Some useful info to familiarise with the subject of blockchain and crypto. There are many more term you can find on the internet and exchanges. However I’ve focused on some key words which you will come across.
| ASIC | Application-Specific Integrated Circuits is a crypto mining machine |
| Altcoin | Any cryptocurrency that was created after Bitcoin |
| Bear | Market that is experiencing significant downward pressure |
| Block | Is the file containing the information on the transactions completed during a certain time period. This is the key security feature of blockchain technology, making it virtually impossible to forge the ledger |
| Blockchain | A series (chain) of individual blocks. Each attached block contain a unique identifier to differentiate them from every other block in the chain. |
| Bull | Bullish market conditions is when in which most or all assets are steadily rising in price. |
| Burned | Coin burning reduces the total supply in circulation since the coin is intentionally destroyed. It is an effective method of increasing and stabilising the valuation of coins and tokens. |
| Chain split | Is also known as Forks are separation of one or more projects from the original, “parent” project. Such as LTC and BCH which were splits from BTC |
| Cloud Mining | Remote crypto mining solution offered via mining contracts |
| Cold Storage | Offline storage of Cryptocurrencies |
| Cold Wallet | A hardware crypto wallet which is not connected to the internet offering cold storage |
| Consortium Blockchain | A non public or privately owned blockchain |
| DApps | A type of application that runs on a decentralised network, avoiding a single point of failure. Smart contracts launched in the ETH network is a good example |
| DAO | Decentralised Autonomous Organisations which operate via smart contracts |
| DEX | Decentralised Exchanges are peer-to-peer exchanges allowing users to trade cryptocurrency without the need for an intermediary. These are relatively new and will be the new wave of exchanges offering anonymity to the users. |
| Fiat | Physical currency |
| Fork | Refer chain split |
| Gas | Considered the “fuel” of the Ethereum network which rewards miners in the network for usage of their computation power |
| Halving | Popular term in Crypto which refers to reducing the rewards to miners to ensure the control of the supply. BTC rewarded 50 coins during the initial stages which is now reduced to 6.25 in 2020. |
| Hash Rate | or Hash Power is the computation power of a mining machine or a network |
| Hot Wallet | Wallet which is connected to the internet |
| ICO | Initial Coin Offering is a type of crowdfunding, using cryptocurrencies as a means of raising capital |
| KYC | Know Your Customer, the process of verifying the identity of a customer |
| Ledger | A record of transactions that cannot be changed, only appended with new transactions in blockchain |
| Mainnet | An independent blockchain running its own network with its own technology and protocol |
| Miners | Contributors to a blockchain taking part in the process of mining. Mining; process where blocks are added to a blockchain, verifying transactions and process through which new bitcoin or some altcoins are created. |
| Node | The most basic unit of blockchain infrastructure that stores data |
| Oracles | Oracles collect, query, verify and validate data from different sources and deliver them to smart contracts. |
| Sidechain | A semi-independent blockchain which works together with an associated main chain to improve its performance. |
| Smart contracts | Smart contracts enable transactions and agreements to be anonymously executed among two or more parties, without the need for a third-party authority, justice system or another external mechanism. |
| Stablecoin | A cryptocurrency with low volatility. Examples include gold-backed cryptocurrency or fiat-pegged cryptocurrency. USDT is a good example |
| Staking | Participation in a proof-of-stake (PoS) system to put your tokens in to serve as a validator to the blockchain and receive rewards. Ethereum launched staking in Q4 of 2020. |
| Testnet | An alternative blockchain used by developers for testing. At present Pi coin is a testnet |
| Whale | A term used to describe investors who have uncommonly large amounts of crypto, especially those with enough funds to manipulate the market |