Glossary-B

B

Bag

Slang

Refers to the digital assets one may be holding, often those one is willing to sell as soon as it is profitable to do so.

See also: #Holding A Bag/Holding Bags

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

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.

BIP

Acronym - Bitcoin Improvement Proposal

A standard format for proposing, discussing, and implementing changes to Bitcoin protocols and standards.

https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/

See also: #Bitcoin

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.

https://www.dfs.ny.gov/virtual_currency_businesses

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

Block Explorer

A website, application, or tool that provides an interface to navigate and explore blockchain address and account information. This information may include, but is not limited to transaction history, transaction status, transaction value, timestamps, fees, sender and recipient addresses, block height, miner rewards, smart contract source code and historical data, network statistics, and block confirmation times.

Block explorers are available for a variety of blockchains. Features and functionality will vary.

See also: #Block, #Blockchain

Block Height

The number of confirmed blocks preceding a particular block in a blockchain. Block height indicates how many blocks have been added to the blockchain since its genesis block, or block 0. Block height increases sequentially with each new block added and confirmed and is utilized by consensus mechanisms to confirm the valid and accepted version of the chain.

See also: #Block, #Blockchain

Block Reward

The incentive earned by miners or validators of a blockchain, usually in the form of newly minted cryptocurrency, transaction fees accumulated by the network, or both. Block rewards vary from blockchain to blockchain.

See also: #Blockchain, #Mining

Blockchain

A distributed ledger or database of information related to accounts and transactions of a particular cryptocurrency.

See also: #Block, #Block Explorer, #Private Blockchain

Blockchain Explorer

See #Block Explorer

Blockchain Trilemma

Coined by Vitalik Buterin, the blockchain trilemma refers to the challenge of simultaneously attempting to optimize a blockchain for decentralization, security, and scalability.

See also: #Blockchain

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

BNB Chain

Originally named the Binance Smart Chain, BNB Chain was launched by Binance in 2020 as a blockchain network parallel to the Binance Chain. It utilizes the Binance Coin (BNB) as its native token for transaction fees, staking, and other functions. The chain was designed as a layer 1 solution with smart contracts and decentralized applications in mind.

See also: #Blockchain

Bored Ape Yacht Club

See BAYC.

Sometimes shortened to simply "Bored Apes."

Brain Wallet

The practice of memorizing the mnemonic sequence of 12 to 24 words used to derive cryptocurrency private keys as a form of “cold” storage. If this seed phrase is not recorded elsewhere, cryptocurrency stored in this manner are lost forever if the owner dies, becomes permanently incapacitated, or simply forgets the phrase.

See also: #Cold Wallet, #Non-Custodial Wallet, #Wallet

Bridge

A protocol built to allow separate blockchains to communicate. By creating a connection in this manner, the ability to transfer data or digital assets from one chain to another becomes a possibility.

Sometimes used as a verb: to "bridge" a digital asset from one chain to another.

See also: #Blockchain

BTC

Ticker Symbol - Bitcoin

The native cryptocurrency of the Bitcoin network.

See also: #Bitcoin, #Exchange

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