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Revision as of 17:40, 17 August 2023
0 - 9 • 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
0 - 9
0x
- 1. Ethereum addresses begin with the "0x" prefix in order to specify that the characters should be interpreted as a hexadecimal number by smart contracts and other programs.
- 2. A decentralized exchange protocol. https://www.0xprotocol.org/
- See also: #ZRX
51% Attack
- A takeover of more than 50% of the nodes or mining power of a network by a single individual, organization, or entity. Any person or group controlling the majority of the network can exclude valid transactions, include fraudulent transactions, and otherwise manipulate the blockchain history for their own gain.
A
Address
- In the context of Cryptocurrency, an address is an alphanumeric string of characters representing the public half of a public/private key pair belonging to a specific user. Much like an email address, this identifier can be shared publicly, embedded in links, and presented as a QR code to other users in order to accept funds or assets on the respective blockchain.
- A single user may have multiple addresses and their corresponding private keys across multiple blockchains and wallets. Cryptocurrency wallets in the form of software, browser extensions, apps, or hardware devices allow for the management of and access to addresses under a user’s control.
- Services like the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) map human-friendly domain names to Ethereum addresses for a fee, allowing them to be more easily shared and remembered.
- See also: #ENS, #Public Address, #Public Key, #Wallet Address
Air Gap
- A security measure implemented to isolate a device or system physically, not connecting to other devices or the internet, adding another layer of protection between the sensitive data stored therein and potential hackers or malware.
- See also: #Cold Wallet, #Hardware Wallet
Airdrop
- A distribution method employed by projects or creators to send coins, tokens, or NFTs directly to users’s wallets. This distribution is often a reward for performing certain actions or meeting certain criteria, like completing simple tasks on social media, participating in community discussions or activities, or holding specific digital items during a certain timeframe.
Allowlist
- A pre-approved list of accounts, users, or wallets, usually compiled in preparation for the release of an anticipated project. Limiting participation to a select few might be done to reward early adopters, or as an attempt to avoid bottlenecks created by an overwhelming influx of users trying to complete blockchain transactions simultaneously, which can cause technical issues and drive up transaction costs significantly, resulting in a negative experience for many.
Alpha
- Slang
- Most likely adopted from the practice of designating the initial phase of software testing "Alpha Testing," where the product is only available to internal users. In the context of web3, ‘’’alpha’’’ refers to information regarding crypto products or organizations that has not yet been divulged publicly. Informally, it can refer to any matter where there might be information not yet widely known: ‘’”What’s the alpha with your new neighbor?”’’
Altcoin
- Originally used in reference to any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, this shortened version of “alternative coins” is often now more subjectively used. Many agree that Ethereum has graduated from this category with its widespread use and significant market cap.
- See also: #Fork
Alts
- Abbreviation - Short for #Altcoin, or in the context of social media, alias account profiles.
- See also: #Sock Puppet
AML
- Acronym - Anti-Money Laundering
- Rules, regulations, laws, and practices established and enforced by financial regulatory agencies around the globe to prevent money laundering by criminals. Compliance includes verifying the identity of customers and collecting relevant information from them, as well as monitoring transaction patterns in order to identify and report suspicious activities. AML regulations may vary by country or jurisdiction.
- See also: #BitLicense, #KYC
AMM
- Acronym - Automated Market Maker
- A platform, project, or exchange that eliminates the need for a traditional broker to set the price of an exchange between buyers and sellers by automating the process. This is accomplished by utilizing algorithmic pricing, liquidity pools, and smart contracts.
- Decentralized tools that perform tasks related to AMM democratize markets by significantly increasing accessibility to trading cryptocurrencies, tokens, and NFTs. However, issues like insufficient liquidity and deceptive behavior by bad actors can, and often do, result in the loss of funds by participants.
- See also: #DEX, #Liquidity, #Slippage, #SushiSwap, #Uniswap
Anchor
- Framework for the development of programs or smart contracts on the Solana network.
- See also: #Smart Contract, #Solana
Ape
- Slang
- Possibly inspired by the meteoric rise in the popularity of the BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club) NFT project when it launched, “to ape in” describes the act of rushing to purchase a coin or NFT project without taking time to adequately research or investigate.
- Since blockchain assets are often very volatile, many traders of web3 digital assets realize that some purchases are more of a gamble than an investment and do not assign much of a negative connotation to this term.
- See also: #BAYC, #DYOR, #NFA, #Yuga Labs
API
- Acronym - Application Programming Interface
- A set of predefined programming standards and protocols that specify how applications communicate with another program. APIs encourage standardization across platforms, blockchains, and tools for a variety of online ecosystems, as well as automation that can provide real-time information to users in friendly formats.
AppChain
- Abbreviation - Short for Application-Specific Blockchain.
- A secondary or tertiary blockchain built to facilitate the scalability, modularity, and interoperability of a specific application or applications by providing an optimized and tailored environment. This environment is often built atop a primary network in order to take advantage of its security or consensus mechanisms.
- See also: #Blockchain Trilemma, #Layer 1, #Layer 2, #Modular Blockchain, #Sidechain
AR
- Acronym - Augmented Reality
Arbitrum
- An Ethereum layer 2 blockchain network built as a scaling solution to alleviate congestion and reduce transaction fees.
- See also: #Ethereum, #Layer 2, #Transaction Fee
Archival Nodes
- Nodes that store a complete historical record of a blockchain's data, including all previous states and transactions, but do not necessarily validate blocks.
- See also: #Blockchain, #Genesis Block, #Node
ASIC
- Acronym - Application-Specific Integrated Circuit
- Specialized hardware optimized for performing the calculations required to mine cryptocurrencies utilizing Proof of Work algorithms.
- The use of ASICs is considered controversial both in and out of web3 due to their high energy use and potential for centralization when concentrated in mining farms.
ATH
- Acronym - All Time High
ATL
- Acronym - All Time Low
Avalanche
- An open-source platform including several blockchains built for fast transaction finality and high throughput. Networked blockchains are known as subnets and can define their own token economics, security, and execution logic.
- AVAX is the native token of Avalanche.
- See also: #Subnet
B
Base Fee
- An algorithmically determined dynamic transaction fee, typically referring to Ethereum. This fee is determined by the network itself to prevent sudden spikes and is adjusted based on network activity and congestion. Transaction fees are collected by miners as an incentive to validate and include transactions in each block, as well as secure the network.
- See also: #Ethereum, #Gas, #Gas Estimator, #Gas Fees
BAYC
- Acronym - Bored Ape Yacht Club
- An NFT collection on The Ethereum blockchain consisting of 10,000 PFPs of varying rarity.
- See also: #PFP, #Yuga Labs
Bear Market
- A general and sustained downward trend of cryptocurrency and NFT prices, as well as market sentiment.
- See also: #Bearish, #Bull Market
Bearish
- Slang
- Indicates a lack of conviction regarding a market, industry, project, or even individual item. A pessimistic outlook.
- See also: #Bear Market, #Bullish
Bid
- An offer made by a potential buyer during an auction. The programmable nature of cryptocurrencies and NFTs allows for automation of this process if the proper APIs or other tools are available on the auction platform.
Bitcoin
- An open-sourced, cryptographically secured, decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency released in 2009 by a pseudonymous entity known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. The blockchain and network is always capitalized (“Bitcoin”), while the cryptocurrency is not (“bitcoin”). Bitcoins may be subdivided to eight decimal places, with the smallest unit known as a satoshi - 1 BTC = 100,000,000 satoshis.
- The Bitcoin network is secured and transactions are validated through a Proof of Work system by miners around the globe, and as such, is not controlled by any individual, government, or organization. Miners are incentivized with rewards in the form of newly created bitcoins and transaction fees submitted by users.
- The Bitcoin whitepaper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
- More info can be found at https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Bitcoin
BitLicense
- Virtual currency regulation 23 NYCRR Part 200 issued by the New York Department of Financial Services in 2015. Any person or business conducting activities involving virtual currencies in the state of New York or involving a resident of New York can either apply for a BitLicense or for a charter.
Block
- A record of transactions added to a blockchain, along with information pertaining to the previous block. The “chain” of data results in a distributed ledger synced and validated by nodes tasked with securing and supporting the network.
- See also: #Blockchain, #Blockchain Explorer, #Block Reward, #Mining
Blue Chip
- A term commonly used to indicate a project or collection likely to retain a high value for the foreseeable future. Originally used in this manner for financially successful stocks, the phrase refers to blue poker chips, which typically have the greatest value.
- See also: #NFT
Bug Bounty
- A program offered to encourage individuals to report bugs in exchange for rewards or compensation.
Buidl
- Slang
- An intentional misspelling of the word "build" referencing the more infamous "hodl." In web3, it is often used to encourage community involvement and active development of the decentralization ecosystem.
Bull Market
- A general and sustained upward trend of cryptocurrency and NFT prices, as well as market sentiment.
Bullish
- Slang
- Indicates a high level of conviction regarding a market, industry, project, or even individual item. An optimistic outlook.
- See also: #Bearish, #Bull Market
Burn
- The process of permanently removing tokens or coins from circulation by sending them to an inaccessible destination address.
- See also: #Blockchain
Byzantine Fault Tolerance
- The abilitity of a system to continue to operate as intended even if parts of the network are faulty or cannot be trusted.
- See also: #Byzantine Generals Problem
Byzantine Generals Problem
- A game theory scenario where consensus must be achieved in a decentralized system without the benefit of a trusted, centralized source.
- See also: #Byzantine fault tolerance
Byzantium Fork
- The planned upgrade to Ethereum that occurred in October 2017. This was a hard fork on the roadmap to transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake and the fifth major upgrade in Ethereum's history.
- See also: #Ethereum, #Hard Fork
C
Cancel Transactions
- A transaction submitted with the same nonce as a pending transaction but with a greater transaction fee attached, incentivizing miners to process it first, at which point the original transaction becomes invalidated and is dropped.
- See also: #Replacement Transaction, #Stuck Transactions
CC0
- Acronym - Creative Commons 0
- A Creative Commons license to waive copyright or database protections to place works as completely as possible in the public domain.
Censorship
- The act of restricting, suppressing, or manipulating content, often by an authoritarian power.
Centralized
- The concentration of power or decision-making abilities for a system under a small group or within a particular geographical location.
- See also: #Centralized Exchange
Centralized Exchange
- An exchange managed by a business, organization, or other entity with limited to no input from the wider ecosystem.
- See also: #Centralized, #Decentralized Exchange
Client
- Software that acts as an interface between users and a blockchain network and usually includes a cryptocurrency wallet. Clients may also host nodes to help support the relevant network.
- See also: #Node
Coin
- A fungible token used as a store of value and medium of exchange within a particular blockchain ecosystem. Some may have specific utility, such as paying for transaction fees or participating in governance processes, and some are designed to maintain a stable value, but all of them may succumb to trading volatility or other instabilities. For these, and many other, reasons, anyone wishing to trade or invest is advised to do so only after sufficient research and understanding of the associated risks.
- See also: #Cryptocurrency, #Token, #Tokenomics, #Due Diligence, #DYOR, #NFA
Cold Wallet
- A cryptocurrency wallet not connected to the internet. These may be hardware devices or any media that can be used to record private keys or seed phrases, like simple pen and paper. Cold wallets are typically used for long-term storage since extra steps are required to broadcast transactions to the network. Physical devices acting as cold wallets are still susceptible to theft, damage, or other types of loss.
- See also: #Brain Wallet, #Hardware Wallet, #Wallet, #Wallet Address
Collateral
- An asset provided as security for a loan in order to mitigate risk for the lender.
Confirmed Transaction
- A transaction that has been validated and permanently added to a blockchain by network participants. Each confirmation increases the difficulty of reversing or changing the transaction details by attempting to submit an alternate block of transactions instead of the original.
Consensus
- The state of agreement by network participants on the validity and version of the synchronized blockchain. Consensus is arguably the most fundamental aspect of blockchain technology, ensuring the integrity and validity of transaction records.
- See also: #Consensus Mechanism, #Node
Consensus Mechanism
- The process by which network participants come to an agreement on the validity and integrity of all the transactions contained within a blockchain. Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS) are two well-known methods of achieving consensus.
- See also: #Consensus, #Node
Constantinople Fork
- The hard fork system upgrade of Ethereum which took place in 2019.
- See also: #Ethereum, #Hard Fork
Cross-Chain
- The interoperability or communication between otherwise isolated or independent blockchains. Protocols, applications, or smart contracts that facilitate the transfer of assets or data between chains are known as “bridges.”
- See also: #Bridge
Crypto
- Abbreviation - Greek prefix meaning “hidden.” The word “cryptocurrency” is derived from “cryptographic currency” since cryptocurrencies utilize cryptography to secure transactions. However, cryptographers often use this abbreviation to refer to their own field of study.
- See also: #Cryptocurrency, #Cryptography
Cryptocurrency
- A digital or virtual currency that uses cryptographic techniques to secure transactions, control the creation of new units, and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies are typically decentralized and operate on blockchain technology, utilizing a distributed and public ledger. Cryptocurrencies are created and secured through cryptographic algorithms that are maintained and confirmed in a process called mining, where a network of devices process and validate the transactions. This decentralized structure allows them to exist outside the control of governments and other central authorities.
Cryptographic signature
- A method of authenticating content, typically based on public-key cryptography, where a signer uses the private half of a key pair to generate a signature, and the recipient uses the corresponding public key to verify its authenticity.
- See also: #Cryptography
Cryptography
- The practice and study of techniques used to secure communication by encoding information so that it can only be deciphered by authorized recipients.
- See also: #Crypto
CryptoKitties
- An Ethereum based NFT project by Dapper Labs launched in 2017. Each NFT represents a virtual cat that carries a 256-bit distinct genome with DNA. Cryptokitties may be bred with others to produce offspring with traits that can be passed down from parents to offspring.
- See also: #Ethereum, #NFT, #NFT Marketplace
CryptoPunks
- An Ethereum based NFT project by Dapper Labs launched in 2017 by Larva Labs consisting of 10,000 pixelated characters algorithmically generated. Intellectual property rights for CryptoPunks were acquired by Yuga Labs in 2022.
- See also: #Blue Chip, #Ethereum, #NFT
Custodial Wallet
- A cryptocurrency wallet in which a third party, such as a cryptocurrency exchange, holds the private keys that authorize and sign transactions. Custodial wallets shift the burden of responsibility and security to the third party, lowering the barrier to entry for many new cryptocurrency users. A certain amount of trust is required, however, since users are reliant on the custodian to take proper security precautions and implement reasonable policies regarding their assets and funds.
- See also: #Non-Custodial Wallet, #Wallet
D
DAI
- Ticker Symbol -
Decentralized
Digital Identity
Discord
Dropped Transaction
E
Escrow
Ethereum
F
Failed Transaction
Fantom
Fiat
Fractionalize
Frens
- Slang
- Friends
Front-running
FUD
- Acronym - Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt
G
GM
- Acronym - Good Morning
H
Hackathon
Halving
Hexadecimal
Hierarchical Deterministic Wallet
I
Immutability
Internal transaction
- See also: #Ethereum, #Etherscan, #NFT Marketplace, #Smart Contract, #Transaction
IP
- Acronym - Intellectual Property
IPFS
- Acronym - InterPlanetary File System
J
K
L
L1
- Abbreviation - Layer 1
L2
- Abbreviation - Layer 2
Lambo
- Slang
- Lamborghini
Liquidations
M
Market Cap
Maxi
- Slang
Merkle Trie
Mesh
Metaverse
MEV
- Acronym -
Miner Extractable Value
Moon
- Slang
N
Nocoiner
- Slang
Nonce
O
Oracle
P
P2E
- Acronym - Play To Earn
Peer-To-Peer
Proof of Attendance Protocol
Protocol
Public Address
Public Key
Public Key Encryption
Q
R
Replacement Transaction
S
Ser
- Slang
Sharding
Shill
Slashing
Speed Up Transactions
Stuck Transactions
T
Ticker Symbol
- A unique combination of letters representing assets, stock, or cryptocurrencies on various exchanges. Often limited to three letters, but may be longer.
Total Value Locked
TPS
- Acronym -
TVL
- Acronym -
Txn
- Abbreviation -
U
Up Only
- Slang
UX
- Acronym -
V
Vaporware
- Slang
VR
- Acronym -
W
WAGMI
- Acronym -
Wallet
Wen
- Slang