GLOSSARY
- A
- Address: Each coin that you hold has its own unique address. This address consists of numbers and letters that allow other people to send you the specific coin.
- Altcoin- An altcoin is what any coin that is not Bitcoin is called
- B
- Block- A group of past transactions that have happened during a certain time period (10min for Bitcoin). This block is then chained to other blocks which is where the name blockchain comes from.
- Block Reward- The reward (coin/token) a miner receives after adding a block to a blockchain.
- Block Size- Is the amount of transactions that a block can hold. The larger the block, the more transactions it can hold
- C
- Confirmation- Occurs when a transaction has been processed by the network and each confirmation stores the data into a block.
- Consensus- An automatic process that prioritizes which transactions happen and the order of transactions. Since it is automated and agreed upon by the users it can be called a trustless consensus
- Cryptography- involves creating or generating codes that allow information to be kept secret. These codes convert data into a format that is unreadable for an unauthorized user.
- D
- Decentralized Application (Dapp) - Is an application that runs without a central authority and using smart contracts for unique purposes.
- Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)- Is an organization that runs on its own as defined by rules outlined in the smart contracts written into it.
- Decentralized ledger- A network that is not governed/controlled by a central authority such as a person or company. Instead the network is controlled by all of the users that participate in the network.
- Difficulty- the amount of computational power necessary for a miner to solve the mathematical puzzle required to process a cryptocurrency block. This difficulty is usually changed over time.
- Distributed ledger- A blockchain is a distributed ledger because nodes on the network hold copies of the ledger rather than the ledger being held in one centralized place where it is more susceptible to being hacked.
- Double Spend- The problem that Bitcoin was able to solve that prevents somebody from sending the same digital money twice. Instead, the network recognizes that the user only has enough money for one of the transactions and thus rejects the second transaction.
- E
- Exchange- Is a marketplace where cryptocurrencies/cryptoassets can be bought, sold, and stored. They can be either centralized like a bank where they control your assets while you are using their marketplace or decentralized where you control your tokens and can exchange them.
- F
- Fiat- Describes government issued and backed worldwide currencies such as the dollar, euro, yen, etc.
- Fork- Is a change to the software and rules of a cryptocurrency that creates two separate versions of the currency’s blokchain, the old and the new. A hard fork is not backward compatible with previous rules while a soft fork is.
- I
- Initial Coin Offering (ICO)- A crowdfunded sale of a project specific cryptocurrency token to raise funds for the project the token represents. The token is usually does not represent a share of the company but instead is used as a currency to use the service of a project.
- Intermediary/Middleman- Is a third party participant in transactions that facilitates trust between two parties such as a bank that facilitates sending money from person to person. Blockchain eliminates the need for middlemen ideally making transactions faster and cheaper.
- L
- Ledger- A record of transactions that happen within a network. A blockchain and a bank statement are examples of ledgers.
- M
- Middleman- See intermediary
- Miner- A person who participates in the blockchain network by verifying transactions and adding blocks to the blockchain and is rewarded to do so either in coins or transaction fees.
- Mining (just put miner into mining?)- The act of verifying transactions that get bundled into blocks and added to the blockchain.
- N
- Node- A participant of a cryptocurrency network that has a copy of the entire network’s blockchain. Miners host nodes and each node adds to the security of a blockchain.
- O
- Open Source- Software development that is open to everyone to code in order to encourage experimentation and sharing.
- P
- Peer-to-Peer (P2P)- a network that allows for person to person transactions without a central authority/middleman by distributing the computing tasks amongst the users of the network
- Private Key- A combination of letters and numbers that are used to give you access to your cryptocurrencies. If someone else has your private key then they have access to your funds, therefore it should be kept secret.
- Proof of Stake (POS) - Instead of solving complex mathematical puzzles that use up a lot of resources to verify transactions in the network you can hold a certain cryptocurrency that is POS in order to verify your service to the community
- Proof of Work (POW)- Computational work required by miners to solve a mathematical puzzle in order to verify transactions in the blockchain
- Public Key- A combination of letters and numbers that act as your address to receive a certain cryptocurrency. It can be shared but be aware that there is a unique address for every coin you hold and for each place that it is stored.
- S
- Satoshi Nakamoto- The anonymous creator of Bitcoin who may be a person or a group of individuals. He created Bitcoin in 2008 and left us with his bitcoin whitepaper and a few early messages on bitcointalk.
- Banana: A banana is a fruit gvjhgv ghvjghv gvgvjhgv
- SEC- Stands for Securities and Exchange Commission. They are a United States agency that regulates securities (such as stocks and bonds) and exchanges. Due to the controversial topic of some cryptocurrencies being a security the SCC has started to regulate them.
- Smart Contract- A contract written in computer code originated on the Ethereum network that ensures that once a certain condition is met, the rest of the agreement will automatically execute without the possibility of failure or manipulation. It thus eliminates the need for you to trust the other participant.
- Solidity- A computer programming language used to create smart contracts and decentralized apps on the Ethereum network.
- T
- Token- A unit of payment to use the service within a particular blockchain. It can achieve monetary value if people believe the service to be worth something.
- Trustless- Blockchain systems are trustless because users within the network do not need to trust each other to transact. Instead they trust the code the network is based on and by participating in the network they have agreed to the rules that govern the network.
- V
- Vitalik Buterin- A Russian-Canadian programmer who created the Ethereum platform at age 23? His platform expanded the use of blockchains to include smart contracts which supported use cases beyond maintaining a ledger.
- W
- Whitepaper- A description of an idea or project that promotes the features of their product or service and the problem it solves. Used to attract investors.
- #
- 51% Attack- A Blockchain is decentralized and its governance is distributed amongst its users. Therefore, if one person or group controls a majority of the blockchain, 51%, then they will have the ability to control the network and manipulate its rules.
