than 30 characters.
A marketing campaign that refers to the expedited distribution of a cryptocurrency through a population of people. It can occur when the creator of a cryptocurrency provides its coin to low-ranked traders or existing community members in order to build its use and popularity. They can be given away for free or in exchange for simple tasks like sharing news of the coin with friends.
Mathematic instructions coded into and implemented by computer software to produce a desired outcome.
Highest price ever achieved by a cryptocurrency. Abbreviated to ATH.
Lowest price ever achieved by a cryptocurrency. Abbreviated to ATL.
A category that includes all coins other than Bitcoin, the first and most successful of all the cryptocurrencies. Ethereum and Ripple are altcoins.
International laws and regulations designed to prevent criminals from laundering money through cryptocurrencies into real-world cash. Also referred to by initialsm AML.
Computer hardware – similar to a graphics card or a CPU – designed to mine cryptocurrency. ASICs are built specifically to solve hashing problems efficiently.
The act of buying from one exchange and then selling it to the another exchange if the margin between the two is profitable. Multiple exchanges trade in the same cryptocurrency at any given tie, and they can do so at different rates.
A way of letting people directly and cost-effectively exchange one type of cryptocurrency for another, at current rates, without needing to buy or sell.
Accordion Content
A large quantity of units in a certain cryptocurrency.
If the price of a cryptocurrency has a negative price movement.
This is a trick played by a group of traders aimed at manipulating the price of a cryptocurrency. The bear trap is set by this group all selling their cryptocurrency at the same time, which bluffs the market into thinking there is a drop incoming. As a result, other traders sell their assets, further driving the price down. Those who set the trap then release it, buying back their assets, which are now at a lower price. The overall price then rebounds, allowing them to make a profit.
The very first cryptocurrency. It was created in 2008 by an individual or group of individuals operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It was intended to be a peer-to-peer, decentralized electronic cash system.
The blockchain is made up of blocks. Each block holds a historical database of all cryptocurrency transactions made until the block is full. It’s a permanent record, like a bag of data that can be opened and viewed at any time.
An online tool for exploring the blockchain of a cryptocurrency, where you can watch and follow, live, all the transactions happening on the blockchain. Block explorers can serve as blockchain analysis and provide information such as total network hash rate, coin supply, transaction growth, etc.
Refers to the number of blocks connected in the blockchain. For example, Height 0 would be the very first block, which is also called the genesis block.
A form of incentive for the miner who successfully calculates the hash (verification) in a block. Verification of transactions on the blockchain generates new coins in the process, and the miner is rewarded with a portion of these.
The blockchain is a digital ledger of all the transactions ever made in a particular cryptocurrency. It’s comprised of individual blocks (see definition above) that are chained to each other through a cryptographic signature. Each time a block’s capacity is reached, a new block is added to the chain. The blockchain is repeatedly copied and saved onto thousands of computers all around the world, and it must always match each copy. As there is no master copy stored in one location, it’s considered decentralized.
If the price of a cryptocurrency has a positive price movement.
When a large limit order has been placed to buy when a cryptocurrency reaches a certain value, then that is a buy wall. This can prevent a cryptocurrency from falling below that value, as demand will likely outstrip supply when the order is executed.
Shorthand for market capitalization (see definition below)
When a single entity has control of all financial records, it is considered to be a central ledger. This is how banks operate.
Each cryptocurrency has its own blockchain – the digital ledger that stores all transaction records. Chain linking is the process that occurs if you transfer one cryptocurrency to another. This requires the transaction to be lodged in two separate blockchains, so they must link together to achieve the goal.
The name given to the algorithm that encrypts and decrypts information.
The total number of coins in a cryptocurrency that are in the publicly tradable space is considered the circulating supply. Some coins can be locked, reserved or burned, therefore unavailable to public trading.
When a transaction is made, all nodes on the network verify that it is valid on the blockchain, and if so, they have a consensus.
Refers to those nodes that are responsible for maintaining the blockchain ledger so that a consensus can be reached when a transaction is made.
A privately owned and operated, yet publicly transparent, blockchain.
A form of money that exists as encrypted, digital information. Operating independently of any banks, a cryptocurrency uses sophisticated mathematics to regulate the creation and transfer of funds between entities.
A computer program that utilizes a blockchain for data storage, runs autonomously, is not controlled or operated from a single entity, is open source and has its use incentivized by the reward of fees or tokens.
Refers to organizations that are run by an application (computer program) rather than direct human input. Control of this application is granted to everyone rather than a single central entity.
Turning encrypted cipher text back into plain text.
When the demand for a particular cryptocurrency decreases, bringing down the price of its economy.
An intangible, hard-to-get asset that is transferred electronically and has a certain value.
Another term for digital commodity
Used to confirm that a document being transmitted electronically is authentic. They generally appear as a code generated by a public key encryption.
This occurs when someone tries to send a cryptocurrency to two different wallets or locations at the same time.
The term used to describe selling all (or a lot) of your cryptocurrency.
When a lot of people dump at once, causing a sharp downward movement in a cryptocurrency’s price.
Converting plain text into unintelligible text with the use of a cipher.
When an intermediary is used to hold funds during a transaction, those funds are being held in escrow. This is usually a third party between the entity sending and the one receiving.
One of the top three cryptocurrencies in the world based on its market capitalization. Despite being open source and based on blockchain technology, it differs from bitcoin in two key ways: it allows developers to create dApps and also write smart contracts.
A virtual machine, effectively sitting in the cloud, that is Turing complete and is used by all nodes on the network during blockchain confirmations. It allows those on the node to execute random EVM Byte Code, which is part of the Ethereum Protocol.
The platform through which cryptocurrencies are exchanged with each other, with fiat currencies and between entities. Exchanges can vary widely in the currency conversions they enable and their fee structures.
Acronym for “fundamental analysis”.
If you find a website that offers to give you free cryptocurrency for connecting with them, it is termed a faucet. The majority of these are scams.
Refers to money recognized as legal tender by governments, such as the US dollar, British pound, Euro and Australian dollar.
When a new version of a blockchain is created, resulting in two versions of the blockchain running side-by-side, it is termed a fork. As a single blockchain forks into two, they will both run on the same network. Forks are categorized into two categories: soft or hard.
A method through which you can attach value to a coin by looking at similar economic and financial factors and researching the underlying motives of the creators and market opinion.
Gas a is measurement given to an operation in the Ethereum network that relates to the computational power required to complete it. That measurement relates to the fee offered to miners who process that transaction. Other operations have a small cost of 3 to 10 gas, but a full transaction costs 21,000 gas.
When users make a transaction on the Ethereum network, they set their gas limit, which is the most they are willing to pay as a fee for that transaction. If the transaction is going to cost more gas than what is offered, the transaction will not go through. If it costs less, the difference will be refunded.
The amount you are willing to pay for a transaction on the Ethereum network. If you want miners to process your transaction fast, then you should offer a higher price. Gas prices are usually denominated in Gwei.
The first or first few blocks of a blockchain.
Another term used to describe a mining pool (see below).
The denomination used in defining the cost of gas. Set a gas price of 20,000 Gwei, for example.
Every time miners approve transactions on the bitcoin blockchain, they earn bitcoin. As each block on the blockchain fills up with transactions, a certain amount of bitcoin enter the marketplace. However, the number of bitcoin that will ever be created is finite, locked at 21 million. In order to ensure this cap is kept, the amount of bitcoin earned by miners for filling one block is halved at the completion of that block. This is called halving. For the record, by the year 2140, all 21 million bitcoin will be in circulation.
During an ICO, the creator can set a hard cap. This is the maximum amount it planned to raise, and it will therefore stop offering coins at this figure.
A fork in the blockchain that converts transactions previously labeled invalid to valid, and vice versa. For this fork to work, all nodes on the network must upgrade to the newest protocol.
A physical device, similar to a USB stick, that stores cryptocurrency in its encrypted form. It’s considered the most secure way to hold cryptocurrency.
The shorthand for cryptographic hash function (see description above).
Measurement of performance that reveals how many hashes per second your computer is capable of producing. Each hash is an attempt to find a block by creating a unique block candidate and testing it against the network.
The hash rate of a computer, measured in kH/s, MH/s, GH/s, TH/s, PH/s or EH/s depending on the hashes per second being produced. 1,000 kH/s = 1 MH/s, 1,000 MH/s = 1 GH/s and so forth.
In order to raise funds, the creator of a cryptocurrency will put an initial batch of its coins up for purchase. This is an initial coin offering.
Acronym for “initial coin offering”.
Acronym for “joy of missing out”.
Acronym for “know your customer”, which refers to a financial institution’s obligation to verify the identity of a customer in line with AML laws.
A record of financial transactions. A ledger cannot be changed, it can only be appended with new transactions.
A loan of sorts offered by a broker on an exchange during margin trading (see below).
A peer-to-peer system for cryptocurrency micropayments that is focused on low latency, instant payments. They’re typically low cost, scalable and can work across chains, and transactions can be public or private.
If you set a rule whereby a cryptocurrency is sold or bought when at a certain price, you are setting a limit order. When traders place an order for a buy or sell, the system looks for these limit orders.
The liquidity of a cryptocurrency is defined by how easily it can be bought and sold without impacting the overall market price.
If a transaction request comes with a rule delaying when it can be processed to a certain time or certain block on the blockchain, that is referred to as the locktime.
This is the position you are taking if you are going “short”.
This is the position you are taking if you are going “long”.
This is defined as the total number of coins in supply multiplied by the price. Cap = supply x price.
A risky strategy used by experienced traders where they risk their existing coins to magnify the intensity of their trades. This allows them to buy more than they can afford using leverage provided by an exchange.
As opposed to a limit order, a market order does not wait until a certain price to buy or sell; it trades wherever the price is at the time the transaction order is made.
The term, somewhat confusingly, given to the process of verifying transactions on a blockchain. In the process of solving the encryption challenges, the person donating the computer power is granted new fractions of the cryptocurrency.
An investment in mining hardware whereby you rent out the hashing power of mining hardware for a certain amount of time. The renter does not pay for the hardware or the maintenance and electricity required to run it.
If a number of miners combine their computing power together to try and help complete the transactions required to start a new block in the blockchain, they are in a mining pool. The rewards are spread proportionately between those in the mining pool based on the amount of power they contributed. The idea is that being in a mining pool allows for better chances of successful hashing and therefore getting enough cryptocurrency reward to produce an income.
A legal term used to represent an entity that transfers or converts money.
A network refers to all the nodes committed to helping the operation of a blockchain at any given moment in time. |
Any computer that is connected to a blockchain’s network is referred to as a node.
When a miner hashes a transaction, a random number is generated, called a nonce. The parameters from which that number is chosen change based on the difficulty of the transaction.
When two orders for cryptocurrency are placed simultaneously with a rule in place whereby if one is accepted, the other is cancelled.
The smart contracts stored on a blockchain are stuck within the network. They can only be reached by the external world through a program called an oracle. The oracle sends the data to and from the smart contract and the outside world as required. Oracles are most commonly found on the Ethereum network.
If a large number of purchases have been made on a cryptocurrency, its price will increase for an extended period of time. At this juncture, it is considered overbought and a period of selling is expected.
If a cryptocurrency has spent significant time being sold without an upward movement, it is considered oversold. In this condition, there would be concerns about whether it will bounce back.
Storing your wallet code (your private key) on a physical document makes it a paper wallet. It’s also sometimes referred to as cold storage.
In a peer-to-peer connection, two or more computers network with each other without a centralized third party being used as an intermediary.
Acronym for “pump and dump”.
A period before an ICO goes public when private investors or community members are able to buy the cryptocurrency.
A string of numbers and letters that are used to access your wallet. While your wallet is represented by a public key, the private key is the password you should protect (with your life). You need your private key when selling or withdrawing cryptocurrencies, as it acts as your digital signature.
A private key that gives the holder the right to create the blocks in a private blockchain. It can be held by a single entity or a set number of entities. This is an alternative to the proof-of-work model, as instead of getting multiple random nodes to approve a transaction, a group of specific nodes are given the authority to approve. This is a far faster method.
Another alternative to proof of work, this caps the reward given to miners for providing their computational power to the network at that miner’s investment in the cryptocurrency. So if a miner holds three coins, they can only earn three coins. The system encourages miners to stick with a certain blockchain rather than converting their rewards to an alternate cryptocurrency.
In order to receive a reward for mining a cryptocurrency, miners must show that their computers contributed effort to approve a transaction. A variable is added to the process of hashing a transaction that demands that effort before a block can be successfully hashed. Having a hashed block proves the miner did work and deserves a reward – hence proof of work.
The set of rules that defines how data is exchanged across a network.
A blockchain that can be accessed by anyone through a full node on their computer.
This is your unique wallet address, which appears as a long string of numbers and letters. It is used to receive cryptocurrencies.
This is a term used to refer to an upward price movement, usually driven by whales investing large sums of money in a cryptocurrency.
The frowned-upon practice of buying a lot of one cryptocurrency to drive up its price and encourage others to invest, then selling the lot when there is a suitable margin.
Shorthand slang for “wrecked” and a term used to describe a bad loss in a trade.
A type of technical analysis whereby you determine the momentum of price change over time. It looks at recent changes in price exponentially, with the most recent changes given more weight than older ones. This produces an overall trend of movement for a cryptocurrency that can determine if the market is overbought (a reading higher than 70) or oversold (a reading lower than 30).
Acronym for “Relative Strength Index”.
The individual, or group of individuals – it has never been confirmed – who created bitcoin.
This is the smallest unit of bitcoin, which is 0.00000001 BTC. The name SATS is shorthand for Satoshi Nakamoto, which is the fake name used by the creator of bitcoin.
An algorithm that encrypts a key in such a fashion that it takes a serious amount of RAM to hash it. The system makes it challenging to attack for hackers. Despite its spelling, Scrypt is pronounced “ess-crypt”.
The origin point from which you created your wallet ID. Usually, a seed is a phrase or a series of words that can be used to regenerate your wallet ID if you lose it. Something to keep very secret.
The processes of separating digital signature data from transaction data. This lets more transactions fit onto one block in the blockchain, improving transaction speeds.
Sharding is a way of splitting up the full blockchain history so each full node doesn’t need the whole copy of it. It’s considered a scaling solution for blockchains because as they grow larger, it begins to slow the network performance if every node is required to carry the full blockchain.
When a contract is written in computer code, as opposed to traditional legal language, it is deemed a smart contract. This programmed contract is set up to execute and carry itself out automatically under specified conditions. When a smart contract is on the blockchain, both parties can check its programming before agreeing to it, and then let it do its thing, confident that it cannot be tampered with or changed. It lets two parties agree to complex terms without needing to trust each other and without needing to involve any third parties. This functionality is the defining feature of the Ethereum blockchain.
A common form of wallet where the private key for an individual is stored within software files on a computer. This is the system you are likely to use if you sign up for a wallet online that is not associated with an exchange.
A programming language similar to JavaScript but focused on developing smart contracts. It’s exported as bytecode, which is used by the Ethereum Virtual Machine that runs the Ethereum network.
Using a trading tool to look at historical data on a cryptocurrency in the hope of forecasting its future.
When a cryptocurrency creator is testing out a new version of a blockchain, it does so on a test net. This runs like a second version of the blockchain but doesn’t impact the value associated with the primary, active blockchain.
The moment in time when a transaction was encrypted and regarded as proof that the data compiled in that transaction existed.
The “coin” of a cryptocurrency is a token. Effectively, it’s the digital code defining each fraction, which can be owned, bought and sold.
When a distributed ledger exists but doesn’t need a currency in which to operate. With these blockchains, the miners upholding the network typically don’t get a reward/payment.
The value of cryptocurrency moved from one entity to another on a blockchain network.
Usually very small fees given to the miners involved in successfully approving a transaction on the blockchain. This fee can vary depending on the difficulty involved in a transaction and overall network capabilities at that moment in time. If an exchange is involved in facilitating that transaction, it could also take a cut of the overall transaction fee.
If a machine is capable of performing all conceivable programmable calculations, then it is Turing complete. This machine can process any computable function and includes most modern computers.
When a transaction is proposed, it is unconfirmed until the network has examined the blockchain to ensure that there are no other transactions pending involving that same coin. In the unconfirmed state, the transaction has not been appended to the blockchain.
This refers to the amount of cryptocurrency sent to an entity but not sent on elsewhere. These amounts are considered unspent and are the data stored in the blockchain.
Acronym for “unspent transaction output”.
The fluctuation in an asset’s price is measured by its volatility. Cryptocurrency prices are notoriously volatile compared to other assets, as dramatic price shifts can happen quickly.
A wallet is defined by a unique code that represents its “address” on the blockchain. The wallet address is public, but within it is a number of private keys determining ownership of the balance and the balance itself. It can exist in software, hardware, paper or other forms.
A term used to describe extremely wealthy investors or traders who have enough funds to manipulate the market.
Prior to an ICO, interested parties can sign up/register their involvement and intent to purchase or even purchase under pre-sale conditions. The list of these parties is referred to as the whitelist.
A detailed explanation of a cryptocurrency, designed to offer satisfactory technical information, explain the purpose of the coin and set out a roadmap for how it plans to succeed. It’s designed to convince investors that it’s a good choice ahead of an ICO.
Alternative phrasing for an unconfirmed transaction.
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