CRYPTO GLOSSARY

A majority attack that occurs when more than half of the computer power
on a network is run by a single person or a single group of people. The
51% attack entity has full control of the network and can negatively affect a
cryptocurrency by halting mining, stopping or changing transactions and
reusing coins.
A unique address that identifies where a cryptocurrency sits on the
blockchain. It’s this location at which the coin’s ownership data is stored
Addresses and where any changes are registered when it is traded. Addresses look
different among cryptocurrencies but are usually a string of more than 30
characters.
A marketing campaign that refers to the expedited distribution of a
cryptocurrency through a population of people. It can occur when the
creator of a cryptocurrency provides its coin to low-ranked traders or
Airdrop
existing community members in order to build its use and popularity. They
can be given away for free or in exchange for simple tasks like sharing
news of the coin with friends.
Mathematic instructions coded into and implemented by computer
Algorithm
software to produce a desired outcome.
All-time high Highest price ever achieved by a cryptocurrency. Abbreviated to ATH.
All-time low Lowest price ever achieved by a cryptocurrency. Abbreviated to ATL.
A category that includes all coins other than Bitcoin, the first and most
Altcoins
successful of all the cryptocurrencies. Ethereum and Ripple are altcoins.
International laws and regulations designed to prevent criminals from
Anti-money
laundering money through cryptocurrencies into real-world cash. Also
laundering
referred to by initialsm AML.
Computer hardware – similar to a graphics card or a CPU – designed to
Application-specific
mine cryptocurrency. ASICs are built specifically to solve hashing
integrated circuit
problems efficiently.
The act of buying from one exchange and then selling it to the another
exchange if the margin between the two is profitable. Multiple exchanges
Arbitrage
trade in the same cryptocurrency at any given tie, and they can do so at
different rates.
A way of letting people directly and cost-effectively exchange one type of
Atomic swap
cryptocurrency for another, at current rates, without needing to buy or sell.
Bag A large quantity of units in a certain cryptocurrency.
Bear, bearish If the price of a cryptocurrency has a negative price movement.
This is a trick played by a group of traders aimed at manipulating the price
of a cryptocurrency. The bear trap is set by this group all selling their
cryptocurrency at the same time, which bluffs the market into thinking
Bear Trap there is a drop incoming. As a result, other traders sell their assets, further
driving the price down. Those who set the trap then release it, buying back
their assets, which are now at a lower price. The overall price then
rebounds, allowing them to make a profit.
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

The very first cryptocurrency. It was created in 2008 by an individual or

Bitcoin group of individuals operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It was
intended to be a peer-to-peer, decentralized electronic cash system.
The blockchain is made up of blocks. Each block holds a historical
database of all cryptocurrency transactions made until the block is full. It’s
Block
a permanent record, like a bag of data that can be opened and viewed at
any time.
An online tool for exploring the blockchain of a cryptocurrency, where
you can watch and follow, live, all the transactions happening on the
Block Explorer blockchain. Block explorers can serve as blockchain analysis and provide
information such as total network hash rate, coin supply, transaction
growth, etc.
Refers to the number of blocks connected in the blockchain. For example,
Block Height Height 0 would be the very first block, which is also called the genesis
block.
A form of incentive for the miner who successfully calculates the hash
(verification) in a block. Verification of transactions on the blockchain
Block Reward
generates new coins in the process, and the miner is rewarded with a
portion of these.
The blockchain is a digital ledger of all the transactions ever made in a
particular cryptocurrency. It’s comprised of individual blocks (see
definition above) that are chained to each other through a cryptographic
signature. Each time a block’s capacity is reached, a new block is added to
Blockchain
the chain. The blockchain is repeatedly copied and saved onto thousands
of computers all around the world, and it must always match each copy.
As there is no master copy stored in one location, it’s considered
decentralized.
BTFD Acronym for “Buy The F$%king Dip”
Bull/Bullish If the price of a cryptocurrency has a positive price movement.
If a coin in any particular cryptocurrency has been made unspendable, it is
Burned
said to be burned.
Buy the F$%king A less-than-savory phrase used when you’re (enthusiastically) telling
Dip someone a currency has dipped to a low value and should be bought.
When a large limit order has been placed to buy when a cryptocurrency
reaches a certain value, then that is a buy wall. This can prevent a
Buy Wall
cryptocurrency from falling below that value, as demand will likely
outstrip supply when the order is executed.
CAP Shorthand for market capitalization (see definition below)
When a single entity has control of all financial records, it is considered to
Central Ledger
be a central ledger. This is how banks operate.
Each cryptocurrency has its own blockchain – the digital ledger that stores
Chain Linking all transaction records. Chain linking is the process that occurs if you
transfer one cryptocurrency to another. This requires the transaction to be
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

lodged in two separate blockchains, so they must link together to achieve

the goal.
Cipher The name given to the algorithm that encrypts and decrypts information.
The total number of coins in a cryptocurrency that are in the publicly
Circulating Supply tradable space is considered the circulating supply. Some coins can be
locked, reserved or burned, therefore unavailable to public trading.
Cold Storage Another term used for a paper wallet (see below).
When a transaction has been confirmed, it means it has been approved by
Confirmed
the network and permanently appended to the blockchain.
When a transaction is made, all nodes on the network verify that it is valid
Consensus
on the blockchain, and if so, they have a consensus.
Refers to those nodes that are responsible for maintaining the blockchain
Consensus Process
ledger so that a consensus can be reached when a transaction is made.
Consortium
A privately owned and operated, yet publicly transparent, blockchain.
blockchain
A form of money that exists as encrypted, digital information. Operating
Cryptocurrency independently of any banks, a cryptocurrency uses sophisticated
mathematics to regulate the creation and transfer of funds between entities.
This process happens on a node and involves converting an input – such as
Cryptographic Hash a transaction – into a fixed, encrypted alphanumeric string that registers its
Function place in the blockchain. This conversion is controlled by a hashing
algorithm, which is different for each cryptocurrency.
Cryptography The process of encrypting and decrypting information.
DAO Acronym for “decentralized autonomous organization”
dApp Shorthand for “decentralized application”
A computer program that utilizes a blockchain for data storage, runs
Decentralized
autonomously, is not controlled or operated from a single entity, is open
Application
source and has its use incentivized by the reward of fees or tokens.
Decentralized Refers to organizations that are run by an application (computer program)
Autonomous rather than direct human input. Control of this application is granted to
Organization everyone rather than a single central entity.
Decryption Turning encrypted cipher text back into plain text.
When the demand for a particular cryptocurrency decreases, bringing
Deflation
down the price of its economy.
This graph plots the requests to buy (known as bids) and the requests to
sell (known as asks) on a chart. Because you can put a limit order on your
Depth Chart buy or sell transaction, the depth chart shows the crossover point at which
the market is most likely to accept a transaction in a timely fashion. It also
shows if there are any significant buy walls or sell walls in play.
This type of wallet is created by producing multiple keys from a seed. If
Deterministic
you lose this wallet, your wallet key can be recovered from the seed. Plus,
Wallet
when you make transactions, instead of producing new keys each time,
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

you use variations from the seed, which makes it more transferable and
easier to store.
When someone refers to difficulty in the cryptocurrency space, they are
referring to the cost of mining in that moment in time. The more
transactions that are trying to be confirmed at any single moment in time,
Difficulty
divided by the total power of the nodes on the network at that time, defines
the difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the greater the transaction fee –
this is a fluid measurement that moves over time.
An intangible, hard-to-get asset that is transferred electronically and has a
Digital Commodity
certain value.
Digital Currency Another term for digital commodity
Used to confirm that a document being transmitted electronically is
Digital Signature authentic. They generally appear as a code generated by a public key
encryption.
A ledger that is stored in multiple locations so that any entries can be
accessed and checked by multiple parties. In cryptocurrency, this refers to
Distributed Ledger
the blockchain being held on multiple nodes on the network, all of which
are checked simultaneously.
This occurs when someone tries to send a cryptocurrency to two different
Double Spend
wallets or locations at the same time.
Dump The term used to describe selling all (or a lot) of your cryptocurrency.
When a lot of people dump at once, causing a sharp downward movement
Dumping
in a cryptocurrency’s price.
Sometimes people will look to slow the network by deliberately flooding it
Dust Transaction with minor transactions that are incredibly small. These minuscule
amounts are referred to as a dust transaction.
DYOR Acronym for “do your own research”.
Encryption Converting plain text into unintelligible text with the use of a cipher.
Stands for “Ethereum request for comments” and is a summation of
ERC
proposed improvements to the Ethereum system.
The standard to which each Ethereum token complies. It defines the way
that each token behaves so that transactions are predictable. Other
ERC-20
cryptocurrencies also use the ERC-20 standard, piggybacking on the
Ethereum network in the process.
When an intermediary is used to hold funds during a transaction, those
Escrow funds are being held in escrow. This is usually a third party between the
entity sending and the one receiving.
One of the top three cryptocurrencies in the world based on its market
capitalization. Despite being open source and based on blockchain
Ethereum
technology, it differs from bitcoin in two key ways: it allows developers to
create dApps and also write smart contracts.
Ethereum Virtual A virtual machine, effectively sitting in the cloud, that is Turing complete
Machine and is used by all nodes on the network during blockchain confirmations.
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

It allows those on the node to execute random EVM Byte Code, which is
part of the Ethereum Protocol.
EVM Stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine.
The platform through which cryptocurrencies are exchanged with each
Exchange other, with fiat currencies and between entities. Exchanges can vary
widely in the currency conversions they enable and their fee structures.
FA Acronym for “fundamental analysis”.
If you find a website that offers to give you free cryptocurrency for
Faucet connecting with them, it is termed a faucet. The majority of these are
scams.
Refers to money recognized as legal tender by governments, such as the
Fiat
US dollar, British pound, Euro and Australian dollar.
FOMO An acronym for “fear of missing out”.
When a new version of a blockchain is created, resulting in two versions
of the blockchain running side-by-side, it is termed a fork. As a single
Fork
blockchain forks into two, they will both run on the same network. Forks
are categorized into two categories: soft or hard.
If there is no transaction cost and no restraints on trading, then the system
Frictionless
is considered frictionless.
FUD Acronym for “fear, uncertainty and doubt”.
Some nodes download a blockchain’s entire history in order to enforce its
Full Node rules completely. As they fully enforce the rules, they are considered a full
node.
A method through which you can attach value to a coin by looking at
Fundamental
similar economic and financial factors and researching the underlying
Analysis
motives of the creators and market opinion.
This is a pre-approved contract between two entities to fulfill a transaction
when the value of cryptocurrency hits a certain price. It’s different than a
Futures Contract limit order in that the buyer and seller are already nominated and bound. A
future contract becomes relevant when a buyer wants to go short and a
seller wants to go long on the asset.
Gas a is measurement given to an operation in the Ethereum network that
relates to the computational power required to complete it. That
Gas measurement relates to the fee offered to miners who process that
transaction. Other operations have a small cost of 3 to 10 gas, but a full
transaction costs 21,000 gas.
When users make a transaction on the Ethereum network, they set their gas
limit, which is the most they are willing to pay as a fee for that transaction.
Gas Limit If the transaction is going to cost more gas than what is offered, the
transaction will not go through. If it costs less, the difference will be
refunded.
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

The amount you are willing to pay for a transaction on the Ethereum
Gas Price network. If you want miners to process your transaction fast, then you
should offer a higher price. Gas prices are usually denominated in Gwei.
Genesis Block The first or first few blocks of a blockchain.
Group Mining Another term used to describe a mining pool (see below).
The denomination used in defining the cost of gas. Set a gas price of
Gwei
20,000 Gwei, for example.
Every time miners approve transactions on the bitcoin blockchain, they
earn bitcoin. As each block on the blockchain fills up with transactions, a
certain amount of bitcoin enter the marketplace. However, the number of
bitcoin that will ever be created is finite, locked at 21 million. In order to
Halving
ensure this cap is kept, the amount of bitcoin earned by miners for filling
one block is halved at the completion of that block. This is called halving.
For the record, by the year 2140, all 21 million bitcoin will be in
circulation.
During an ICO, the creator can set a hard cap. This is the maximum
Hard Cap amount it planned to raise, and it will therefore stop offering coins at this
figure.
A fork in the blockchain that converts transactions previously labeled
Hard Fork invalid to valid, and vice versa. For this fork to work, all nodes on the
network must upgrade to the newest protocol.
A physical device, similar to a USB stick, that stores cryptocurrency in its
Hardware Wallet encrypted form. It’s considered the most secure way to hold
cryptocurrency.
Hash The shorthand for cryptographic hash function (see description above).
Measurement of performance that reveals how many hashes per second
your computer is capable of producing. Each hash is an attempt to find a
Hash Rate
block by creating a unique block candidate and testing it against the
network.
The hash rate of a computer, measured in kH/s, MH/s, GH/s, TH/s, PH/s
Hashing Power or EH/s depending on the hashes per second being produced. 1,000 kH/s =
1 MH/s, 1,000 MH/s = 1 GH/s and so forth.
HODL Acronym for “hold on for dear life”.
ICO Acronym for “initial coin offering”.
In order to raise funds, the creator of a cryptocurrency will put an initial
Initial Coin Offering
batch of its coins up for purchase. This is an initial coin offering.
JOMO Acronym for “joy of missing out”.
Acronym for “know your customer”, which refers to a financial
KYC institution’s obligation to verify the identity of a customer in line with
AML laws.
Shorthand for Lamborghini, which is how someone might refer to
LAMBO themselves if they are getting rich quickly. The idea being there is so much
money coming in that they are going to go buy an exotic car.
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

A record of financial transactions. A ledger cannot be changed, it can only

Ledger
be appended with new transactions.
A loan of sorts offered by a broker on an exchange during margin trading
Leverage
(see below).
A peer-to-peer system for cryptocurrency micropayments that is focused
Lightning Network on low latency, instant payments. They’re typically low cost, scalable and
can work across chains, and transactions can be public or private.
If you set a rule whereby a cryptocurrency is sold or bought when at a
Limit Order/Limit
certain price, you are setting a limit order. When traders place an order for
Buy/Limit Sell
a buy or sell, the system looks for these limit orders.
The liquidity of a cryptocurrency is defined by how easily it can be bought
Liquidity
and sold without impacting the overall market price.
If a transaction request comes with a rule delaying when it can be
Locktime processed to a certain time or certain block on the blockchain, that is
referred to as the locktime.
When you intend to take a large amount of cryptocurrency and stockpile it
Long with the anticipation that it will grow in value, you are going long (or
taking a long position).
MACD Acronym for “Moving Average Convergence Divergence”.
Margin Bear
This is the position you are taking if you are going “short”.
Position
Margin Bull
This is the position you are taking if you are going “long”.
Position
Market This is defined as the total number of coins in supply multiplied by the
Capitalization price. Cap = supply x price.
A risky strategy used by experienced traders where they risk their existing
Margin Trading coins to magnify the intensity of their trades. This allows them to buy
more than they can afford using leverage provided by an exchange.
As opposed to a limit order, a market order does not wait until a certain
Market Order price to buy or sell; it trades wherever the price is at the time the
transaction order is made.
MCAP Acronym for “market capitalization”.
The term, somewhat confusingly, given to the process of verifying
transactions on a blockchain. In the process of solving the encryption
Mining
challenges, the person donating the computer power is granted new
fractions of the cryptocurrency.
An investment in mining hardware whereby you rent out the hashing
power of mining hardware for a certain amount of time. The renter does
Mining Contract
not pay for the hardware or the maintenance and electricity required to run
it.
If a number of miners combine their computing power together to try and
Mining Pool help complete the transactions required to start a new block in the
blockchain, they are in a mining pool. The rewards are spread
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

proportionately between those in the mining pool based on the amount of

power they contributed. The idea is that being in a mining pool allows for
better chances of successful hashing and therefore getting enough
cryptocurrency reward to produce an income.
Money Services
A legal term used to represent an entity that transfers or converts money.
Business
A term used to describe a major price movement upwards. For example,
Moon
Ripple is mooning.
Moving Average
A part of the technical analysis of a cryptocurrency’s value, this tracks the
Convergence
momentum of price change to try and forecast into the future.
Divergence
MSB Acronym for “money services business”.
If a miner moves from one cryptocurrency blockchain to another
Multipool Mining depending on the profitability provided by the network at that moment in
time, they are engaging in multipool mining.
If, in order for a transaction to go through, more than one user needs to
Multi-Signature
provide their unique code, then it is multi-signature. This system is set up
(Multi-Sig) Wallets
at the creation of the account and is considered less susceptible to theft.
A network refers to all the nodes committed to helping the operation of a
Network
blockchain at any given moment in time.
Any computer that is connected to a blockchain’s network is referred to as
Node
a node.
When a miner hashes a transaction, a random number is generated, called
Nonce a nonce. The parameters from which that number is chosen change based
on the difficulty of the transaction.
OCO Acronym for “one cancels the other order”.
One Cancels the When two orders for cryptocurrency are placed simultaneously with a rule
Other Order in place whereby if one is accepted, the other is cancelled.
The smart contracts stored on a blockchain are stuck within the network.
They can only be reached by the external world through a program called
Oracles an oracle. The oracle sends the data to and from the smart contract and the
outside world as required. Oracles are most commonly found on the
Ethereum network.
If a large number of purchases have been made on a cryptocurrency, its
Overbought price will increase for an extended period of time. At this juncture, it is
considered overbought and a period of selling is expected.
If a cryptocurrency has spent significant time being sold without an
Oversold upward movement, it is considered oversold. In this condition, there would
be concerns about whether it will bounce back.
Storing your wallet code (your private key) on a physical document makes
Paper Wallet
it a paper wallet. It’s also sometimes referred to as cold storage.
P2P Acronym for “peer to peer”.
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

In a peer-to-peer connection, two or more computers network with each

Peer to Peer
other without a centralized third party being used as an intermediary.
PND Acronym for “pump and dump”.
A period before an ICO goes public when private investors or community
Pre-Sale
members are able to buy the cryptocurrency.
A string of numbers and letters that are used to access your wallet. While
your wallet is represented by a public key, the private key is the password
Private Key
you should protect (with your life). You need your private key when
selling or withdrawing cryptocurrencies, as it acts as your digital signature.
A private key that gives the holder the right to create the blocks in a
private blockchain. It can be held by a single entity or a set number of
Proof of Authority
entities. This is an alternative to the proof-of-work model, as instead of
(PoA)
getting multiple random nodes to approve a transaction, a group of specific
nodes are given the authority to approve. This is a far faster method.
Another alternative to proof of work, this caps the reward given to miners
for providing their computational power to the network at that miner’s
Proof of Stake investment in the cryptocurrency. So if a miner holds three coins, they can
(PoS) only earn three coins. The system encourages miners to stick with a certain
blockchain rather than converting their rewards to an alternate
cryptocurrency.
In order to receive a reward for mining a cryptocurrency, miners must
show that their computers contributed effort to approve a transaction. A
Proof of Work
variable is added to the process of hashing a transaction that demands that
(PoW)
effort before a block can be successfully hashed. Having a hashed block
proves the miner did work and deserves a reward – hence proof of work.
Protocols The set of rules that defines how data is exchanged across a network.
A blockchain that can be accessed by anyone through a full node on their
Public blockchain
computer.
This is your unique wallet address, which appears as a long string of
Public Key
numbers and letters. It is used to receive cryptocurrencies.
This is a term used to refer to an upward price movement, usually driven
Pump
by whales investing large sums of money in a cryptocurrency.
The frowned-upon practice of buying a lot of one cryptocurrency to drive
Pump and Dump up its price and encourage others to invest, then selling the lot when there
is a suitable margin.
Shorthand slang for “wrecked” and a term used to describe a bad loss in a
REKT
trade.
A type of technical analysis whereby you determine the momentum of
price change over time. It looks at recent changes in price exponentially,
Relative Strength with the most recent changes given more weight than older ones. This
Index produces an overall trend of movement for a cryptocurrency that can
determine if the market is overbought (a reading higher than 70) or
oversold (a reading lower than 30).
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

A ring signature is a type of encryption process that retains anonymity for

the user. The concept gives the network of nodes the power to approve a
Ring Signature
transaction on a blockchain without identifying which of the nodes
requested the transaction. As a result, it cannot be traced.
RSI Acronym for “Relative Strength Index”.
The individual, or group of individuals – it has never been confirmed –
Satoshi Nakamoto
who created bitcoin.
This is the smallest unit of bitcoin, which is 0.00000001 BTC. The name
SATS SATS is shorthand for Satoshi Nakamoto, which is the fake name used by
the creator of bitcoin.
An algorithm that encrypts a key in such a fashion that it takes a serious
Scrypt amount of RAM to hash it. The system makes it challenging to attack for
hackers. Despite its spelling, Scrypt is pronounced “ess-crypt”.
The origin point from which you created your wallet ID. Usually, a seed is
Seed a phrase or a series of words that can be used to regenerate your wallet ID
if you lose it. Something to keep very secret.
The processes of separating digital signature data from transaction data.
Segregated Witness This lets more transactions fit onto one block in the blockchain, improving
transaction speeds.
SEGWIT Acronym for “segregated witness”.
If a miner finds or creates a new block in the blockchain and then doesn’t
share that information with the network, he or she is partaking in selfish
Selfish Mining mining. This is because other miners are now burning their computational
power on an old block, allowing the selfish miner to get a head start on the
new block.
When a large limit order has been placed to sell when a cryptocurrency
reaches a certain value, that is a sell wall. This can prevent a
Sell Wall
cryptocurrency from rising above that value, as supply will likely outstrip
demand when the order is executed.
The name of the cryptographic hash function (the hashing algorithm) used
SHA-256
by bitcoin. It’s been subsequently used by a number of altcoins too.
Sharding is a way of splitting up the full blockchain history so each full
node doesn’t need the whole copy of it. It’s considered a scaling solution
Sharding
for blockchains because as they grow larger, it begins to slow the network
performance if every node is required to carry the full blockchain.
No points for guessing this one. It’s a term used to describe a
Shit Coin
cryptocurrency not expected to have a positive future.
Also known as short selling, this is a concept whereby traders sell an asset
they don’t have. The hope is that they can then buy the asset at a lower
Short
price than which they sold it to complete the deal. Thereby they earn a
margin in the interim.
When a contract is written in computer code, as opposed to traditional
Smart Contracts
legal language, it is deemed a smart contract. This programmed contract is
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

set up to execute and carry itself out automatically under specified

conditions. When a smart contract is on the blockchain, both parties can
check its programming before agreeing to it, and then let it do its thing,
confident that it cannot be tampered with or changed. It lets two parties
agree to complex terms without needing to trust each other and without
needing to involve any third parties. This functionality is the defining
feature of the Ethereum blockchain.
A fork in a blockchain protocol where previously valid transactions
become invalid. A soft fork is backwards-compatible, as the old nodes
Soft Fork running the old protocol will still consider new transactions valid, rather
than disregarding them. For a soft fork to work, a majority of the miners
powering the network will need to upgrade to the new protocol.
A common form of wallet where the private key for an individual is stored
within software files on a computer. This is the system you are likely to
Software Wallet
use if you sign up for a wallet online that is not associated with an
exchange.
A programming language similar to JavaScript but focused on developing
Solidity smart contracts. It’s exported as bytecode, which is used by the Ethereum
Virtual Machine that runs the Ethereum network.
TA Acronym for “technical analysis”.
Using a trading tool to look at historical data on a cryptocurrency in the
Technical Analysis
hope of forecasting its future.
When a cryptocurrency creator is testing out a new version of a
blockchain, it does so on a test net. This runs like a second version of the
Test Net
blockchain but doesn’t impact the value associated with the primary,
active blockchain.
The moment in time when a transaction was encrypted and regarded as
Timestamp
proof that the data compiled in that transaction existed.
The “coin” of a cryptocurrency is a token. Effectively, it’s the digital code
Token
defining each fraction, which can be owned, bought and sold.
When a distributed ledger exists but doesn’t need a currency in which to
Tokenless Ledger operate. With these blockchains, the miners upholding the network
typically don’t get a reward/payment.
TOR Acronym for “terms of reference”.
The value of cryptocurrency moved from one entity to another on a
Transaction
blockchain network.
Usually very small fees given to the miners involved in successfully
approving a transaction on the blockchain. This fee can vary depending on
Transaction Fee the difficulty involved in a transaction and overall network capabilities at
that moment in time. If an exchange is involved in facilitating that
transaction, it could also take a cut of the overall transaction fee.
 CRYPTO GLOSSARY

If a machine is capable of performing all conceivable programmable

Turing
calculations, then it is Turing complete. This machine can process any
Completeness
computable function and includes most modern computers.
When a transaction is proposed, it is unconfirmed until the network has
examined the blockchain to ensure that there are no other transactions
Unconfirmed
pending involving that same coin. In the unconfirmed state, the transaction
has not been appended to the blockchain.
This refers to the amount of cryptocurrency sent to an entity but not sent
Unspent
on elsewhere. These amounts are considered unspent and are the data
Transaction Output
stored in the blockchain.
UTXO Acronym for “unspent transaction output”.
The fluctuation in an asset’s price is measured by its volatility.
Volatility Cryptocurrency prices are notoriously volatile compared to other assets, as
dramatic price shifts can happen quickly.
A wallet is defined by a unique code that represents its “address” on the
blockchain. The wallet address is public, but within it is a number of
Wallet
private keys determining ownership of the balance and the balance itself. It
can exist in software, hardware, paper or other forms.
A term used to describe extremely wealthy investors or traders who have
Whale
enough funds to manipulate the market.
Prior to an ICO, interested parties can sign up/register their involvement
Whitelist and intent to purchase or even purchase under pre-sale conditions. The list
of these parties is referred to as the whitelist.
A detailed explanation of a cryptocurrency, designed to offer satisfactory
technical information, explain the purpose of the coin and set out a
White Paper
roadmap for how it plans to succeed. It’s designed to convince investors
that it’s a good choice ahead of an ICO.
Zero Confirmation
Alternative phrasing for an unconfirmed transaction.
Transaction