51% Attack
When a single entity controls more than 50% of the mining power, they can manipulate the ledger to benefit their interests. This is known as a majority attack.
Address
String of text that identifies a unique crypto account or wallet on the blockchain. Normally displayed as a hashed version of the public key.
Airdrop
Depositing digital assets into public crypto accounts, usually tied to a promotional or marketing event, or as an incentive for holding certain tokens or participating in DeFi apps.
Algorithm
A sequence of instructions, or a process to be followed to solve a problem or make a calculation, especially done by a computer.
All-Time High (ATH)
The highest historical price per token of a cryptocurrency.
Allocation
An amount of equity or value that can be earned, purchased, or given to investors, individuals, or other types of entities.
Alpha
The earliest working version of a product that can be used and tested. Also refers to early access to information that has potentially big upside later.
Altcoin
Any cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin. Ethereum (ETH) is the biggest altcoin, followed by coins like Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), DogeCoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), and Shiba Inu (SHIB).
Anti Money Laundering (AML)
Policies and frameworks that allow government bodies and law enforcement to stop criminals from using financial institutions and companies for criminal activities. Most companies collect KYC data to aid in the reporting of financial crimes.
Application Programming Interface (API)
Sometimes referred to as a programming interface. An API defines the functions that a program is capable of performing and how to tell the program to perform those functions. API’s can be used locally or over the internet.
Approval Transaction
An approval transaction is a specific type of transaction wherein a user grants permission for a third party to interact with their tokens, or other digital assets, in a decentralized application (dApp). Such approvals may allow these third parties to move tokens from a user’s wallet on their behalf, and therefore should be treated carefully.
Arbitrage
Arbitrage is a trading strategy that involves taking advantage of price differences for the same asset across different markets or exchanges. This can involve buying a cryptocurrency on one exchange and selling it on another where the price is higher, thus profiting from the difference.
ASIC-Resistant
Refers to crypto mining algorithms that do not allow ASIC chips to arbitrarily increase performance.
Asynchronous
Events in a sequence that rely on a signal from the previous steps to continue, allowing events to happen after waiting a period of time.
Audit
A systematic examination of an organization’s financial records, processes, or systems to ensure compliance, accuracy, and security. In the context of DeFi, audits are often conducted on smart contracts to identify vulnerabilities and ensure proper function.
Automated Market Maker (AMM)
An Automated Market Maker (AMM) is a decentralized protocol that relies on mathematical algorithms to set asset prices and facilitate trading without requiring traditional order books. This allows for instant and seamless trades within liquidity pools provided by users.
Bags
Slang term for the portfolio of assets a person or entity holds, often connoting poor performance of those assets.
Bear Market
A market where the majority of asset prices are down from previous time periods, also used to express distrust or lack of optimism in future market trends.
Bid Price
In financial markets the bid is the price buyers offer to purchase an asset or commodity, often being lower than the asking price.
Bid-Ask Spread
The price difference between the highest bid price and the lowest asking price for an asset or commodity.
Bitcoin
The first worldwide popular cryptocurrency created by developer(s) using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin Pizza
Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoin for two pizzas, the first documented transaction where BTC was paid for physical goods.
Black Swan Event
An unforeseen and unexpected event, such as a newly discovered hack or exploit in a ubiquitous system, that has widespread and severe consequences.
Block
A single computer file containing transactional information for a given period of time. When put in sequence, blocks of data form what is known as a Blockchain.
Block Explorer
A tool for browsing the details of transactions stored in a blockchain. Often created and deployed as a website that integrates with a specific blockchain, such as Etherscan or BSCscan.
Block Header
Metadata in a section of a block that has a summary of transactions. When mining, this is the information that gets hashed.
Block Reward
The number of coins awarded by the blockchain to cryptocurrency miners for every block mined and validated successfully.
Blockchain
A decentralized and distributed digital ledger technology that securely records transactions in a chronological and immutable manner. Each set of verified transactions, or "block," is linked to the previous one using cryptographic hashes, forming a chain. Blockchain enables trustless, transparent, and secure data storage and transfer, serving as the foundation for cryptocurrencies and various other applications in DeFi and beyond.
Bounty
A reward offered to incentivize specific tasks, behaviors, or development.
Break-Even Point (BEP)
The point in time where the cost of an operation is equal to its current value.
Breakeven Multiple
How much the current price needs to be multiplied by in order to reach the original purchase price (breakeven point).
Breakout
When the price of an asset extends outside of it's past range or pattern. E.g. valuing higher than it's resistance area or lower than it's support area.
Bridging
Bridging refers to the process of connecting different blockchain networks, also called chains, to enable the exchange of assets, data, or functionality between them. This is achieved through specialized smart contracts or protocols known as bridges. One example could be a bridge between Bitcoin and the Ethereum Network.
BUIDL
Slang term similar to HODL, meaning keep your head down and focus on building your product.
Bull Market
A widely used term describing when the value or price of a market is trending up (positive).
Censorship-resistance
A network that is architected to allow equal access and participation by all, meaning that no party can prevent anyone else from participating on the platform or network.
Central Bank
A financial institution that is responsible for overseeing, creating policy for, and regulating a state's monetary system (currency).
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The primary hub of a computer system, it processes and interprets instructions from programs and operations.
Centralized
A system is centralized when the majority of planning or decision-making power is located and controlled by a single person, group, or organization in a system.
Centralized Exchange (CEX)
A Centralized Exchange (CEX) is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where users trade digital assets through a central intermediary, such as a company, which controls the order book, custody of assets, and trade execution. High-profile failures such as FTX has caused concern among cryptocurrency holders and led to the phrase, “Not your keys, not your crypto”.
Cipher
A way to secure (encrypt) and read (decrypt) messages. There are two types; symmetric, one key, used for big data. Asymmetric, two keys, used for small data transfers.
Circulating Supply
The number of cryptocurrency coins or tokens that are available and circulating in the public market.
Coin
A digital currency or cash, that is separate from any other platform or currency, that can be used to purchase something of value.
Cold Wallet
A cold wallet is a crypto wallet that is not connected to the Internet. Cold wallets are often physical pieces of hardware that store information and can be connected online to facilitate transfers; however, they could also be as simple as a seed phrase written on paper.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974, that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options.
Confirmation Time
The time it takes for a transaction to be recorded into a confirmed block from the time it was submitted.
Consensus
Consensus is an algorithmic process by which the peers of a given blockchain network reach an agreement on the present state of the distributed ledger.
Credentials
Authentication (login) information common examples are username, password, and email address.
Cryptocurrency
A digital currency where transactions are verified and records are stored by a decentralized system utilizing cryptography, opposed to using banks.
Cryptography
The process of converting readable data into a format that is unreadable and back again. This process protects data from theft or alteration.
Custodian
A specialized financial institution responsible for safeguarding financial assets. A crypto custodian holds funds on behalf of another entity, where a self-custodied or non-custodied wallet is owned by the individual.
Decentralized Application or DApp
Programs that run on a network of computers rather than a single computer. This means no single group or person has all the control, it also means they are always accessible and do not suffer from a single point of failure.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization or DAO
An entity with no centralized leadership, governed by the community from the bottom up within a framework of predetermined rules enforced by code on the blockchain.
Decentralized Exchange or DEX
A decentralized, peer-to-peer exchange where transactions happen directly between crypto traders, allowing financial transactions without a centralized institution as intermediary.
Decentralized Finance or DeFi
An umbrella term for peer-to-peer financial services, allowing traditional finance-like products to be administered by public blockchains, such as Ethereum.
Decryption
Converting encrypted (secure) data to a readable format.
Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)
Delegated Proof of Stake, or DPoS, refers to a consensus mechanism in which network participants delegate their cryptocurrency holdings to validators, who are responsible for validating transactions and securing the network. This allows smaller token holders to participate in the consensus process indirectly, and vote and elect specific delegates.
Delisting
Removing an asset or coin from an exchange (market), can be requested by the project team or the exchange itself. Delisting removes the digital asset from trading on the public market.
Design Flaw Attack
An attack where a person intentionally creates a flaw in their contract meant to trick individuals into working with them so they can steal their assets.
Difficulty
The increasing difficulty of Ethereum’s mineable transactions will eventually lead to an exponential slowdown of transactions referred to as the Difficulty Bomb. Ethereum plans to transition to a Proof of Stake algorithm (POS) to circumvent this problem.
Difficulty Bomb
A mechanism built into Ethereum, that makes the next block exponentially harder to mine than the one previous. With the intent of limiting the number of coins available.
Divergence
The difference between the market price of an asset and a technical indicator (e.g. Relative Strength Index, On-Balance Volume). How the 2 values relate to each other over time can help you indicate what the market might do.
Do Your Own Research or DYOR
Valuable advice for anyone in cryptocurrency. It is wise to make decisions based on your own research and not just what others say.
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)
A strategy where the investor purchases a set amount of an asset over regular intervals regardless of the market price. This is meant to reduce the impact of market volatility when buying into a position.
Efficient Market Hypothesis or EMH
A hypothesis or theory that states that all prices reflect all information available. Meaning it should be impossible to beat the market using insider information and clever timing.
Encryption
Converting information or data from a readable format to a secure format making it unusable by others.
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance or EEA
A global standards organization dedicated to creating an open, standardized architecture to help organizations adopt enterprise-solutions.
ERC-20
A common set of rules that outline how new coins on the Ethereum blockchain can be transferred, approved, accessed, and the total supply of coins. Means new coins that follow this standard are easier to develop for.
ERC-721
ERC721 is a standard for representing ownership of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), that is, where each token is unique.
Exchange
A cryptocurrency marketplace where users can buy and sell coins.
Fear Of Missing Out or FOMO
The fear and anxiety of potentially missing out on a profitable opportunity.
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt or FUD
A sales and marketing strategy where misinformation or skewed data is used to cause fear, causing current and future buyers, investors, or traders to be manipulated more easily.
Fiat
Currency that is not related to physical material (e.g. Gold or Silver). It is basically a promise from a government or central bank that it can be exchanged for its value in goods and services.
First-Mover Advantage (FMA)
The first company, project, or person to bring a new product or service to a new market or industry. Being the first often gives advantages like brand recognition and being able to set industry standards for those following you.
Fiscal Policy
How Government spending and tax policies are used to influence the economy (e.g. demand for goods and services, employment, inflation, and economic growth).
Flippening
The hypothetical moment when Ethereum (ETH) becomes more valuable overall (market capitalization) than Bitcoin (BTC).
Forced Liquidation
When a trader borrows money to place an order (leveraged position) and then they lose enough funds to not be able to cover the original purchase price their leveraged position is forcefully closed.
Forex or FX
Stands for Foreign Exchange Markets. It is a global market where fiat currencies are traded.
Formal Verification
A rigorous mathematical verification process to catch bugs and errors early in the design process. Used to ensure accuracy in cryptographic algorithms.
Fundamental Analysis or FA
An evaluation of an asset based on its characteristics and relationships to compare to the asset's current value to see if it is over or undervalued.
Fungibility
Coins or assets that are identical to one another and can be interchanged. An example would be 1 lb of pure gold can be replaced by another 1 lb of pure gold, they be valued the same.
Gas
Gas is the amount of money paid to get a transaction accepted by a blockchain. It is determined by the difficulty of computational effort to process the request or operation multiplied by the congestion of the network.
Gas Limit
The maximum fee (Gas) a user is willing to pay for a certain transaction or smart contract function.
Genesis Block
The very first block in a blockchain network, can also be called Block 0 or Block 1.
GitHub
An online file structure with the purpose of writing code and sharing it with the public or just within a community or organization that allows easy cross collaboration.
Gwei
A small part of an Ether coin, typically used to measure gas prices. 1,000,000,000 Gwei = 1 Ether.
Hacker
A person with a deep understanding of networks, programming, and cybersecurity who attempts to break into computer systems.
Halving
When the block reward for mining is dropped to one-half of what it was previously mined at. This prevents an infinite amount of coins or assets available on the blockchain as eventually the reward to mine will not be worth the cost.
Hard Cap
The absolute maximum amount of a specific asset or coin that will be created, this is meant to balance supply and demand so the demand will always be high.
Hash
A unique key (code) after data has been mapped, this key can help identify and verify the data quickly once you know the hash. Also known as hash value, hash code, or digest.
Hash Rate
The time it takes for a computer to calculate new hashes, typically seen as hashes per second.
High-Frequency Trading or HFT
Computer program based trading method that can analyze many markets at the same time and then enact a large number of trades or orders in less than a second.
HODL
Originally a typo of “hold” it now means Hold on for Dear Life which is an investment mantra for holding on to your investments and not trading them away.
Hot Wallet
A hot wallet is a crypto wallet that is connected to the internet. Hot wallets are often desktop programs, mobile apps, or browser extensions that facilitate crypto holdings and transfers.
Immutability
The state of being unchangeable. This is a core feature of blockchain technology in that transaction history on the blockchain can never be changed.
Index
A way to measure and track the average price value of an asset.
Initial Coin Offering or ICO
A way for cryptocurrencies to raise money, where a company trying to create a new coin offers that coin to investors first.
Initial Exchange Offering or IEO
Another way for cryptocurrencies to raise money similar to an ICO but this time it is backed by an exchange who verifies the credibility of the project.
Initial Public Offering or IPO
A way for any company to raise funds by offering it’s shares or assets to the public for the first time.
Inter Planetary File System or IPFS
A way of storing data across a network of devices that can prevent downtime, censorship, and potential threats (hacks).
Issuance
When a new cryptocurrency is created as outlined by its developers.
Keccak
A more secure hash function typically used for cryptocurrencies.
Know Your Customer or KYC
A standard that ensures advisors know certain information about their clients specifically their risk tolerance, investment knowledge, and financial position. This information is used to protect the investor and the client.
Layer 2
Layer 2 is a collective term for solutions designed to help scale your application by handling transactions off the Ethereum Mainnet (layer 1) while taking advantage of the robust decentralized security model of Mainnet.
Ledger
A physical or digital record of transactions relating to financial accounts.
Lightning Network
An example of a Layer 2 framework, designed to speed up transactions on the blockchain network.
Liquidity
The availability of liquid assets to a market, company, or crypto exchange. High liquidity means trading the asset does not cause the price to fluctuate significantly.
Liquidity Pool or LP
A liquidity pool (LP) is a group of digital assets that have been locked in a smart contract, which allows the assets to facilitate trades on a decentralized exchange or DEX. An LP often includes two or more token types, such as USDC and wETH.
Listing
A listed asset is one that becomes available on an exchange, either as requested by the project team or the exchange itself. A listing on a large or well known exchange allows an asset to be easily purchased by a larger audience.
Mainnet
The network that a fully developed blockchain runs on, that allows all the transactions to be broadcasted, verified, and recorded.
Malware
A program designed to access another computer or network with the goal of damaging the target computer system.
Margin Trading
When you borrow money to invest with. This is considered a high risk strategy and should only be used by experienced investors.
Market Capitalization or MCAP
The number of coins available multiplied by the current price, also known as the total value of a specific coin.
Maximum Supply
The maximum number of coins that will be created for a cryptocurrency ever.
Mempool
A waiting room for unconfirmed transactions waiting to be confirmed and added to a blockchain.
Merkle Tree
A secure way of organizing and securing large amounts of data, where the data has to be verified by multiple hashes in order.
Metadata
Detailed data about other data, can give deeper insight into a specific transaction that would not be available otherwise.
Mining
The process of verifying transactions on a blockchain network, these transactions are then added as entries into the ledger. Coins are rewarded for each block (group) of verified transactions.
Mining Farm
Multiple miners in a single location, like a warehouse or data center, devoted to mining cryptocurrencies.
Moon
A slang term describing an asset or cryptocurrency having a sudden increase in value above what was expected.
Multi-Party Computation (MPC) Wallet
A Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallet is a type of cryptocurrency wallet that uses cryptographic techniques to distribute private key management among multiple parties, or guardians. This approach enhances security and reduces the risk of a single point of failure.
Multisignature or multi-sig
A wallet with more than one owner that requires multiple owners to authorize and sign, each transaction before they can be sent to the network.
Node
Every computer that is connected to a blockchain network that can process transactions, store data about transactions, and keep track of other nodes is considered a node.
Non-fungible Token or NFT
A digital token that represents a unique asset either digital or real-world, this makes the assets non-interchangeable as they can be certified as unique or original based on the token applied to them.
Nonce
“Number used once” in cryptocurrency this number is used to prevent fraudulent attempts to re-submit transactions.
Off-chain
A transaction that moves value from a cryptocurrency network away from that blockchain or network.
Open-Source Software
Software developed and licensed so that anyone can use, update, and distribute it without paying the original creator.
Oracle
An external or third party software that provides a live feed of data used for facilitating transactions on the blockchain. Chainlink is an example of an oracle.
Paper Wallet
A physical piece of paper with a cryptocurrency address and private key printed on it. These can then be stored securely or given (gifted) to someone without making a transaction on the official blockchain ledger, see off-chain.
Passive Management
An investing strategy that tracks a market-weighted index or portfolio, also called passive investing.
Peer-to-Peer or P2P
A computer networking architecture that delegates tasks or workloads between peers, or multiple computers. Also refers to trading currency directly between individuals without the aid of a centralized body or exchange.
Pegged Currency
A currency that is tied to any other currency at a fixed rate to promote trade and investment. Similar to a Stablecoin which is a cryptocurrency that is tied to the value of a physical commodity or asset.
Phishing
Another malicious attack where a person or program tricks you into giving them your credentials in order to access your accounts and systems.
Ponzi Scheme
An investment scam where you bring on new investors so you can pay off previous investors, often no real world business takes place and nothing of value is generated in a Ponzi scheme.
Price Action
A chart showing the price of a particular asset over time, reviewing this historical data can help traders identify potentially good trade opportunities.
Prisoner’s Dilemma
An example of game theory that shows why two rational people may not cooperate, even when their interests appear to be the same or would benefit from cooperation.
Private Key
A long string of characters used to digitally sign transactions and prove ownership of a blockchain address.
Private Sale
A sale of digital assets to a specific group of investors, often excluding the larger markets, and benefiting the company or developer selling the assets.
Progressive Web application or PWA
A program you access from a web browser that looks, acts and feels as smooth as a standalone program thanks to following a new set of web standards.
Proof of Stake or PoS
A consensus mechanism that allows validators to stake crypto for the right to process blockchain data and earn mining rewards.
Pseudorandom
A mathematical output that can create random number strings over and over without a repeating pattern, thus passing randomness tests.
Pump and Dump
A pump and dump is a scam whereby fraudulent actors artificially inflate the price of financial assets in order to sell at a high price, which then results in the value of the underlying asset plummeting for others.
Ransomware
Computer malware that locks down or destroys computer files until money is paid.
Rekt
A slang term used to describe an extreme failure or destruction typically directed toward a person or a forced liquidation.
Relative Strength Index or RSI
A graph that tracks recent price changes of an asset, used to identify if the asset is overbought, oversold, undervalued, or overvalued.
Resistance
A phenomenon where an increasing asset price suddenly stalls out and dips down due to investors selling off more assets than are being purchased.
Return on Investment or ROI
A rough measure of how profitable an investment is. Calculated by dividing the cost by the return on investment, these are displayed as percentages.
Roadmap
An estimated timeline and plan outlining a company's goals short and long term.
Routing Attack
An attack directed at a specific service or website making it unavailable. These attacks most commonly happen to Internet Service Providers (ISP)
Rug pull
When a development team takes a large investment and then suddenly dump all of their assets and attempt to leave with the investment funds.
Satoshi
The smallest recognized unit of a bitcoin, similar to a penny being part of a dollar. 1 satoshi = 0.00000001 of a bitcoin or 100,000,000 satoshi = 1 bitcoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto
The pseudonym for the person or persons who developed bitcoin and wrote the white paper on it. Also responsible for creating the first blockchain database.
Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC
Federal government agency responsible for protecting investors and maintaining fair and orderly functions of the securities markets.
Security Audit
A thorough and systemic analysis of systems, smart contracts, or the blockchain to determine how secure it is from attacks or technical failures.
Seed Phrase
A series of 12- 24 words used as the key to your cryptocurrency wallet. Anyone with access to your seed phrase will also have unrestricted access to the contents of your crypto wallet. Keep it secure and safe.
Segregated Witness or SegWit
A change to how transactions were formatted on Bitcoin. It was meant to increase the block size and speed up the transaction verification process.
Smart Contract
A digital contract where the terms of the contract are built into the code, making the contract easily repeatable and automated. Once the smart contract conditions are met and fulfilled by all parties the code processes the transactions according to the terms making it quick and eliminating the need for a third party or central authority.
Snapshot
A recording of a database, computer system, or blockchain ledger at a specific point in time.
Soulbound Token (SBT)
Soulbound tokens (SBTs) are non-transferable tokens that are issued and held by wallets that are called “Souls”. In theory, SBTs can be used to represent an individual’s identity using blockchain technology.
Source Code
The set of rules and instructions for a piece of software that a computer will read and execute.
Stablecoin
A crypto coin that has its value directly tied to a physical asset, e.g. USD, as such this coin's value should remain relatively constant.
Staking
Staking is the act of locking crypto assets to help facilitate the operation of a blockchain, which in turn earns the user rewards. Many platforms and protocols have a minimum staking period. Giddy does not – users may unstake and withdraw their funds at any time.
Staking Pool
Multiple users combine their computing power together so as a group they have a higher chance of earning rewards from successfully validating a block.
Store of Value
A currency, commodity, or asset that can be bought without its value decreasing. The value of an asset should remain the same or increase over a long period of time to be considered a true store of value.
Supercomputer
A group of computers working together to process enormous amounts of data and extremely complex jobs and operations.
Support
The lowest levels the price of an asset falls to before buyers jump to purchase the asset, which drives the price back up. These are often viewed as a line connecting past low price points for a specific time period.
Tank
A slang term for very poor performance of an asset, typically seen as a sharp and steady decline in price.
Tax Loss Harvesting
Tax loss harvesting refers to a strategy used to reduce an investor’s tax liability by selling underperforming assets to offset realized gains from other investments. This process can minimize capital gains taxes and potentially enhance long-term returns.
Ticker
A short name, or symbol, for a company, coin or asset being traded on an exchange, typically seen as 4-5 capitalized letters.
Token
Tokens are digital assets used to reward users for accomplishing tasks or using certain systems, they are often intended to hold value or be redeemed for another asset. Tokens are not the same as cryptocurrency Coins.
Token Lockup
Similar to a vesting period, a time period where tokens or coins are not allowed to be transferred or traded. Typically following a token sale to early investors.
Token Sale
Same as an Initial Coin Offering, where tokens are exchanged for another currency in an attempt to raise capital.
Total Supply
The total number of coins or tokens that exist for a given asset, these can be in circulation or locked up.
Transaction ID or TXID
A unique string of characters that identify each transaction on the blockchain.
Transactions Per Second or TPS
The number of transactions that can be processed each second on a blockchain.
Troll
A troll is someone who lurks on the internet posting inflammatory, rude, or insincere content to communities, often with the intent of creating FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
Trustless
A system where you don’t need a middle man to process transactions, no bank or credit card company. The system is built in a way where they are not needed because you know the exact calculations are laid out by the program, you don't need to trust the other party.
Turing Complete
A computer system that can run any operation, or solve any problem no matter how complex, provided it is given proper instructions (code), time, and memory.
User Experience or UX
A user's interaction with either a company, a service, or a product that not only meets the user's needs but is also simple, elegant, and a joy to use.
User Interface or UI
The place where interactions between users and machines occur. Typically this is what we see on a computer screen while using programs.
Validated Transaction
A validated transaction is a transaction that has been confirmed and added to a blockchain ledger after being successfully verified and processed by the network’s consensus mechanism, ensuring its authenticity and integrity.
Validator or Blockchain Validator
Blockchain validators participate in a consensus mechanism to validate transactions on the blockchain. In Proof of Work (PoW) networks, validators (also called miners) solve complex, computationally-heavy math problems in order to win the opportunity to verify transactions and earn rewards. In Proof of Stake (PoS) networks, validators stake token assets as collateral.
Verification Code
A code sent to a secondary communication channel (text, phone, or email) to help verify your identity when logging into an account. Commonly used for Two-Factor Authentication.
Virtual Machine
A computer system that uses software to mimic real hardware while only using a portion of the hardware on a typically more powerful computer. Allowing multiple virtual computers to run off of a much larger central computer system.
Volatility
A measure of how quickly and drastically the price of an asset changes over a given period of time.
Volume
The number of individual units of an asset that exchanged hands in a market over a given time.
Wallet
A way to store, send, or receive cryptocurrencies. These can be software, hardware, or paper based.
Weak Hands
Investors or traders who lack conviction in their investing plan and strategy, they trade based on fear instead of seeing their investments through highs and lows.
Web 1.0
The first version of the web, at this stage data was read-only and connected via hyperlinks.
Wei
The smallest part of an Ether coin, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 wei = 1 Ether.
Whale
Any entity that holds currency in a large enough amount to single-handedly impact market conditions, for example, the price of Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Whitelist
A list of trusted people, addresses, or connections that are given exclusive access to a system or sale.
Wrapped Ether or wETH
A coin similar to a stablecoin but is tied to Ethereum’s value instead of a real-world asset. This means you can trade Ethereum on decentralized platforms.
Zero-Knowledge Proofs
A proof method used in cryptography to prove something is known without revealing the information directly. It is a way to prove you are telling the truth.
zk-SNARKs
Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge - a special Zero-knowledge proof that uses a complex mathematical key to verify data, but the data being verified isn’t actually stored on the database anywhere.
