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51% Attack

When more than 50% of a network’s computational power or mining hash rate is under the control of one miner or a group of miners.

p
Paper Wallet

A paper containing the access information for a cryptocurrency account including the address and the private key.

Passive Management

Also known as passive investing, this strategy enables investors to put money into an asset or a portfolio by tracking an economic index rather than by counting on active market exposure.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

The network created by two or more computers on which they exchange information and resources freely without the need for permission from a central server.

Pegged Currency

Also known as a stablecoin, a pegged currency is one whose value is always the same as that of its designated asset. In cryptocurrency, there are multiple such examples, like the pegging of USDT to USD.

Phishing

A fraudulent tactic of obtaining a person’s private access data for financial accounts by pretending to be a representative of a reputable company or institution.

A scaling framework that would supposedly function off the Ethereum blockchain, and which might increase the speed of transactions considerably.

Ponzi Scheme

A form of fraud in which new investors are lured in with the promise of substantial ROI. Their funds are used to pay previous investors, and their earnings come from future investors as well.

Prisoner’s Dilemma

A theory that shows how two persons who have to choose between two decisions each may not pick the most advantageous ones if that meant that they had to cooperate.

Private Sale

A sale that is not accessible to the open public, but only to a discrete selection of wealthy investors.

Progressive Web Application (PWA)

A website that looks like a mobile app, but which can work offline by using the cached data from the previous online interactions with it.

Proof of Burn (PoB)

An alternative to Proof of Work or Proof of Stake that is used to validate transactions on a blockchain. This method implies the destruction or “burning” of the cryptocurrency after validation is confirmed.

Proof of Concept (PoC)

The visualization of a concept or a work in progress to validate the feasibility of a project.

Proof of Stake (PoS)

A consensus algorithm that decides the distribution of mined cryptocurrency according to the amount (stake) of coins that each miner holds before validating block transactions.

Proof of Work (PoW)

The consensus mechanism used on the Bitcoin blockchain and other decentralized networks to ensure the security and feasibility of the platform. This mechanism rewards miners for their work, which is energy distributed into mining for Bitcoin.

Pseudorandom

An algorithm that allows a definite function to generate a number or a sequence of numbers with properties that are similar to those of random numbers or random sequences of numbers.

Public-Private Key Cryptography

A two-part encrypted access key that contains two identification data strings. One of them is public and available for everyone to see. The second one is private, and only the user should have access to it.

a
Absolute Advantage

When an entity is in an advantageous position over another one in terms of efficiency concerning the production or delivery of goods and / or services.

All-Time High (ATH)

The highest value ever reached by a cryptocurrency in fiat currency, Bitcoin, Ethereum or other quote currencies.

All-Time Low (ATL)

The lowest value ever reached by a cryptocurrency in fiat currency, Bitcoin, Ethereum or other quote currencies.

Allocation

The action through which tokens or equities are put aside or up for sale or to be gained by certain investors or groups.

The initial version of a product, software or system that developers release for viewing, testing or implementation processes.

Alphanumeric

Strings of data that contain both numbers and letters. An example of an alphanumeric string is a hexadecimal hash character on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Altcoin

Any other cryptocurrency that is an alternative to Bitcoin.

Angel Investor

An investor who possesses a large capital for investment and who is looking to invest in startup companies or potentially successful projects.

Anti Money Laundering (AML)

A structure employing legal measures and regulations that aims to diminish the flux of capital that derives from illegal activities.

Application Programming Interface (API)

An assembly of features, rules, and processes that enable users of an application or a program to connect and interact with its executable functions.

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)

A high-performance that has been modified specifically to complete a particular process, like Bitcoin-mining for example.

Arbitrage

The practice of trading assets in various markets to profit from the contrasting prices of the same good.

ASIC-resistant

A cryptocurrency that is ASIC-resistant cannot be mined using ASIC computers. Its protocol and mining algorithm are purposefully designed to bring zero advantages to ASIC miners.

Ask Price

Through this term, a seller on an exchange establishes the lowest selling price that he is willing to accept for an asset

Asset Management

A framework that enables asset holders to manage their goods. It is also a practice through which specific companies manage the assets for their clients.

Asynchronous

Processes within electronic systems that take place at different times or speeds and independently of the main program’s functioning pace.

Atomic Swap

A technological alternative to cryptocurrency exchanges that allows the swap between two digital assets without the need for intermediaries. It is based on smart contract technology.

Attack Surface

One or more gaps in a software medium that a hacker can infiltrate to retrieve important system data.

Auction

The live, bidding process through which the sale of an asset is negotiated. Generally, the highest bidder gets possession of the auctioned good as soon as the auctioneer who is in charge of the event confirms it.

Active Management

A strategy of investment that fund managers may exploit to surpass an index or a certain market to create new profits.

Address

The hashed rendition of a public key that identifies the unique, virtual location of a wallet on a particular blockchain.

A universally-used phrase originating from Latin that means “created for this particular purpose.”

Airdrop

The act through which the public receives digital assets from an active wallet on the blockchain or from an entity that holds another particular token.

Algorithm

A problem-solving string of equations, rules, and calculations generally performed by a computer.

All or None Order (AON)

A placed order that must be completed in its entirety before other orders follow suit. If all the components of the order are not finalized completely, the order will not be concluded.

q
Quantum Computing

Computer technology that aims to improve by using the principles of quantum theory. It relies on subatomic-level particles called qubits that can take both 1 and 0 values concomitantly.

b

A term referring to a portfolio of digital assets that are performing poorly.

Bear Market

A term from the traditional financial system that the cryptocurrency industry also uses to refer to a negative trend in market value.

Benchmark

A standard reference point that is used to measure the performance of a certain asset or portfolio of assets.

Beta (Coefficient)

An instrument that is used to compare the unpredictability of an asset in contrast with the volatility of a market index or a portfolio of assets.

Beta (Release)

The second stage in the development of a product, software or system that follows the Alpha stage. During this period, an advanced version is shared for users to test and for the developers to gain more feedback.

Bid Price

The starting price that a buyer offers to pay for an asset, commodity or cryptocurrency.

Bid-Ask Spread

The difference between the lowest value of the Ask Price and the highest Bid Price that appears in the sale report of an asset.

Binance Blockchain Charity Foundation (BCF)

 

A decentralized charity network founded by Binance that promotes the principle of “blockchain for social good.”

Binance Community Vote

The event in which members of the Binance community can vote for a project to win a free listing status on the exchange platform.

Binance Ecosystem Fund (BEF)

An operation through which Binance and its partners collaborate on the blockchain system on various cryptocurrency projects.

Binance Labs

An initiative from Binance to create an empowering environment where entrepreneurs and blockchain investors can develop their projects.

Bitcoin (BTC)

The world’s first cryptocurrency and the initial model of “electronic cash.” It was first released in 2009 by a developer or a group of developers that went by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, and whose identity has not been disclosed yet.

Bitcoin Client

The end-user software and interface that nodes on the Bitcoin blockchain use it to get more information about the protocol. The client abides by the network’s rules and in exchange, it enjoys the facilities that it has to offer, such as private key generation and security for payment transfers.

Bitcoin Core

Open-Source software that the Bitcoin creator(s) made available for users to interact with the blockchain.

Bitcoin Dominance

The market cap of Bitcoin in comparison with the market capitalization values of altcoins.

Bitcoin Pizza

The term refers to the infamous incident that took place on May 22, 2010, and which saw Laszlo Hanyecz, a Bitcoin user spend 10,000 tokens on 2 Papa John’s pizzas. At the highest historical value of BTC, those pizzas would have cost $197,830,600.

Black Swan Event

An unexpected mishap or a series of occurrences that derive from a planned event or operation.

An electronic directory that can store transactional information. A sequence of blocks becomes a blockchain.

Block Explorer

An online page that displays data about a blockchain including transaction history, balances, and blocks.

Block Height

The distance measured in the number of blocks between a blockchain and the genesis block (block 0) where it began.

Block Reward

The total number of tokens that a crypto miner receives for successfully mining a block and furthering the blockchain.

Blockchain

A growing, decentralized ledger that contains the chronological sequence of transactions involving a cryptocurrency.

Blockchain Explorer

A public, open-source browser that allows users to inspect and audit the entire history of a particular blockchain.

Bloom Filter

A sequence of data that enables a user to find out if a specific item is part of a set.

Bluepaper

A technical paper that details all the specifications of a technology. Its purpose is to educate users about the inner mechanisms of a specific technological protocol and the issues that it should resolve.

Also known as Binance Coin, this cryptocurrency is a native coin of the exchange that has multiple functions, such as fueling transactions or making in-store payments among others.

Bollinger Bands

An analysis index that gauges market unpredictability. It contains data spread in a structure that comprises two sidelong bands and a flexible average.

The compensation that is offered in exchange for referral work, development procedures or other constructive actions.

Break-Even Point (BEP)

The point in the evolution of an operation where its revenue equals its costs.

Breakeven Multiple

The number by which the current cost of a token has to multiply to reach its highest historical value.

Breakout

The event that sees the value of a cryptocurrency break past a point of resistance or support, and outside of a predicted price graphic.

Contrary to HODL, this term refers to focusing on building a project and investing in its development rather than passively holding.

Bull Market

The opposite of Bear Market. The term is taken from the traditional financial system, and which shows a positive trend in the cryptocurrency market.

Buy Wall

A combination of numerous huge buys or a single huge buy that features the same price in the order book of a specific market.

r
Race Attack

In cryptocurrency, it is a fraudulent practice similar to a double-spend attempt in economics. It implies the concomitant creation of two transactions with the same funds by an attacker that sends one to its victim and the other to the network. The intention is to receive funds for both of them from the unaware victim.

Ransomware

A malicious program virus that takes control of your computer and threatens to expose your information unless you pay a ransom.

A slang term derived from video games that are used to describe when an entity on the market has experienced catastrophic and irremediable failure.

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

A metric used in the analysis of stocks or financial markets where it compares the historical trajectory of an asset to its closing price at the end of the latest trading period.

Resistance

The point where an uptrending value of an asset may come to a halt due to the large volume of sales that are recorded at that price level.

Return on Investment (ROI)

The figure shows how profitable a particular investment has become at a specific time. It is the ratio between net profit and the total invested funds.

Roadmap

A plan that lines up the short and long-term objectives of a business or project with a specific timeline of events.

Routing Attack

A malicious attack through which the attacker aims to affect the participation time on a network. In cryptocurrency, the goal is to force the creation of two parallel blockchains.

c
Candidate Block

An interim block that occurs during mining, and which the miner creates before it adds it to the blockchain by solving the puzzle at hand.

Candlestick

A comprehensive depiction of an asset’s evolution in value within a specific period. The graph should include the start and the end prices as well as the lowest and highest values in the selected interval.

Capitulation

A brief interval of intense selling during which traders put most of their holdings up for sale to all interested buyers.

Central Bank

An economic authority that manages the currency and money supply of a country. Additional responsibilities include the overseeing of interest rates and commercial banking activities.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

An electronic component that elucidates and executes the programming operations within a computer.

Centralized

When the executive power and operation-devising decisions all take place in a specific location of a structure.

The process through which a piece of information is encrypted or decrypted. It can be either symmetric or asymmetric, depending on its key model.

Circulating Supply

The most accurate amount of tokens representing a cryptocurrency that is available on the market at a given point.

An online, computing service containing various resources that are made available to multiple users at the same time regardless of their locations.

The virtual representation of a cryptocurrency that can be used as a corresponding value during an exchange between other currencies.

Collateral

The security guaranteed for the repayment of a loan that enforces the initial loan transfer.

Colocation

The place in stock exchange locations where high-frequency traders engage in transactions and trades.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

A US government agency that acts independently in regulating derivative markets and overseeing swaps, trades, and futures.

Confirmation Time

The exact time when a block is confirmed within a blockchain, and which signifies that the time for the submission of a transaction has expired.

Confluence

A stable strategy that combines a series of signals, indicators, and methods that increase its chances of success.

Consensus

A mechanism that ensures the security in a peer-to-peer system like a blockchain.

Contentious Hard Fork

The event in which a disagreement within a community leads to a fork in the consensus mechanism and splits the blockchain into two new chains. The two sides then continue their peer-to-peer networking each on a chain and implementing their unique changes.

Credentials

The collection of personal data of a given user, which may include name, username, email address and others.

Cryptocurrency

An encrypted digital asset that works as a means of exchange in an economic transaction within a peer-to-peer ledger.

Cryptography

The practice of encrypting or decrypting a piece of information by using a complex system of mathematical data, symbols and computing techniques.

Custody

The control over one’s assets. The term also applies in situations where an entity holds control of possessions on behalf of another party.

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s
Satoshi Nakamoto

The pseudonym of a person or a group of persons that developed the Bitcoin whitepaper. Their identity remains a mystery.

Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU)

An emergency insurance fund that Binance has created for its users, and which is operative since July 2018.

Security and Exchange Commissions (SEC)

An independent federal government agency in the United States that is responsible for regulating the securities markets and for protecting the investors’ rights on them.

Security Audit

In cryptocurrency, it is a standardized analysis that tests the security of a blockchain or of the smart contracts that run on it and their defense against potential attacks.

Security Token Offering (STO)

A fundraising alternative to Initial Coin Offering (ICO) where investors receive tokenized digital securities in exchange for their funds. These assets are subject to federal securities and regulations.

Seed Phrase

Also known as a recovery phase, it is a sequence of words that wallet software will provide a Bitcoin user to help with password recovery.

Segregated Witness (SegWit)

The practice of fitting more transactions into a single block by separating the signatures from the transactions.

Selfish Mining

A strategy through which a miner chooses to release the blocks he mined at a later date to gain a competitive advantage over the network.

Sell Wall

The accumulation of a large number of sell orders for a cryptocurrency at a particular price. The wall prevents the sell orders from being executed separately at a higher price than the value of the wall. This practice has a downtrending effect on a crypto’s selling price.

Sentiment

The global approach or belief that a community expresses for a cryptocurrency or a market in light of recent events.

Sharpe Ratio

An instrument that investors can use to measure the ROI in comparison with a risk-free asset, after establishing the risk.

Sidechain

A parallel ledger that runs independently beside the original blockchain from which it was created. Data from the latter can be linked to it and vice-versa.

Smart Contract

A computer protocol that validates a transaction on a blockchain. It works on the classic programming condition “If…then,” and sets up a prerequisite that has to be met for the transaction to be credible and valid without the need for the confirmation of a third party. The transactions that take place through a smart contract are easy to track and irreversible.

Snapshot

The possibility of recording the state of a blockchain at a given time. This ability becomes essential during a hard fork when the exact status of a ledger can be recorded before a new chain is born from the old blockchain.

Source Code

A compilation of commands and computer instructions that define the executable function of a computer program.

Stablecoin

A form of cryptocurrency that developers have created to keep a stable price instead of going through endless value oscillations.

An entity that holds cryptocurrency funds in a wallet to support the functioning of a PoS blockchain. In exchange, it receives a reward for securing the network.

Staking Pool

A place where a community of stakeholders come together and use the merging power of their stakes to validate a new block into existence.

State Channel

The two-way transmission channel on a network that two nodes use to exchange information.

Store of Value

An asset that does not depreciate its value even if it is stored and sold or exchanged at a later date.

Supercomputer

A computer that runs at a high level of performance that is inaccessible to regular computers.

Supply Chain

A web of entities that work together to ensure the creation and distribution of specific, pre-ordered goods.

Support

The point where a downtrending value of an asset may come to a halt due to the large volume of purchases that are recorded at that price level.

Sybil Attack

An attack in a peer-to-peer network that occurs when a node creates multiple identities at the same time. Its purpose is to dilute the number of members and reduce the security of the platform.

d

A latent process part of a computing framework that does not operate until a certain event activates it.

Dead Cat Bounce

A short-lived value restoration in the downtrend trajectory of a declining asset.

Decentralized Application (DApp)

A program that runs on a network of computers, and which is not operated by a single entity. At its base is a peer-to-peer collaboration between users, which is different from traditional subordination to a central computer.

Decentralized Autonomous Cooperative (DAC)

An association where the decisions are taken by the shareholders without the need for a central authority.

Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)

An association of shareholders that is governed by hard-coded, transparent rules and not by a central authority.

Decentralized Exchange (DEX)

A virtual exchange where users can trade assets without having to deposit funds first, and where the system does not retain their assets during the transaction.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

A system based on several blockchain networks that allow the functioning of a collection of decentralized financial applications.

Decryption

The transformation that an encrypted piece of information goes through to become readable data.

Deep Web

An area of the internet that is not indexed on major web search engines, such as Google, Bing, and others.

Delisting

The act through which an exchange removes an asset from its collection whether it is the developer’s choice or the decision of the exchange.

Design Flaw Attack

When an entity creates software or a smart contract and intentionally hides an error within it. The attack is designed to lure in other users who are unaware of the flaw and who become easy targets for data theft and asset hacking.

Difficulty Bomb

A term that usually refers to the augmenting difficulties of mining for Ethereum or other similar proof-of-work tokens.

Digital Ledger Technology (DLT)

Also known as Distributed Ledger Technology, it is a consensus protocol with a far-reaching distribution over multiple geographical areas without answering to a central authority.

Divergence

The event in which the market value of an asset and one of its indicators are taking opposite trajectories.

Diversification

The process through which funds are dispersed across a portfolio of assets to diminish the risk of devaluation or loss.

Do Your Own Research (DYOR)

An unwritten rule that investors abide by before spending resources on a cryptocurrency. Having a personal insight into the market is usually better than counting on readymade analysis.

Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)

The practice of spending a fixed amount of dollars into an asset over a specific period regardless of the value of the asset.

Double Spending

One of the probable results of a hacking or a 51% attack, which results in the spending of several tokens more times than intended.

t

A network user that places an order which immediately pairs up with a pre-existing order in the system.

The term used to describe a tremendous devaluation of an asset that accelerates its downtrend after the news about its failure becomes public.

Technical Analysis (TA)

The method through which entities study and analyze all the relevant data that is available before investing. It allows them to discover market opportunities, prevent investment risks and forecast price trends.

The acronym or symbol that identifies with a specific asset on an exchange platform. For example, BTC, ETH or XRP.

Token Lockup

Also known as the vesting period, it is the interval after the issuance of an asset when the tokens cannot make the subject of trade or exchange.

Token Sale

Also known as an Initial Coin Offering, this event signifies the initial release of a new token for investors to purchase.

Total Supply

It represents the entire number of tokens of a particular cryptocurrency that is available either in circulation or held somewhere.

Transaction ID (TXID)

The reference indicator for transactions on a blockchain.

Transactions per Second (TPS)

The term that shows how many transactions can occur in a single second on a particular blockchain.

Trustless

The characteristic of a peer-to-peer network where trust is not established by a central authority. Instead, trust is enforced between the simple participation of peers.

Turing Complete

An automaton machine that can emulate a Turing machine and solve any computational puzzle regardless of its difficulty once it goes through a lengthy learning period.

e
Eclipse Attack

Malicious coordination of the majority of a network’s users that intentionally prevent other peers from receiving information.

Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)

A hypothesis from financial economics that states that the price of an asset only reacts to new information. Therefore, by looking at the values of assets at any given time you have access to all the existing information about them.

Encryption

The action of transforming a piece of readable information into an encrypted string of data that prevents unauthorized access from entities that do not possess the encrypting cipher.

Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA)

A global standards organization that aims to support the creation and development of blockchain applications that improve the interoperability for businesses worldwide.

A standard that defines the creation and implementation of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

ERC-721

The standard that defines unique, non-interchangeable tokens are created on the Ethereum blockchain.

Exchange

A platform where cryptocurrency users can engage in asset trading depending on the tokens and currencies supported by the exchange.

u
Unconfirmed Transaction

A transaction that has not yet been confirmed as part of the blockchain either because the miner or the staker has not completed it.

Unit of Account

A fixed standard that is fundamental to the measurement and comparability of various things including money and cryptocurrency.

Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO)

The amount of a cryptocurrency transaction that remains unspent and which can later be used in another transaction.

User Interface (UI)

The medium (virtual or physical) where a human can interact with a computer.

f
Falling Knife

Buying an asset that is on a downtrend spiral hoping that it will regain its value at a later date.

Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)

A crushing feeling of anxiety that you could be missing out on a unique, money-making deal by not taking action.

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)

A compilation of scare tactics and disinformation techniques that a marketing plan employs to spur fear and hesitancy on the market.

The official currency of a state that is legal tender both internally and internationally.

Fill Or Kill Order (FOK)

An order that requires immediate action (buy or sell in its entirety) otherwise it is annulled.

Finality

The warranty that determines the irreversibility of completed cryptocurrency transactions.

First-Mover Advantage (FMA)

The advantage that an entity has on an uncharted market after being the first-ever provider of a particular service or product.

Fiscal Policy

The instrument through which a government regulates its spending levels and tax rates to ensure the proper functioning of the economy.

Flappening