The blockchain glossary we have prepared also includes the highlights of the web3 glossary and NFT glossary of terms. Blockchain terminology is expanding daily with the increasing popularity of blockchain technology. It isn’t easy to keep up with all of it. Rather than cryptocurrencies, there are several blockchain use cases, such as blockchain gaming. You will find the one most appropriate for your needs among the 4 types of blockchain in the best blockchain platforms as we saw it in enterprise blockchain examples.

Before we get started, here is a list of the best blockchain books in 2022 for better understanding. You may have heard about the blockchain talent gap and started to ask what is a blockchain developer. But unfortunately, you find some blockchain implementation challenges and security issues. Because of that, keep a crypto dictionary handy at all times. Sometimes it isn’t easy to know what a specific term means in crypto.

Blockchain glossary (2022)

Blockchain technology is still quite unusual, and it’s understood mostly by highly skilled engineers – many of whom were early bitcoin and ether adopters. The large number of specialist terms utilized by the communities that trade in cryptocurrencies, blockchains, and NFTs is partly responsible for the complexity. So, let’s take a deep dive into them.

51% Attack

A 51% attack occurs when one individual or a group of people controls more than half the computer power or mining hash rate on a network.

ABI (Application Binary Interface)

ABI is an interface between two binary program modules, with one being a library and the other being a user.

Abstract

A concept is an idea that exists in mind.

Account

Your funds are “hold” by public and private key pairs. Your money is not kept in a wallet or account; it’s on the blockchain.

Accounting Token

Accounting tokens are credit or debit entries that have been tokenized (IOU/UOM) and, like any spreadsheet-based accounting system, serve as a means of recording transactions.

Accumulation/Distribution Indicator

An accumulation/distribution indicator determines the supply and demand level of a stock/asset/cryptocurrency by calculating the closing price of a certain time times volume.

ACTOR

A participant in an action or a network on the blockchain is called a node.

Adaptive State Sharding

Adaptive State Sharding is a technique that combines all sorts of sharding into one to optimize communication and performance, as utilized by Elrond.

Address

A blockchain address is a location to or from which transactions occur on the blockchain, much like a URL is the location for or origin of web pages.

Adoption Curve

The adoption curve shows how quickly the general public takes up new technology. It may also involve segmenting the target audience to determine market interest.

Aeternity Blockchain

Aeternity Blockchain is a blockchain that employs a hybrid consensus system, which mixes Proof of Work and Proof of Stake.

Air-gapping

Air-gapping is a method for safeguarding computers that do not connect to the Internet or any other open networks.

Airdrop

Airdrop is a method for distributing cryptocurrency or tokens to wallet addresses that is common in the crypto business. Airdrops are occasionally utilized for marketing reasons in exchange for easy activities such as reshares, referrals, and app downloads.

Airnode

Oracles, APIs, and API gateways are more difficult to set up than smart contracts because they have several moving pieces that need to be built from scratch. Data feeds provided by companies wanting to participate in the API3 blockchain protocol can be instantly launched using Airnode as an oracle node and API blockchain gateway.

Algo-Trading (Algorithmic Trading)

Algo-trading is a computerized trading system in which buy and sell orders are placed according to the instructions of a program or algorithm.

Algorithm

An algorithm is a method or set of instructions for resolving difficulties or performing calculations, generally by a computer.

Algorithmic Market Operations (AMOs)

Algorithmic Market Operations (AMOs) automatically regulate the supply of algorithmic stablecoins while enhancing scalability, decentralization, and transparency.

Algorithmic Stablecoin

A computer-generated algorithmically based stablecoin, on the other hand, has an algorithmic foundation that can produce coins when the price rises and purchase them back when the price falls.

All-Time-High (ATH)

The most expensive (in terms of price and market capitalization) point a cryptocurrency has reached in history. It is the most wanted term in the blockchain glossary.

All-Time-Low (ATL)

The lowest price (in value or market capitalization) that a cryptocurrency has ever been. It is the most unwanted term in the blockchain glossary.

Allocation

These are issued for a particular team, group, investor, institution, or another similar entity and represent a portion of the cryptocurrency that can be earned.

Altcoin

An altcoin is a bitcoin competitor that is based on a blockchain. Ether, Litecoin, and Dogecoin are examples of popular Altcoins.

Amazon S3

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is a web-based cloud storage service that allows you to store and retrieve data on demand. It’s scalable, fast, and inexpensive.

Angel Investor

An Angel Investor is a financier of a new business project or startup.

Anti-dump/Anti-Dumping Policy

In the realm of blockchain, an anti-dumping law is a set of rules that protects investors from being taken advantage of in a pump and dump scheme. In which an investor (whale) purchases a large number of crypto assets to increase the currency’s value and then dumps them at a much higher price, resulting in investors who bought later losing money.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

Anti-money laundering is the study and enforcement of international laws designed to minimize the risk of cryptocurrency money laundering.

Apeing

To “ape” something is to invest rashly in the hopes of obtaining a quick profit. Everyone understands that frauds exist, and cautious investors conduct research to ensure a cryptocurrency or NFT project is safe. To “ape” into a project is to notice its value increasing, hoping for the best outcome.

Arbitrage

Arbitrage is purchasing and reselling the same asset in different places to profit from price disparities. It is one of the most curious terms in the blockchain glossary.

Aroon Indicator

The Aroon Indicator is a method for detecting, analyzing, and assessing the strength of an ongoing trend in financial markets.

ASIC

An “Application Specific Integrated Circuit” is a chip that has been created to do one thing. They are designed to solve SHA-256 hashing challenges to create new bitcoins using ASICs. CPUs and GPUs are less efficient than ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits). Mining bitcoin with a regular computer is ineffective and leads to higher electricity costs.

Astroturfing

Astroturfing is the practice of presenting commercial campaigns or other sponsor-sponsored messages as the spontaneous sentiments of genuine community members.

Attestation Ledger

A register or account book is created for the express purpose of supporting/evidence of particular transactions. The attestation ledger is often used to confirm that a transaction was completed or authenticate items or transactions.

Authentication

Authentication is confirming a user’s identity using passwords, SMS codes, fingerprints, and other types of ownership proofs before allowing access to sensitive or personal data.

Average Directional Index (ADX)

The average directional index (ADX) is a technical indicator that uses price moving averages to assess the strength of a market trend and is represented by numbers ranging from 1 to 100, with a higher value indicating a stronger trend.

Bag

It’s the act or process of buying a large amount of something, as in “I’m going to invest in crypto.” Alternatively (but less frequently), it can refer to the assets within someone’s cryptocurrency portfolio.

Bakers

Tezos utilizes the technique of baking to append new blocks of transactions to its blockchain.

Banking as a Service (BaaS)

BaaS platforms expose banks to a wider range of financial transparency alternatives by enabling third parties to utilize their APIs.

Basket

When used in the realm of cryptocurrencies, a basket is a collection of digital currencies kept as a single asset.

Beacon Chain

One component of the infrastructure being developed to scale Ethereum is the Beacon Chain (always capitalized), which serves as the basis for transitioning from a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to Proof of Stake. For further information, see this tutorial.

A bear is a person who thinks that the price of something will drop over time. A person who fits this description might be called a “bear.”

Bear Market

When prices on assets in a market decline by 20% or more from previous highs, it is known as a bear market. Investor confidence plummets, and the economy and market turn pessimistic. It is one of the most feared terms in the blockchain glossary.

Bear Trap

Bear Trap manipulates a cryptocurrency’s price, driven by a group of traders.

Bearwhale

A bearwhale is a cryptocurrency investor who artificially lowers the price of their portfolio by using their large account to drive it down and profit from it.

Benchmark

Benchmarking is a method of comparing the performance of your asset or investment portfolio to that of comparable assets to determine whether there is a gap that growing performance indicators can close.

Benchmark Index

A benchmark index is important equity that is used as a yardstick or standard to measure the progress of the market as a whole.

BEP-2 (Binance Chain Tokenization Standard)

BEP-2 is a technical standard for Binance Chain’s tokens.

BEP-20

The BEP-20, also known as Binance Smart Chain, is a blockchain standard designed to be extended from ERC-20.

BEP-721

The BEP-721 is a Binance Smart Chain (BSC) token standard that allows the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It’s an expansion of ERC-721, one of the most popular NFT standards.

BEP-95 (Bruno Hard Fork Upgrade)

The Binance Evolution Protocol, also known as the BEP-95 (Bruno hard fork upgrade), aims to expedite the process of destroying BNB tokens.

Big Tech

“Big Tech” refers to the four or five most significant technological corporations, particularly Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon (though not necessarily in that order), because they dominate their sectors.

Binance Labs

Binance Labs is a blockchain and cryptocurrency initiative that aims to support, invest in, and develop projects, initiatives, and communities. A social impact fund is also part of this project.

Binance Launchpad

Binance Launchpad is a venture capital program that allows crypto-startups to access millions of Binance ecosystem investors and raise funds.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency created on a Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain. Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym for an individual whose real identity is unknown, invented bitcoin in 2009 and wrote the paper “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” to formalize the concept of cryptocurrency. For the blockchain/network, use “Bitcoin”; for the currency, use “bitcoin.” The bitcoin is just one bitcoins; BTC is used as an abbreviation with a space: I have 250 BTC. It is the beginning of the blockchain glossary.

Bitcoin ATM (BTM)

An automated teller machine (ATM or cashpoint) where Bitcoin may be purchased and sold.

Bitcoin Dominance (BTCD)

The Bitcoin dominance metric is a number that indicates how much of the overall cryptocurrency market share is held by Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP)

BIP is a common document format for suggesting modifications to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Pizza

The notorious transaction in which a guy named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas is called Bitcoin Pizza.

Bitcoiner

A Bitcoin bull.

Bitcointalk

The most popular online forum for Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology is Bitcointalk.

Block

Consider a blockchain as a ledger continuously updated and synchronized across numerous nodes (indeed, “distributed ledger technology” is another term for it).

When a sufficient number of transactions have been added to the ledger and agreement has been reached among the nodes that the transactions are genuine, they are cryptographically locked into a “block” and officially recorded. This “block,” the foundation for the following one, are linked together in this manner: they are all connected via a chain.

Block (Canonical)

Future blocks directly or indirectly refer to a block included in the main blockchain. Blocks that are not canonical may have been correct, but the corresponding canonical block overwrote them.

Block (Genesis)

The first block in a blockchain. The genesis block has a zero-height value and is thus directly linked to all subsequent blocks.

Block explorer

A blockchain explorer is a web-based software that allows you to watch and track the real-time activity on the blockchain of a specific cryptocurrency. Block explorers may be used for blockchain analysis, giving figures like total network hash rate, coin supply, transaction growth, etc.

Block reward

A miner’s share of crypto-currency is awarded for processing transactions in a given block. Because the Bitcoin network’s security and stability are dependent on the creation (or “mining”) of blocks, the protocol contains a mechanism to encourage individuals to mine. Every time a block is added, the person who discovered it is rewarded with 12.5 BTC (this amount will change at the next halving in 2020).

Block Size

Block size in blockchain technology refers to the quantity of data about transactions that a single block in the chain can contain.

Block Time

The block time is the time it takes for a blockchain-based system to make a new block.

Block Trade

A block trade is a complex trade in which the buyer and seller of securities execute their transactions outside of an open market. It uses blockhouse, a financial middleman, to assist investors with risk management.

Blockchain

A mathematical structure for recording digital transactions or data in a tamper-proof, distributed, decentralized digital ledger made up of blocks linked by strong cryptography that is nearly difficult to fake, hack, or break.

Blockchain 1.0

The first generation of blockchain technology, known as Blockchain 1.0, focused on executing simple token transactions. Chains in Blockchain 1.0 are narrow in terms of scope and functionality.

Blockchain 2.0

The second generation of blockchain technology, called Blockchain 2.0, concentrated on allowing smart contracts and generalized processing functions. With the Turing-complete programming languages used in Blockchain 2.0, chains are created that have a broader range of capabilities than simple peer-to-peer (P2P) value exchange.

Blockchain 3.0

The next generation of blockchain technology, which is currently in vogue, emphasizes achieving greater interoperability and scaling with blockchain apps. Although Blockchain 3.0 has no pioneers today, the chains under development may improve smart contracts’ functionality.

Bitcoin ATM

People may exchange fiat money and bitcoins at this cash point.

Blockchain Explorer

A blockchain explorer is a search engine that allows users to explore blockchain.

Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP)

The Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP) is a protocol that allows isolated blockchains to operate as a fully decentralized settlement layer by securely anchoring transactions with a protocol that is applicable across the board.

Blockchain trilemma

The blockchain trilemma refers to blockchains’ three challenges: decentralization, security, and scalability.

Bollinger Band

The Bollinger Bands are a price analysis method that John C. Bollinger created to assist in recognizing systemic pattern recognition. In some instances, it is a brand that is plotted two standard deviations away from the simple moving average or exponential moving average.

Bored Ape Yacht Club

The most popular NFT collection has a floor value of $390,000 as of this writing. It launched in April 2021 and has since become a brand transcending the NFT community, with owners including Jimmy Fallon and Eminem.

Bounty

A cryptocurrency bounty is a monetary incentive given to users who complete tasks assigned by a blockchain or project.

Bridges

A blockchain connection enables the seamless movement of data or tokens between two separate blockchain projects.

Brute Force Attack (BFA)

A password or key that has been cracked through automated trial and error.

Bug bounty

Bug Bounty is a bonus given for reporting flaws in computer software.

Bug exploit

A bug exploit is a method of attacking a system’s flaws.

Bull

A “bullish” investor is confident in the market’s future price increases and is optimistic about the market.

Bull market

In a bull market in cryptocurrency, stock markets, and other asset markets, the prices of assets rise significantly. Investors and customers benefit from the existence of these markets. This is not a fixed condition, although it may endure for months or even years. It is one of the most wanted terms in the blockchain glossary.

Bull Run

A bull run (also known as a bull trend) is a time in the financial market when certain assets’ values constantly rise.

Bull Trap

A bull trap occurs when a regularly declining asset appears to reverse and rise but then resumes its decline.

Burning

Bitcoins and most other cryptocurrencies are “burned” by being delivered to a wallet that can only receive them but not send them. To create a deflationary influence, burn mechanisms are commonly used: the fewer tokens in circulation are, the rarer the ones investors own becomes.

Buy the dip

After the price of an asset falls, it’s often referred to as “buying on the dip.” An example is when a bitcoin holder might “buy the dip” if the price drops by $10,000. 

Candlesticks 

Green and red candlesticks plot price trends in cryptocurrency graphs, showing green for a price rise and red for a price drop.

Capital

The most popular definition of capital is the huge sum of money you’d want to put into a business.

Casper 

An algorithm combining proof of work and stake is called a consensus mechanism. Ethereum will utilize Casper as a steppingstone to proof of stake.

CeDeFi

CeDeFi is a hybrid centralized-decentralized system that is interpreted as the fusion of CeFi and DeFi. It’s a novel approach that aims to combine the best elements of DeFi and CeFi to modernize conventional financial management. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has launched the DeCeFi movement with its Binance Smart Chain.

CeFi

CeFi is a regulated financial service that provides one-stop purchasing and selling across multiple exchanges. CeFi aims to guarantee fair trades, enhance order processing and transaction volume, and increase other business activities.

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

The term “CBDC” refers to a group of central bank-issued digital currency proposals. Even though the term is not well-defined, it refers to a new type of central bank money.

Centralized

One in which a single node or a few of them are in command of an entire network is referred to as a centralized organizational structure.

Centralized Exchange (CEX)

A centralized exchange (CEX) is a type of cryptocurrency market that is operated by a firm that owns it in a centralized way.

Certificate Authority (CA)

A single entity holds and maintains the public/private key pair in private key infrastructure.

Certificate of Deposit (CD)

A certificate of deposit (CD) is a financial service that allows consumers to earn a higher interest rate by investing.

Chain Split

Another term for cryptocurrency splits is “fork.” The splitting of a single starting currency into several distinct projects is known as a fork.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ)

Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), is a Chinese entrepreneur who has invested in other cryptocurrency firms.

Circulating Supply

The total number of coins available to the public for trading in a cryptocurrency is known as the circulating supply. Cryptocurrency developers may lock, burn, or reserve some of their tokens, making them inaccessible for public trading.

Cloud Mining

Mining for fiat currencies requires significant hardware and electricity expenditures. Cloud mining firms seek to make mining available to everyone. Simply logging in to a website will allow you to invest money in a firm with mining data centers. The company handles the finances and invests the funds in mining equipment. Investors receive a share of the profits. Users are disadvantaged by cloud mining because it provides worse returns than traditional mining.

Coin 

A coin is a personal, independent blockchain-based creation that represents the value of a digital asset.

Cold Storage

Cryptocurrency wallet providers that do not hold your funds on their servers include online wallets, mobile apps, hardware non-custodial wallets (USBs), offline computers, and paper wallets.

Consensus

Consensus is a procedure used by a blockchain network’s nodes to agree on the validity of transactions accepted onto the network. Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake are common consensus algorithms.

Consensus Mechanism

A majority mechanism is a fundamental technology that underlies all blockchain technology’s major features, making them an essential operating feature of every cryptocurrency.

ConsenSys

ConsenSys is a blockchain technology firm that provides both developer platforms and enterprise solutions.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The CPI is a kind of index that measures the prices of a selection of goods and services to gain insight into consumer market segments.

Contract

A contract is a legal agreement between two parties in the traditional financial world. Smart contracts execute tasks on the blockchain in cryptocurrencies.

Contract Account

A contract account is a Bitcoin wallet with associated source code.

CPU Miner

The term “CPU mining” refers to creating or mining cryptocurrency using a central processing unit (CPU).

Cross Margin

Also known as “Spread Margin,” this margin technique utilizes the full amount of money in the available balance to avoid liquidations. Any realized profit and loss statement (P&L) from other positions may help you add a margin to a losing position.

Cross-Chain

Cross-chain technology allows information and value to be transmitted across blockchain networks.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrencies, also known as blockchain-based currencies or cryptocurrencies, are a new form of secure and decentralized money using blockchain technology.

Cryptocurrency Money Laundering

Cryptocurrency laundering is a technique criminals use to cleanse funds by converting fiat money into digital currency and sending it through numerous channels. It’s an attempt to avoid detection from any authorities who might be looking at the flow of funds. It is one of the most interesting terms in the blockchain glossary.

Cryptocurrency Pairs

Exchanges use cryptocurrency pairs to enable the exchange of different cryptocurrencies.

Cryptographic Hash Function

Cryptographic hash functions take a variable-sized transaction input and generate a fixed-size hash value from it.

Cryptography

The study of cryptography, also known as ciphers or encryption, is a scientific method for safeguarding communications. Only the sender and receiver of messages can read them because these codes are secure.

CryptoPunks

CryptoPunks is a set of 10,000 8-bit characters published in 2017, considered the first-ever NFT collection.

Currency 

In most general terms, money is any kind of currency used as a means of exchange. In simple words, currency refers to money in any form when it’s used as a medium of exchange. Every nation has its currency, such as the United States dollar is the currency of the United States.

Daedalus Wallet

Daedalus Wallet is a multi-platform, open-source, hierarchical-deterministic wallet that generates an infinite number of keys from a single seed.

DAO

A Digital Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO, pronounced like the Chinese term for “autonomous organization”) is a robust and adaptable organizational structure based on a blockchain.

Dead Cat Bounce

Dead Cat Bounce is price changes back to its original level, usually after a lengthy decline.

Death Cross

A bearish technical trading signal known as the death cross occurs when the 50-day moving average falls below the 200-day moving average, suggesting a large sell-off.

Decentralization

The transfer of power and authority from a central body, such as a government or political party, to an decentralized network.

Decentralized application (dApp)

dApps is an open-source software program with backend code running on a decentralized peer-to-peer network rather than a centralized server. The following are some other spellings: dApps, DApps, Dapps, and so on.

Decentralized exchange (DEX)

A decentralized exchange (also known as a smart contract-based cryptocurrency exchange) is a platform for trading cryptocurrencies that runs on the blockchain and uses smart contracts. The trading is direct peer-to-peer or between pools of liquidity. A centralized exchange, in contrast, is more like a bank or investment firm specializing in cryptocurrencies. Significant technical and regulatory distinctions between the two are constantly changing. It is one of the most interesting terms in the blockchain glossary.

Decentraland

Decentraland is a virtual world based on Ethereum that allows players to engage in various games and activities. It’s also one of the first movers to include metaverse as part of its core product, and it was one of the first communities to begin selling its land early through an LDA.

DeFi

DeFi is a paradigm shift in the economy driven by decentralization, especially in blockchain networks. DeFi highlights the dramatic move from centralized and closed financial systems to open economies.

Delisting

The process of removing an asset/stock/cryptocurrency from a trading exchange is called delisting.

Digital Identity

A person’s or entity’s identifying information is used to identify them to a computer or network.

Digital Signature

Users generate private keys, which are used to sign transactions digitally. Every time a transaction is sent on the blockchain, it is signed by the user’s private key. The signed transaction is broadcasted over the network and the user’s public key. Each miner may check the signature by comparing it to the public key.

Distributed ledger

A database has been designed to be distributed/multiplied across many nodes on a network. Blockchain is a type of decentralized ledger.

Dogecoin

Billy Markus, an IBM software developer, and Adobe engineer Jackson Palmer launched a cryptocurrency as a joke in 2017. It has since grown to be one of the most successful cryptocurrencies ever developed, with a market capitalization of over $20 billion at the time of writing. The first meme coin is considered to be this. It is one of the most funny terms in the blockchain glossary.

Dominance

Dominance is a Bitcoin value in terms of the larger cryptocurrency market.

EMA (Exponential Moving Average)

An exponential moving average (EMA) is a technical indicator that displays the most recent price changes and data points of an asset/stock/cryptocurrency while preserving earlier chart observations.

Encryption

Encryption, in its most basic form, is the process of combining the text being encrypted (plaintext) with a shorter piece of data known as a “key” to generate an output (ciphertext). Someone with the key can “decrypt” the finished product into plaintext.

Enterprise blockchain

The use of distributed ledger technology for non-speculative commercial purposes is known as enterprise blockchain. These chains might be private or public, depending on the demands of businesses. It is one of the most promising terms in the blockchain glossary.

Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA)

A collection of Ethereum core developers, companies, and enterprises collaborating to commercialize and utilize the Ethereum blockchain for various commercial purposes. Website here.

ERC-20 Token Standard

The formal name for ERC is Ethereum Request for Comment, and it follows the standard’s assignment number. The ERC-20 technical standard is a set of standards for smart contracts that establishes the criteria a token must meet to be legally permissible on the Ethereum network. This list of regulations specifies what qualities a token must possess to comply with and operate lawfully within the Ethereum network.

ERC-721 Token Standard

This is another Ethereum smart contract standard for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. This token standard represents a unique digital asset that is not tradable.

Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)

Every smart contract is programmed with a Turing-complete virtual machine that lets the code execute exactly as intended; it’s the runtime environment for all smart contracts. 

Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)

A security that is tracked by a basket of assets such as stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies but may be treated as a single stock.

Fan Token

A fan token is a cryptocurrency created by a sports team that allows its holders to participate in governance activities and get special benefits and discounts. It is one of the most popular terms in the blockchain glossary.

Faucet

A faucet is a software that disburses cryptocurrency on test networks, but it may also be an incredibly basic or more complex website. Developers use these faucets to test dapps or smart contracts before putting them on the Ethereum Mainnet and users who want to try something out without taking risks. Test tokens dispensed by a faucet stay on the test networks and can’t be exchanged for real money.

Fiat

The term “fiat money” refers to a currency backed by a central government with its own banking system, such as fractional reserve banking. It might be represented physically or electronically, such as by bank credit.

Fibonacci Retracement Level

The Fibonacci retracement approach utilizes a set of important numbers known as Fibonacci ratios to identify the support and resistance levels for an asset, stock, or cryptocurrency.

FOMO

“FOMO” is an acronym for “Fear of Missing Out.”

Fork

A fork is a way to create an alternative blockchain, which is frequently done on purpose to apply upgrades across a network. Soft Forks produce two chains with some level of compatibility, while Hard Forks create a new chain that must be adopted to stay active. When it comes to a contentious Hard Fork, this may lead to the creation of two separate blockchain networks. See “hard fork” for further details.

Fundamental Analysis

Fundamental analysis is the most basic form of coin valuation that relies only on observed economic and financial data. The fundamental analysis also examines the underlying reasons behind project creation and market sentiments.

Funding Payments

Traders make funding payments to one another regularly.

Fungible

Fungibility is the degree to which one item may be substituted for another without an important difference in value being detected.

GameFi

Play-to-earn (P2E) games, also known as free-to-play or free-to-win games, are a relatively recent phrase in gaming and cryptocurrency. It refers to games incorporating blockchain and cryptocurrency elements such as economic and financial autonomy for players to generate money.

Gas limit

The maximum amount you’re prepared to pay for any transaction through the Ethereum network is the gas limit. Another way of looking at it is a “rough estimate” of how much computing power your transaction will require.

Gas price

The number of tokens to be charged as a fee for each unit of gas used by a smart contract’s function in the blockchain industry.

Electricity prices can be rapidly deployed to handle evolving bandwidth demands based on market conditions. It is one of the most hated terms in the blockchain glossary.

Gems

The term gem describes low-cap cryptocurrencies with a lot of potential or severely undervalued. It is one of the most wanted terms in the blockchain glossary.

Genesis Block

The first block of data that is processed and validated to create a new blockchain, often known as block 0 or block 1.

Golden Cross

A golden cross is a bullish technical trading indicator that indicates the imminent price rise of an asset, stock, or cryptocurrency when the 50-day moving average crosses the 200-day moving average.

Governance

The word “governance” describes people or organizations with decision-making authority over a project in the realm of cryptocurrencies.

Greater Fool Theory

Professor Burton Malkiel first introduced the greater fool theory. It implies that a “larger fool” will always be willing to buy an overvalued asset from you.

Green Candle

A green candle shows that the price has exceeded the opening value. The green candle signals market optimism at the time of the trade. A wide-body with a tiny tail on top suggests a strong upward trend in the market.

GWEI

The value of GWEI is used to represent the cost of gas. As a reference, when GWEI is below 50, gas will be inexpensive, and when it’s above 100, it will be expensive.

Halving

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets with a finite quantity of coins in circulation, making them highly sought-after commodities. Bitcoin is one such example; the total number of Bitcoins that will ever be generated is 21 million. Every four years, the bitcoin creation rate is decreased by half.

Hard Fork   

Hard Fork updates the blockchain data in a public blockchain. All nodes in a network must upgrade and agree on the new version, which all nodes must download.

Hash

A hash is a function that transforms inputs into specific, yet seemingly random, outputs. Hash functions are utilized to identify data by producing hashes from it quickly.

HODL

HODL is used to encourage consumers to keep their tokens during a price decline. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Hot wallet

An online wallet is linked to the internet and has a high degree of risk. This is a hot wallet type when Bitcoin or Altcoins are kept at an exchange.

Hyperledger

IBM’s private (permissioned) blockchain toolset.

Immutability

The concept of immutability refers to data’s resistance to change. It’s a key feature of blockchain systems and ensures that data recorded on a blockchain ledger can’t have tampered with i.

ICO

ICO is the first sale of a blockchain currency or token. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

IPFS is a decentralized file storage and referencing system for the Ethereum blockchain. IFPS is an open-source protocol that allows storing and exchanging hypermedia (text, audio, and visual) in a distributed manner without relying on a single point of failure. Thanks to this distributed file system, applications may run faster, safer, and more transparently.

Java

It’s a common programming language that’s been dubbed the blockchain space’s premier language.

JOMO

“Joy of Missing Out.”

Know Your Customer (KYC)

Know Your Customer (KYC) checks are forms that crypto exchanges and trading platforms must complete to verify the identification of their clients. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Layer 0

Layer 0 is the network structure that runs beneath the blockchain. It comprises protocols, connections, hardware, miners, and other components of the blockchain ecosystem’s foundation.

Layer 2

Layer 2 is a term used to describe a scaling technique that allows for high transaction volume while maintaining the blockchain’s security.

Ledger

A ledger is a record or account maintained to track transactions. A blockchain network has many nodes, each of which has its copy of the ledger.

Lightning Network

Lightning Network is a second-layer protocol that aims to alleviate Bitcoin’s scalability issue by allowing transactions to proceed more quickly.

Liquidity

The liquidity of a company or market is defined as the number of liquid assets available to it. An asset is deemed more liquid if it can easily convert into cash. The greater the ability to convert an asset into cash, the less liquid the asset. Stocks are considered relatively liquid assets since they may be quickly changed to money, whereas real estate is considered illiquid. The liquidity of an asset affects its risk potential and market price.

Mainnet

The primary network on which real transactions take place on a specific blockchain. The public blockchain for Ethereum, for example, is the mainnet.

Margin trading

A cryptocurrency trade is conducted using borrowed funds from a broker.

Market cap

Market Cap is the market value of a firm’s outstanding shares, as determined by the total dollar value of a company’s outstanding shares. The market cap for a public corporation is the overall dollar value of a company’s issued shares. The total market capitalization reflects present inventory times the current price, while Bitcoin and Ethereum have total markets caps that reflect the existing amount combined with their current pricing. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Market Order/Market Buy/Market Sell

A cryptocurrency is purchased or sold on an exchange at the current best price.

Meme economy

In the Meme Economy, memes are discussed in financial language as commodities or capital assets with various values, much like a meme economy.

Memecoin

Some cryptocurrencies aim to provide usefulness or purpose. Memecoins are useless and exist only as speculative assets. Dogecoin is the most well-known, but there are many others.

Merkle Tree

A data tree where each branch (leaf) has its unique identifier and every branch is labeled with all of the leaves and sub-branches on it, forming a complete data tree. This redundancy ensures that anyone with the tree can verify its genuine and consistent information by simply looking at the leaves.

In a conventional blockchain, the leaves of the Merkle tree are transactions, while the branches are blocks.

MetaMask

Users can store, send, and receive Ethereum using an online digital wallet that acts as an add-on to a standard browser.

Metaverse

The term “Metaverse” refers to a shared virtual world based on three-dimensional objects and virtual spaces that provide an interactive, collaborative, and immersive experience. The examples of the metaverse are apparent in massive online social games such as Fortnite or user-generated virtual worlds like Minecraft. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Mining

The process by which new blocks are incorporated into a blockchain and transactions are verified. It’s also the mechanism through which brand-new bitcoin or alternative cryptocurrencies are generated.

Mining farm

A mining farm is when a group of miners mines together for various advantages, like energy use.

Mining pool

A mining pool is a group of miners who collaborate to share their processing power over a network and agree to share the rewards of a new block discovered in the pool.

Mining reward

The earnings that miners earn after finding and validating a block.

Mining rig

Mining equipment is a specialized computer system that performs the complex mathematical calculations necessary for cryptocurrency mining.

Minting

The term “minting” refers to validating data and recording it as a block on a blockchain. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Moon

A moon occurs when the price of an asset rises dramatically. “To the moon” is a well-known expression.

Move-to-Earn

The latest blockchain-powered idea, move-to-earn, is a concept that encourages users to be physically active by rewarding them with crypto tokens.

Moving Average (MA)

The moving average (MA) is a technical indicator that reacts to market trends and is used by market experts to forecast the future trend of an asset.

Node (full node)

A computer connected to the blockchain network is referred to as a node. A full node is a computer that can completely validate transactions and download the entire data of a specific blockchain. A “lightweight” or “light” node, on the other hand, does not have access to all pieces of data from a blockchain and uses a different validation.

NFT

“Fungibility” refers to an object’s capacity to be exchanged for another when talking about Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). For example, a single dollar is fungible because we can exchange dollars with one another. Paintings, sculptures, and masterpieces are generally considered non-fungible since they are often uneven in quality or value. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Off-chain

An off-chain storage mechanism in which transaction data is kept outside the blockchain in a nonpublic location. In an off-chain system, transactions must be authorized. Off-chain transactions are more private and faster than on-chain alternatives.

On-chain

On-chain is a mechanism for publicly accessible transaction data. Using this procedure, each node on the chain must examine the transition before it can be recorded in the network’s public ledger.

Oracle (Company)

A software development firm based in California that develops enterprise-level systems. It is notable for having created the Java programming language, which millions of people worldwide have utilized.

Oracle (Service)

Oracles are required to provide input for which there is no feasible alternative verification, such as temperature readings. Oracles typically rely on the trustworthiness of a credible source rather than the security of trustless computing.

OpenSea

OpenSea is a decentralized P2P marketplace for trading in unique digital assets, such as gaming items, artworks, and more. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Pair

For example, the trading pair BTC/ETH. Trading between two cryptocurrencies is referred to as cross-chain trading.

Paper trading

Simulated trading, sometimes known as paper trading, is the act of conducting transactions in a simulated reality environment without utilizing real money.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

P2P refers to interactions between two parties, usually two separate people. A P2P network may include any number of people. Individuals on a blockchain network can transact or interact with one another without depending on an intermediary or single point of failure.

Play2Earn (Play-to-Earn)

The play-to-earn business model promotes an open economy and pays players who contribute value to the metaverse. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Private Blockchain

A private blockchain is a blockchain in which only one business has control of the network.

Private Key/Secret Key

A private key is a string of numbers that, in MetaMask, represents one single-wallet account. Private keys function as a password that allows you to access your cryptocurrency account. Never disclose your private key to anyone because the holder of the secret controls the funds in your crypto account. You lose access to your crypto account if you misplace your private key.

Proof-of-Stake (PoS)

A blockchain’s consensus mechanism, in addition to Proof-of-Work, ensures the integrity of the blockchain.

Proof-of-Work (PoW)

A blockchain uses a computationally intensive puzzle-solving mechanism to authenticate and validate transactions and create new blocks. A Proof-of-Stake (PoS) approach is similar but does not require miners to invest their own money. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Rug pull

A “rug pull” is crypto or crypto-token-based fraud in which the token’s creators create hype by pumping liquidity into their currency, airdropping, and other methods, and when investors flood in and push the price of the token to a certain point, the creators sell their portion of the tokens, leaving their investors with almost nothing. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto refers to the individuals or people who designed Bitcoin. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Seed (phrase) / Secret Recovery Phrase

The seed phrase, mnemonic, or Secret Recovery Phrase is a crucial element of public blockchain technology, first developed for Bitcoin, and known by various names. They all refer to a set of ordered words representing values in order.

Sidechain

A secondary blockchain is a separate blockchain that has been established to connect to a primary blockchain. This adds more transaction processing pathways to the network, allowing for faster and larger transactions.

Smart contract

A smart contract is a computer program or code that allows two parties to exchange assets without needing an intermediary, commonly known as a transaction bridge, to mediate. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Stablecoin

Stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that keeps the price of the stablecoin steady compared to an asset or asset. Stablecoin is defined against a known quantity of an asset, so it remains constant.

Staking

Staking is a mechanism by which you can earn interest on your cryptocurrency holdings. In many cryptocurrencies, you may stake a lump sum of tokens in exchange for receiving a percentage of that sum at regular intervals for as long as the token is staked.

Soft fork

Soft forks are modifications to blockchain software that are backward compatible with prior/outdated versions. While older versions accept new blocks as valid, the newly forked code will see blocks produced by prior software as invalid.

Tokenization

The term “tokenization” refers to the translation of business goods, strategies, or services into discrete units that can be traded and recorded on a blockchain.

The Merge (Ethereum 2.0)

The merge is a scheduled network upgrade that will combine the Ethereum mainnet and the Beacon Chain, moving from proof-of-work consensus to proof-of-stake.

Utility token

A token that is designed to provide a service or perform a task. These could be access to an application, a service, or a game. Filecoin, for example, provides access to blockchain-based digital storage and link connects smart contracts of off-chain data types.

Web3

The next stage on the Internet, as imagined by blockchain supporters, is Web3. The Internet was initially a read-only medium until around 2005. The arrival of content creators and bloggers marks the transition from Web2 to Web3. Imagine having your social media postings represented as NFTs, with ether instead of dollars as a global currency, and your wallet replacing your email address and password.  It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

Whale

A whale is a big cryptocurrency investor or trader.

Whitelist 

A list of potential investors for cryptocurrencies and NFTs that have been pre-approved to buy the asset ahead of time. Whitelisted investors may purchase the asset before it becomes publicly available, usually at a reduced price. It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

WAGMI

“We’re all going to make it.” It is one of the most used terms in the blockchain glossary.

FinTech is easy to get wrapped up in. It’s an exciting field that’s taking power away from traditional, bloated banks and giving the industry a much needed facelift. It’s helping the underbanked (as any FinTech enthusiast will tell you a hundred times), and many popular FinTech technologies are becoming integrated into everyday life. But what’s with all the lingo? Despite the excitement, understanding exactly what’s happening in the field can be hard. There’s banking terms, tech lingo, and pure FinTech jargon. Here’s a primer to get you ready for the next time you encounter FinTech.

AML: Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refers to existing laws or procedures meant to reduce illegally obtained income.

API: Application Programming Interface (API) represents the functionalities of a certain program. These are important because they enable other programmers to use components of existing software, allowing for faster and more reliable software development—a major component of the FinTech movement!

Cryptocurrency: A digital currency using cryptography for regulation and security. It’s a decentralized system, meaning no central entity exists to oversee the processes. Instead, it uses a blockchain. There are several different kinds of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple.

Bitcoin: The most popular cryptocurrency, generally deemed the first of its kind. The open source software comes with an elusive and mysterious history. No one is really sure who made it.

Blockchain: Where cryptocurrency transactions get recorded. It operates like a public ledger where information, once entered, can’t be altered. Blockchain technology also has several non-cryptocurrency applications including smart contracts and the recording of digital assets.

Collaborative Consumption: An economic model based on the sharing, swapping, and renting of services. The “Sharing Economy” or “Collaborative Economy” can be seen in platforms like Airbnb or Kickstarter and is growing in FinTech solutions via solutions like peer-to-peer lending.

Digital Native: A person raised in the age of digital technology. This demographic is vital to the growth of FinTech as they are more likely to expect their banking services to be technologically advanced and always online.

DRAAS: Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service, the hosting of servers by a third party in case of a disaster. This means all that vital data can stay safe no matter what happens to us.

EMV: Represents the global standard for credit and debit cards. The title comes from its original developers, Europay, MasterCard, and Visa. Many cards already feature the EMV chip designed to fight card fraud.

Encryption: The process of encoding messages. Encryption is vital to FinTech, the blockchain, and anything else that needs to be secure. Data, like names and numbers, is turned into a code using algorithms (mathematical formulas). A key is required to turn that code back into useful data.

FinTech: Financial Technology, an industry known for championing software and technology in the financial sector. They’re also popular for generally challenging traditional banking and incumbent institutions.

FinServ: An abbreviation that appears largely on Twitter, referring to anything in the Financial Services industry.

KBA: Knowledge-Based Authentication aids is used for fraud prevention. Consumers probably know this as the “secret question” users must answer before being granted access.

KYC: Know Your Customer also revolves around authenticating users. Requirements of thorough identification checks and due diligence information seem to have grown more powerful in recent years to fight fraud by requiring users to prove their integrity.

Messaging Commerce: Where messaging apps meet point of sale. This trend is currently largest in Asia but will likely continue growing. This kind of commerce lets users make purchases with something as simple as messaging apps.

On-boarding: Includes all the steps to get a new customers integrated into a new program. Exactly what counts as on-boarding varies from company to company, but it refers to all the steps that get users up and running. Streamlined on-boarding processes are often considered one of FinTech’s advantages over traditional banks.

Payment Gateway: A service provider that authorizes credit card payments. They act as an intermediary between a payment portal, like a website, and a bank.

PCI Compliance: Payment Card Industry Compliance is a set of security standards designed to protect card information during and after financial transactions. All card brands are required to comply to these industry standards, and, though not always explicitly required, many FinTech companies are being pushed into PCI compliance in order to assure a certain security standard.

POS: Point-of-sale is that important step where customer payment information is taken at a physical location when making a purchase. Several popular FinTech startups have created apps and services to expedite this process and keep it safe.

P2P Lending: Peer-to-peer lending, or Social Lending, involves lenders loaning money directly to borrowers without the traditional processes and structures. Online platforms match lenders and borrowers where the services can usually be provided at a lower cost than traditional institutions.

Robo-Advisors: Automate investment advice. Though they sound like metal robots in ties, they are primarily rooted in algorithms. Robo-advice comes from online platforms and limits the need for human interaction when managing a portfolio.

SSO: Single Sign-On authentication saves users from the barrage of IDs and passwords by allowing one set of login credentials to sign in for multiple applications.

Smart contracts: Computer programs that automatically execute a contract. These automated and often blockchain-based contracts could save time and reduce costs in common transactions.

SaaS: Software-as-a-Service is a common tool utilized by startups. A vendor is paid to hosts applications on a cloud for users to access online. As a result, many startups are faced deciding whether to position themselves as SaaS or FinTech.

Tokenization: Replaces sensitive data with unique symbols. These “tokens” allow users to retain essential information about their credit cards and transactions without compromising security. It also turns complex information into short, useful codes.

Underbanked: People who don’t have access to proper banking or services offered by retail banks. They might have a banking account, but rely largely on alternative methods. The ability to serve the underbanked is considered one of the most important facets of FinTech.

image credit: Susana Fernandez

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Big Data includes so many specialized terms that it’s hard to know where to begin. Make sure you can talk the talk before you try to walk the walk.

Data science can be confusing enough without all of the complicated lingo and jargon. For many, the terms NoSQL, DaaS and Neural Networking instill nothing more than the hesitant thought, “this sounds data-related.” It can be difficult to tell a mathematical term from a proper programming language or a dystopian sci-fi world. The first step to getting the most out of data science is understanding the most basic of terminology. That’s why we compiled a list of terms from all across the big data spectrum.

Algorithms: Mathematical formulas or statistical processes used to analyze data. These are used in software to process and analyze any input data.

Analytics: The process of drawing conclusions based on raw information. Through analysis, otherwise meaningless data and numbers can be transformed into something useful. The focus here is on inference rather than big software systems. Perhaps that’s why data analysts are often well-versed in the art of story-telling. There are three main types of analytics in data, and they appear in the following order:

Descriptive Analytics: Condensing big numbers into smaller pieces of information. This is similar to summarizing the data story. Rather than listing every single number and detail, there is a general thrust and narrative.

Predictive Analytics: Studying recent and historical data, analysts are now able to make predictions about the future. It is hardly 100% accurate, but it provides insight as to what will most likely happen next. This process often involves data mining, machine learning and statistics.

Prescriptive Analytics: Finally, having a solid prediction for the future, analysts can prescribe a course of action. This turns data into action and leads to real-world decisions.

Cloud: It’s available any and everywhere. Cloud computing simply means storing or accessing data (programs, files, data) over the internet instead of a hard drive.

DaaS: Data-as-a-service treats data as a product. DaaS providers use the cloud to give on-demand access of data to customers. This allows companies to get high quality data quickly. DaaS has been a popular word in 2015, and is playing a major role in marketing.

Data Mining: Data miners explore large sets of data to find patterns and insight. This is a highly analytical process that emphasizes making use of large datasets. This process could likely involve artificial intelligence, machine learning or statistics.

Dark Data: This is information that is gathered and processed by a business, but never put to real use. Instead, it sits in the dark waiting to be analyzed. Companies tend to have a lot of this data laying around without even realizing it.

Database: A database is an organized collection of data. It may include charts, schemas or tables. It may also be integrated into a Database Management System (DBMS), a software that allows data to be explored and analyzed.

Hadoop (Apache Hadoop): An open source software framework, Hadoop works largely by storing files and processing data. It is also known for large processing power, making it easy to run a multitude of tasks concurrently. It allows businesses to save, access and analyze enormously big amounts of data. Apache is also in charge of other, related programs you may run into: Pig, Hive, and now Spark (more on Spark later).

IoT: The Internet of Things is generally described as the way products are able “talk” to each other. It is a network of objects (for example, your phone, wearable or car) embedded with network connectivity. Driverless cars are perfect examples. They are always pulling information from the cloud and their sensors are relaying information back. The IoT generates huge amounts of data, making it both important and popular for data science. There is also:

IoE (Internet of Everything): This combines products, people and processes to generate even more connectivity.

Machine Learning: An incredibly cool method of data analysis, machine learning automates analytical model building and relies on a machine’s ability to adapt. Using algorithms, models actively learn and better themselves each time they process new data. Though machine learning is not new, it is gaining massive traction as a modern data analysis tool. It enables machines to adapt and grow without needing hours of extra work on the part of scientists.

MapReduce: MapReduce is a programming model for processing and generating large data sets. This model actually does two distinct things. First, the “Map” includes turning one dataset into another, more useful and broken down dataset made of bits called tuples. Second, “Reduce” takes all of the broken down tuples and breaks them down even further. The result is a practical breakdown of information.

Neural Network: Artificial Neural Networks are models inspired by the real-life biology of the brain. These are used to estimate mathematical functions and facilitate different kinds of learning algorithms. Deep Learning is a similar term, and is generally seen as a modern buzzword, rebranding the Neural Network paradigm for the modern day.

NoSQL: “Non-relational SQL” or “Not only SQL” is much like SQL (discussed below) but does not use relational tables with rows and columns. It is used to manage and stream processing of data. NoSQL includes a number of different databases and models that run horizontally, meaning across servers. This might make it more cost-effective than vertical scaling (as used in SQL).

Petabyte: Yes, it’s big. It’s 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes. To visualize, Gizmodo described one petabyte as 20 million 4-drawer filing cabinets filled with texts. 20 Petabytes would be all the written works of mankind from the beginning of time translated in every language.

SQL: Also known as Structured Query Language, this is used for the managing and stream processing of data. It is used to communicate with and perform tasks on a database. Standard commands include “Insert,” “Update,” “Delete,” “Create,” and “Drop.” Data appears in a relational table with rows and columns.

R: R is a horribly named programming language that works with statistical computing. It is considered one of the more important and most popular languages in data science.

SaaS: Software-as-a-Service enables vendors to host an application and make it available via the internet. Yes, that’s cloud servicing. SaaS providers provide services over the cloud rather than hard copies.

Spark (Apache Spark): An open-source computing framework originally developed at University of California, Berkely, Spark was later donated to Apache Software. Spark is mostly used for machine learning and interactive analytics.

image credit: Michael Mandlberg

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