Glossary-M

M

Mainnet

Abbreviation - Short for "Main Network."

The live version of a primary blockchain network, fully deployed and allowing users to perform transactions with its own native cryptocurrency or token embedded within its protocol.

See also: #Testnet

Market Cap

Abbreviation - Short for "Market Capitalization."

The total size and value held in a particular asset, company, market, or industry, often measured in US dollars.

Masternode

A blockchain node that stores a complete history of a blockchain ledger and performs specific functions to support a network, including verifying and relaying transactions.

See also: #Node

Max Fee Per Gas

The highest amount a user is willing to pay per unit of gas for a transaction to be included in a block. This fee may be adjusted by the user, but inappropriate settings may result in gas consumption and a failed transaction, or overpayment for a successful transaction.

See also: #Gas Fees, #Transaction Fee

Max Priority Fee

A parameter used in the Ethereum network in relation to other transaction fee parameters like gas limit and gas price, which may be adjusted by the user in order to prioritize a transaction.

See also: #Gas Fees, #Transaction Fee

Maxi

Slang

Originally short for "maximalist."

An individual who strongly believes in, supports, and advocates for one particular cryptocurrency over all others. Sometimes used as a pejorative, suggesting a closed mind.

Maximal Extractable Value

See #MEV.

Mempool

A component of a blockchain node that acts as a waiting area, storing pending transactions until they are confirmed and added to the blockchain.

See also: #Mempool Explorer

Mempool Explorer

A tool that allows users to monitor and analyze pending transactions in a mempool.

See also: #Mempool

Merge, The

The transition of the Ethereum network from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, a significant upgrade improving scalability, energy efficiency, and sustainability. Considered a remarkable milestone in Ethereum’s development, the Merge reduced network energy consumption by 99% and paved the way for future improvements.

See also: #Ethereum, #Proof of Stake, #Proof of Work

Merkle Patricia Trie

A modified version of a Patricia Trie, a persistent data structure that keeps a historical and dynamic record of key pairs, child branches, and grandchild branches, enabling faster verifications.

See also: #Merkle Tree

Merkle Root

The topmost hash of a Merkle tree which serves as a summary of all the contained data.

See also: #Merkle Tree

Metaverse

A network of virtual worlds incorporating elements of social media, augmented reality, virtual reality, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets.

MEV

Acronym - Maximal Extractable Value (Originally "Miner Extractable Value")

The inclusion and reordering of transactions within a block to extract the most value from it, beyond what can be obtained from the standard block rewards and transaction fees.

Miner Extractable Value

See #MEV.

Mining

The process of validating transactions and blocks and adding them to a blockchain. In a network utilizing a Proof of Work consensus mechanism, the first miner to solve a cryptographic problem is allowed to add a verified block to the blockchain and claim newly generated coins and any associated transaction fees.

Sometimes used in a more general sense to refer to any process by which new digital assets are generated and added to a blockchain ecosystem.

See also: #Proof of Work

Mint/Minting

The process of generating and adding new digital assets to a blockchain network, most often referring to fungible, semi-fungible, and non-fungible tokens.

See also: #Fungible, #Semi-fungible, #NFT

Mnemonic Phrase

See #Secret Recovery Phrase

See also: #Brain Wallet

Modular Blockchain

A blockchain structured so that functions are divided into separate modules or layers, increasing flexibility by enabling modules to be added, upgraded, or replaced without affecting the entire blockchain network. The performance of the overall network is optimized by allowing modules to specialize in specific functions and communicating and interacting with other modules.

See also: #Blockchain, #Monolithic Blockchain

Monolithic Blockchain

A blockchain structured so that all functions are handled by a single chain or layer.

See also: #Blockchain, #Modular Blockchain

Moon