Glossary

Definitions for the terms used in our documentation

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51% Attacks

Also known as a Majority Attack, it is when a miner or a group of miners hold more than 50% of the power in a network, hence can manipulate the network.

A

Address

An address is a unique identifier used to identify private key holders when transferring value on the blockchain.

Airdrop

Airdrop is the process of transferring digital assets to a designated group of people. Nowadays, it is commonly used as a marketing tool by blockchain companies.

Altcoin

Altcoin is the term used to describe all cryptocurrencies apart from Bitcoin

Archive Node

Archive nodes are used to store historical data about blockchains since the genesis block (the first block).

Attack Surface

The Attack Surface is a plan that shows all the different points through which an attacker could breach the system and through where they could get out.

ATOM

ATOM is the native currency of the Cosmos network and it is used for staking by validators on Cosmos.

ATH

All-Time-High (ATH), is a term that is used to describe the highest price that a cryptocurrency has ever reached in history.

AVAX

AVAX is the native currency of the Avalanche network. On the Avalanche Network transaction fees are paid out in AVAX and validators of this network stake AVAX

B

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the first widespread application of Blockchain technology. It is “peer to peer” electronic cash for the internet. People can send Bitcoins (or part of one) to your digital wallet, and you can send Bitcoins to other people. All transactions are permanent, auditable, encrypted, and recorded on the Blockchain

Block

A block is where information about a network is stored and encrypted. Before any new blocks can be created, the previous blocks and the information within them needs to be verified by the network.

Blockchain

A Blockchain is a technological protocol in which a record of transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. Each computer maintains a copy of information and can only be updated if it is collectively agreed upon. Central entities such as banks, governments or other intermediaries that maintain information become redundant because collective information is maintained by default on the blockchain. Through blockchains (such as Bitcoin), the ability to exchange value natively between computers is now possible.

BUIDL

A term referring to keeping your head down and focusing on building your product

Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) Consensus

A consensus algorithm that allows for a network to function properly as long as two-thirds of the remains compliant.

C

Candidate Block

A candidate block is the first block that miners mine in order to receive block rewards

CELO

Is the ticker for the Celo the native asset for the Celo protocol

Cipher

A Cipher is an algorithm used for encryption and decryption

Circulating Supply

The amount of tokens that are circulating in the market and traded by the public

Consensus Protocol

An algorithm that is used by nodes in order to collectively agree upon a piece of information

Cosmos

Cosmos, the internet of blockchains, is a decentralized network for scalable and interoperable blockchains.

Cryptocurrency

A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology—a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation. With the rise of Web 3.0 cryptocurrencies reflect the conviction that digitalization is here to stay.

Cryptography

Cryptography is a process through which information and communication is protected by using code.

D

DApp

Decentralized applications (DApps) are digital applications that run on a blockchain network of computers instead of a single one.

Decentralized Autonomous Cooperative (DAC)

An organization that is governed by a group of shareholders instead of one central authority

Decentralized Autonomous Organziation (DAO)

A DAO is an organization that follows rules that are encoded as a computer program which is transparent and controlled by the members of the organization.

Decentralized Exchange (DEX)

DEXs are cryptocurrency exchanges that allow for direct peer-to-peer transactions without the need of intermediaries.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Decentralized finance is a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks to offer traditional financial instruments. Instead it utilizes smart contracts on blockchains, the most common being Ethereum.

Regardless of the technology or platform used, DeFi systems are designed to remove intermediaries between transacting parties. Though the volume of trading tokens and money locked in smart contracts, its ecosystem has been growing steadily. DeFi is an incipient industry whose infrastructure is still being built out.

Double Spending

Double spending happens when cryptocurrencies are spent more than once mainly due to 51% attacks.

E

Eclipse Attack

An Eclipse Attack is an attack method against a decentralized network where the attacker attacks a specific user(s) instead of the whole network.

ERC-20

ERC-20 is a scripted standard that is made up of rules and actions that an Ethereum token or smart contract needs to follow.

ERC-721

ERC-721 is a standard that is used to build NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) on EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatible blockchains.

EVM

EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is the software platform that developers use to build DApps on the Ethereum Network.

F

Fiat

Fiat money is a currency that is not backed by any commodity and is usually issued by the government.

Fork

A fork occurs when two or more blocks have the same height

Full Node

A full node is a validator that fully validates transactions and blocks

Fungibility

Is the ability for cryptocurrencies to be traded or exchanged one for another

G

Gas

In crypto, Gas is the fee that is required to successfully carry out a transaction or execute a contract on a blockchain.

Genesis Block

The first block in any blockchain protocol

Governance

Governance is a process on the blockchain that allows each member to vote on-chain using their staked tokens. Proposals come from the team and the members have the power to choose which one to execute first.

Gwei

Gwei is a denomination of Ether. 1 Gwei = 0.000000001 / 10^9 ETH

H

Halving

Halving refers to the process when a miners mining reward is decreased to half of its previous value

Hash

A hash is a function that is used to solve blockchain computation as it meets all encrypted requirements

Hash Rate

Hash rate is the amount of computational power needed by the network (such as Bitcoin) to process transactions

Hashed TimeLock Contracts

A Hashed Timelock Contract (HTLC) is a smart contract that is used to prevent counter-party risks when conducting transactions on the blockchain. With HTLCs the payment receiver is given a timeframe to accept the payment by generating cryptographic proof. If they are not able to fulfil the requirements the transaction does not take place and is reverted back to the sender.

HODL

HODL is an acronym for Hold in the crypto ecosystem. It refers to people who hold their assets and don’t sell.

History

Record of transactions and blocks that happened in the past

I

Immutability

Refers to the ability of a blockchain to be unchangeable

Initial Coin Offering (ICO)

An ICO is a process used by infant blockchain projects to raise funds by offering their cryptocurrency to the public. Usually the price is predetermined and there is a capped supply.

Initial Exchange Offering (IEO)

An IEO has the same purpose as an ICO but through an IEO there is an intermediary, an exchange, that operates the offering directly.

Interoperability

Interoperability refers to the ability of processing operations across blockchain networks without the need for intermediaries

L

Latency

Latency refers to the time required to generate the next block of transactions

Layer 2

Layer 2 refers to protocols or networks built on existing blockchain networks.

Light-Client

A Light-Client is a client that only downloads small parts of a blockchain, such as block headers, using low-storage hardware such as smartphones and laptops.

Lightning Network

The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 protocol built on the Bitcoin Blockchain. Its purpose is to improve bitcoin scalability by enabling fast transactions among node operators.

LUNA

Luna is the native asset of the Terra Network.

M

Mainnet

Mainnet is when a project is fully developed and deployed on the blockchain. This is when the verification and recording of transactions begins.

Mainnet Swap

Mainnet Swap is when a project shifts from one blockchain to another, this is usually when a project migrates from the tesnet phase to the mainnet phase.

Maximum Supply

Maximum supply is the maximum amount of tokens that exist for a cryptocurrency. This amount is predetermined and unchangeable.

Mempool

A mempool is basically a waiting room where unconfirmed transaction are stored

Merged Mining

Merged Mining is the process of mining two or more cryptocurrencies simultaneously without compromising their mining performance.

Merkle Tree

A Merkle Tree is a hash-based structure used to organize large amounts of data

Meta Data

Meta Data is a summary of one or more aspects of data

Mining

Mining is the process of validating transactions in PoW blockchains

Multisignature

A Multisignature is the process of authorizing transactions when more than one key is needed

N

Node

A node is a computer takes part in validating transactions in a network

Non-Fungible Token (NFT)

A NFT is a unique cryptocurrency with a capped supply of 1.

O

Off-Chain

Transactions that take place on another blockchain network and can be submitted to the main blockchain only after they are put together and verified

On-Chain

Transaction that solely take place on the main blockchain and are recorded in the ledger

Oracles

An oracle is the place in a smart contract where real world data is stored and when executed on the blockchain it provides conditions for the smart contract.

Open Source Software

Open Source Software (OSS) is a type of software that can be modified and distributed with its original rights

P

Peer-to-Peer

Peer-to-Peer is when two or more computers are connected together without any centralized intermediaries

Persistence

Persistence is an open blockchain that aims to facilitate traditional investors with digital assets by combining the three main branches of finance; Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Open Finance (OpFi), and Centralized Finance (CeFi). Through the Persistence blockchain, companies will have access to affordable loans in digital assets, and investors will be able to provide capital to businesses at higher interest rates.

Phishing

A fraudulent act from which the attacker is able to obtain user data by posing a trusted entity.

Proof-of-Stake

Proof-of-Stake (PoS) is a consensus algorithm that allows for transactions in a blockchain to be validated quickly and in a trustful manner, without the need for high computational power or hardware.

R

Race Attack

When an attacker uses funds to create two transaction at the same time with the purpose of spending those funds twice

Routing Attack

Network attack that is used to control and affect the system

S

SDK

Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of developer tools that is used to build applications on a platform.

Smart Contracts

A self-executing contract whose terms and condition are coded into a program, hence having total transparency and not counter-party risks

Smart Digital Assets

A digital representation of real world assets that can be purchased, sold, or exchanged.

Stable Coin

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose price is designed to be pegged to a cryptocurrency, fiat money, or to exchange-traded commodities.

State

A state is a set of data that a blockchain requires to keep track and represent data needed for on chain applications.

T

Ticker

A ticker is the abbreviation of a cryptocurrency represented as a symbol. For example the ticker for Ethereum is ETH.

Token

Digital units that represent a tradeable asset or utility

Transaction

A transaction is the process through which assets change ownership

U

UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output)

UTXO is the amount of a cryptocurrency that remains after a transaction has been executed

V

Validator

A validator is a node that participates in the validation of transactions in the Proof-of Stake consensus. Validators are the ones who receive rewards for successfully validating blocks on a blockchain.

Virtual Machine

Within a Virtual machine all logic and program that defines a blockchain is stored. All blockchains run a Virtual Machine

W

Wallet

A wallet is an app that stores digital assets and is protected by a private key

Wrapped Token

A wrapped token is an asset that represents another that is not on the same blockchain. Wrapped tokens enabled the functionality of cryptocurrencies to be exchanged on blockchains other than their native one.

X

XPRT

XPRT is the native asset on the Persistence Blockchain. Its primary uses are staking and governance

Z

Zero-Knowledge Proof

Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZPK) is a method of verifying data without actually showing the data. The purpose of this method is to minimize the risks of leaking information.