We know how hard it can be to navigate the crypto world, especially when you hear terms like ‘on-chain‘ or ‘CSW‘. For this reason, we’ve put together a complete cryptocurrency glossary to help you understand what it all means.
| Term | Explanation |
| Altcoin | A digital currency other than Bitcoin which uses blockchain technology. |
| BFT | Byzantine Fault Tolerance is a smart consensus mechanism which prevents blockchains from sustained error-states ensuring a faster and more secure network in some cases. |
| Bitcoin | A peer-peer digital currency sometimes referred to as ‘Digital Gold’. Censorship resistant and tradeable. |
| Consensus | The act of verifying blocks in a blockchain. Basically it is when different participants in a network agree on what has happened and finalise blocks. |
| Consensus Mechanism | The way in which blockchains achieve consensus. |
| ERC20 | A token standard on the Ethereum blockchain. ERC20 tokens can be stored on Ethereum wallets which you have access to the private keys to. |
| Ethereum | Ethereum is a cryptocurrency which has smart-contracts and is one of the most popular in the world. |
| Exchange | A place where you can trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. There are two main types of exchanges; spot & derivatives. |
| Fiat | Any government-controlled currency. For example, USD, GBP & EUR are all ‘Fiat’ currencies. |
| Hardware Wallet | A cryptocurrency wallet which stores private keys on a physical device. A good example of a hardware wallet is the Ledger Nano X or the Ellipal Titan. |
| MACD | Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is a technical indicator used to track momentum and trend changes. Traders use this to predict where price may move in the future. |
| Mining | A process of reaching consensus on a Proof of Work blockchain. Essentially, mining is the process of verifying cryptocurrency transactions. |
| Proof of Stake (PoS) | Consensus mechanism whereby blocks are verified by stakeholders and rewards are paid out. No mining required. Examples of PoS blockchains include Algorand and NEO. |
| Proof of Work (PoW) | Consensus mechanism used by popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Requires mining equipment to verify transactions on the blockchain. |
| Sh*tcoin | Another word for ‘Altcoin’ used by those who see little value in the cryptocurrency’s existence. |
| Staking | The act of participating in a Proof of Stake blockchain network (cryptocurrency). Those who stake a crypto asset usually receive a reward for doing so. |
We’re constantly adding new terms to this page. If you have a term that you would like to know and it isn’t listed here, please comment it below and we’ll add it shortly. Thank you!