Account abstraction
A model in which an account’s validation and execution rules can be programmed instead of relying only on a fixed key rule.
72 definitions
Cryptocurrency glossary
Understand the terms before choosing a network, signing a transaction or comparing a service.
Airdrop
A token distribution, sometimes legitimate and often copied by scammers.
Altcoin
Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.
Asset segregation
Legal and accounting arrangements separating customer assets from a provider’s own assets.
Bid–ask spread
Difference between the best displayed buy and sell prices.
Blockchain
A distributed ledger arranged in cryptographically linked blocks.
Block explorer
Tool for viewing public blocks, transactions and addresses on a network.
Block height
Position of a block in the chain, counted from the first block.
Bridge
A protocol that transfers or represents assets across blockchains, with its own technical and custody risks.
Bundler
Participant that groups UserOperations and submits them to the network’s entry contract.
Chain reorganization
Replacement of one or more recent blocks by another valid chain branch.
Confirmation
Inclusion of a transaction in a block, followed by any subsequent blocks.
Custody
The responsibility for holding and securing the keys that control assets.
DAO
An organization whose rules and votes are coordinated on-chain.
Data availability
Ability of others to access the data needed to verify a state or reconstruct operations.
DeFi
Financial services accessed through smart contracts.
Exchange
A centralized or decentralized service for swapping assets.
Finality
Degree of confidence that a block will not be reorganized; the mechanism depends on the network.
Gas fee
The cost of executing an operation on a network.
Gas limit
Maximum amount of gas an Ethereum transaction may consume.
Halving
Bitcoin’s programmed reduction in mining rewards.
Layer 2
A network built above a blockchain to improve capacity or cost.
Limit order
Instruction to execute at a limit price or better, without guaranteed execution.
Liquidity
Ability to trade a given amount without substantially worsening the execution price.
Liquidity pool
Assets deposited in a smart contract to facilitate trading or lending.
Market cap
Unit price times circulating supply; it is not the project’s cash reserve.
Market order
Instruction to execute promptly at available prices, without a guaranteed final price.
Mempool
Set of transactions received by a node but not yet included in a block.
MEV
Value extractable by choosing, excluding or ordering transactions in a block.
Multisig
A wallet requiring several signatures from a defined group to authorize an operation.
Network fee
Amount paid for network processing, separate from provider charges.
NFT
A non-fungible token representing a unique digital identifier.
Nonce
Value used to order transactions or vary a computation attempt, depending on the network.
On-chain
Data or an action recorded directly on a blockchain.
Oracle
A service that provides external data to a smart contract.
Order book
Available buy and sell orders at different prices on a trading venue.
Paymaster
Contract that may sponsor a UserOperation’s fees under its own policy.
Payment request
Details supplied to a payer about asset, network, address, amount and sometimes expiry.
Private key
The secret used to sign and control funds.
Private order flow
Sending an operation outside the public mempool to a service whose guarantees need review.
Proof of reserves
Published check of some held assets; alone it does not establish all liabilities.
Proof of Stake
Consensus based on assets committed by validators.
Proof of Work
Consensus based on costly computation performed by miners.
Prover
Party that computes a cryptographic proof from a claim and the required data.
Public address
Shareable identifier for receiving an asset on a specific network; it does not reveal the private key.
Recovery guardian
Person or device authorized to take part in wallet recovery under defined rules.
Recovery phrase
Words that can restore a wallet’s keys.
Refund address
Address confirmed by a customer for a refund separate from the original payment.
Rug pull
A project abandonment or theft harming its users.
Sandwich attack
Transactions placed before and after a user trade to profit from the price movement it creates.
Sequencer
Operator that orders transactions on some layer 2 systems.
Session key
Temporary key whose permissions and lifetime may be constrained by a compatible wallet.
Slippage
The difference between expected and executed price.
Smart account
Contract-controlled account that can enforce signing, recovery or spending rules.
Stablecoin
A token seeking to track a reference value with no absolute guarantee.
Token
An asset created on an existing blockchain.
Token approval
Permission allowing a contract to spend a token up to a specified limit.
Token contract
Deployed code that defines a token’s rules; its address identifies the issuance.
Tokenomics
A token’s economic rules: issuance, distribution, utility, incentives and possible burning.
Token vesting
Schedule that gradually releases tokens allocated to a team or investors.
Transaction hash
Identifier derived from transaction data and used to locate it.
Transaction ordering
Choice of sequence for operations in a block, which can change their outcomes.
TVL
Total value deposited in a DeFi protocol.
UserOperation
Object describing a proposed action by a smart account under ERC-4337; it is not an ordinary transaction.
Validator
A participant that proposes or attests blocks under a Proof of Stake network’s rules.
Validity proof
Proof that lets others verify a computation or state change follows specified rules.
Verifier
Party or program that checks a proof under a particular cryptographic system.
Wallet
A tool that manages keys and signs transactions.
Whale
A participant holding a very large amount of an asset.
Whitepaper
A document describing a project’s goals and design.
Withdrawal
Transfer of assets from a platform to a wallet or another service.
Zero-knowledge proof
A technique for proving a statement without revealing all the data used.
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