Blockchain

A decentralized and distributed ledger that records all transactions within a network. Blockchain technology underpins cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency

Digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography to ensure security.

Private Key

A secret cryptographic key that grants access to and control over cryptocurrency assets.

Public Key

A key generated from the private key and used to create a wallet address.

Wallet Address

A unique identifier for a cryptocurrency wallet, used to receive funds.

Seed Phrase (Recovery Phrase)

A series of words used as a backup for the private key to restore the wallet.

Multisignature (Multisig)

A security feature requiring multiple keys to authorize transactions.

Hardware Wallet

A physical device used to securely store private keys offline.

Software Wallet

An application or program used to store and manage cryptocurrencies.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

A blockchain-based financial ecosystem that replaces traditional institutions with decentralized solutions.

Smart Contracts

Self-executing contracts with terms written directly into code.

Transaction Fee

A fee paid to process and verify transactions on the blockchain.

Non-Fungible Token (NFT)

A unique digital asset that represents ownership of items such as art or collectibles.

Cold Storage

Offline storage of private keys to protect against hacks.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

Direct transactions between two parties without intermediaries.

Transaction Confirmation

The process of verifying a blockchain transaction by network nodes.

KYC (Know Your Customer)

A verification process for confirming wallet owners' identities to comply with regulations.

HD Wallet

A wallet that generates a tree of keys from a single seed phrase.

Web3

The next-generation internet based on decentralized protocols and blockchain.

DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)

An organization managed by participants through smart contracts without traditional leadership.

Gas

A unit of computation cost for executing transactions or smart contracts on networks like Ethereum.

Hash Rate

The computational speed of mining, measured in hashes per second.

Fork

A blockchain split that occurs due to protocol changes or the creation of a new version.

Oracles

Services that provide external data to smart contracts on the blockchain.

Tokenomics

The economic model of a project, describing the properties and functions of its tokens.

Staking

The process of locking cryptocurrency to secure a network and earn rewards.

Liquidity Pool

A reserve of tokens enabling instant trades in DeFi applications.

Proof-of-Work (PoW) Related Terms

Proof-of-Work (PoW)

A consensus algorithm used in blockchains to verify transactions and add new blocks. Miners solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and secure the network.

Mining

The process of solving computational puzzles to create new blockchain blocks and earn rewards.

Hash

A cryptographic function that converts input data into a fixed-length string. Hashes are used to identify blocks and validate data.

Difficulty

A parameter that adjusts the complexity of mining tasks to maintain consistent block creation intervals.

Nonce

A unique number miners adjust in a block header to find a valid hash.

ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)

Specialized hardware optimized for mining with high computational power.

Genesis Block

The first block in a blockchain that initiates the network's history.

Block Reward

The incentive miners receive for successfully adding a new block to the blockchain.

Halving

The periodic reduction of the block reward by half to limit the total cryptocurrency supply.

Mempool

A pool of unconfirmed transactions awaiting inclusion in a block.

Double Spend

An attempt to reuse the same cryptocurrency in multiple transactions. PoW prevents double-spending through consensus.

Energy Consumption

The energy required by miners to perform computational tasks, often criticized in PoW systems.

51% Attack
A scenario where an attacker controls more than 50% of the network's computational power, allowing them to manipulate the blockchain.

Orphan Block

A block mined but not included in the main chain because another block was accepted first.

Block Time

The average time required to create one block in the blockchain. In PoW systems, this is automatically regulated.

Mining Pool

A group of miners pooling resources to collaboratively mine blocks and share rewards.

Transaction Throughput

The number of transactions a blockchain can process within a given timeframe. In PoW, this is limited by block size and creation time.