Crypto Glossary A

Abnormal Return

The term “abnormal return” refers to the out-of-the-ordinary profits made by certain assets or securities over a specific time period.

Abenomics

Abenomics is Japan’s economic strategy, which consists of three arrows: monetary policy, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms.

Advantage Absolute

Absolute advantage occurs when a company can produce the same product as other companies while using fewer resources.

Return on Investment

The term absolute return refers to the return on investment (whether positive or negative) obtained in a specific period of time.

Abstract

An abstract is something that exists only in the mind as an idea.

Accepting Risk (Acceptance)

Accepting risk, also known as risk acceptance, is a risk management strategy used by businesses to accept risks associated with specific events rather than investing resources to address them.

Account

An account is essentially a record of the financial activities of a specific asset.

Account Abstraction

Account abstraction is the process of customising certain elements of smart contract accounts to make it easier for users to interact with blockchain.

Account Balance

The amount in a bank/cryptocurrency account that can be accessed immediately is referred to as the account balance. Account balance, on the other hand, refers to the sum obtained from the difference between all debit and credit transactions posted to a company’s account in accounting.

Account Number

An account number is a string of numbers (and occasionally letters) used to identify a specific bank account and the account holder.

Accountability

Accountability is the need or willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions.

Accounting Conservatism

Accounting conservatism is a principle that requires the immediate recognition of future expenses and liabilities rather than future assets and revenues in a volatile situation.

Accounting Method

An accounting method is a set of rules that govern how and when revenue and expenses are recorded in a business.

Accounting Token

Accounting tokens are essentially tokenized credit or debit entries (IOU/UOM), just like any spreadsheet-based accounting system.

Accredited Investors

Accredited investors are individuals or organisations who are qualified to participate in financial opportunities that are not legally available to regular investors.

Accretion (of a Discount)

The gain generated by the difference between the discounted purchase price and the face value of an asset is referred to as accretion of a discount.

Accrual Accounting

Accrual accounting is a method of recording revenues and expenses in the year they occur rather than when the payment is made.

Accrue

An accrual is the accumulation of interest, income, or expenses over time.

Accrued Income

Accrued income is income that has been earned but has yet to be received; it is calculated using the accrual method of accounting.

Accrued Interest

Accrued interest is the amount of interest owed by or owed to a company on a debt or financial obligation that has yet to be received or paid on a specified date.

Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities are financial obligations that have not been credited from the company’s bank accounts due to the failure to receive invoices for these obligations.

Accrued Revenue

Accrued revenue increases when a company records sales without receiving payment for the goods or services sold because the customer is not invoiced at the time of the sale.

Accumulation Phase

The accumulation phase is a stage in the market cycle that occurs immediately following a downtrend and signals the beginning of a positive uptrend.

Accumulation/Distribution Indicator

By multiplying the closing price of a specific period with volume, the accumulation/distribution indicator determines the supply and demand level of a stock/asset/cryptocurrency.

Acid Test Ratio

An acid test ratio is a tool that determines a company’s ability to pay off current liabilities.

Acquisition

An acquisition is the purchase of a controlling stake in another company.

Acquisition Cost

The total cost to be paid for a company’s property, equipment, or other assets after adjusting for incentives, discounts, closing costs, and other necessary expenditures but before sales taxes is known as acquisition cost.

Acquisition Premium

The acquisition premium is the price difference between the purchase price of a company and its estimated market value.

Active Management

Active management necessitates the active management of a portfolio by a manager or a team of managers.

Activist Investor

An activist investor is a person or organisation that seeks to acquire a controlling stake in a company in order to effect change.

Adam Back

Adam Back is a cryptographer, cypherpunk, and crypto industry figure from the United Kingdom.

Adaptive State Sharding

Elrond employs Adaptive State Sharding, which combines all types of sharding into one to improve communication and performance.

Address

A location where cryptocurrency in the form of a string of letters and numbers can be sent to and from.

Administrative Expenses

Administrative expenses are costs incurred by an organisation that include, but are not limited to, administrative staff benefits and salaries, rent, and managerial compensation.

Adoption Curve

The adoption curve depicts the rate at which people adopt new technology. It may also entail segmenting the target audience to better understand the market’s willingness.

Advance Decline Line

The A/ D line is a specialized index that plots the difference between the advancing and declining issues in the stock request on a diurnal base

Aeternity Blockchain

A blockchain network that works on a mongrel agreement approach; both Proof of Work and Proof of Stake.

Affiliate

An cooperation is a connection between two enterprises where one company has a small stake in the other company. The conception also applies to the connection between two companies that are possessed by the same parent company.

Affiliate Marketing

chapter marketing is a kind of creation fashion where a business pays a person or reality a commission for promoting their goods and services in order to increase deals.

Agency Problem

The agency problem, also called the principle- agent problem or the agency dilemma, is the essential challenge of prevailing one party( the agent) to bear in the stylish interests of another party( the star) rather than their own benefit.

Agency Theory

The agency proposition discusses how to set up agency connections in a way that minimizes the liability of controversies and other problems arising between agents and headliners.

Agent

An agent is a third party that has been given the legal right to represent a business( the” star”) and enter into contracts on that business’ behalf.

Aggregate Demand

In an frugality, aggregate demand is the total demand for all finished services and goods produced by that frugality.

Aggressive Investment Strategy

An aggressive investment strategy is a high- threat investment strategy that aims to induce the maximum possible returns in fiscal requests.

Air Gap

still, also it can not be infected or corrupted — this is the conception of an air gap, If data can not be penetrated.

Airdrop

A marketing crusade that distributes a specific cryptocurrency or commemorative to an followership.

Airnode

Airnode is an mystic knot and API blockchain gateway that’s readily stationed by API providers who want to engage in the API3 blockchain protocol and put their data feeds on- chain.

Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan was the former head of the US Federal Reserve and served as the president for nearly two decades from 1987 to 2006.

Algo- Trading

Algo- trading is an robotic trading system where buy and vend orders are placed according to the rules of a computer program or algorithm.

Algorithm

A process or set of rules to be followed in problem- working or computation operations, generally by a computer.

Algorithmic Market Operations( AMOs)

Algorithmic Market Operations( AMOs) automatically control the force of algorithmic stablecoins while perfecting scalability, decentralization, and translucency.

Algorithmic Stablecoin

An algorithmic stablecoin actually uses an algorithm under, which can issue further coins when its price increases and buy them off the request when the price falls.

All pitfalls Coverage

It refers to a type of insurance content that automatically covers any threat that the contract doesn’t explicitly forget.

All- Time-High( ATH)

The loftiest point( in price, in request capitalization) that a cryptocurrency has been in history. * see each- Time- Low( ATL).

All- Time-Low( ATL)

An each- time low( ATL) refers to the smallest price a cryptocurrency has hit during its trading history.

Allocation

Allocation is the allotment of equity or commemoratives that may be earned, bought, or reserved for a specific platoon, group, investor, institution, or another analogous reality.

Allocation effectiveness

Allocation effectiveness is allocating coffers in a manner to optimize the effectiveness of the association

Allotment

Allotment refers to the methodical distribution or assignment of coffers in a business to colorful realities over time.

Alpha

Alphais a fiscal tool indicating an investment’s performance relative to its standard indicator in the request.

Alpha Version

nascence interpretation is generally a primary interpretation of the software, released to test its usability and interface.

Alphanumeric

Alphanumeric expressions correspond of both letters and numbers, or characters.

Altcoin

As Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency that captured the world’s imagination, all other coins were latterly nominated “ altcoins, ” as in “ indispensable coins. ”

Altcoin Trader

A person who trades cryptocurrencies indispensable to Bitcoin.

Alternative Investments

Indispensable investments are means that have low correlation and can achieve different threat- acclimated returns than traditional equity and fixed income investments.

Admixture

An admixture is the coupling of two or further associations that should be honored as separate legal realities by the governance’s laws.

Amended Return

An amended return is a revised interpretation of your original duty return.

AMLD5

The European Union’s 5thAnti-Money Laundering Directive( AMDL5) is an update to the union’sAnti-Money Laundering( AML) frame.

Anarcho- capitalism

A political gospel firstly conceived by American economist Murray Rothbard that has now been embraced by numerous members of the crypto community.

Anchoring and Adjustment

Anchoring is the cerebral miracle of having a preconceived idea of commodity and conforming your decision- making around that preconceived notion.

aNFT( Autonomous NFT)

aNFTs( independent NFTs) arenon-fungible commemoratives that can be programmed to initiate their own deals. Every aNFT is a tone- contained, tone- executing reality that can be designed to do any on- chain action in response to any on and off- chain condition.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The quantum of interest a borrower must pay each time is known as the periodic chance rate( APR). The periodic chance rate( APR) is determined by multiplying the periodic interest rate by the number of ages in a time that the periodic rate is used.

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

Annual Percentage Yield( APY) is the rate of return gained over the course of a time on a specific investment. Compounding interest, which is reckoned on a regular base and applied to the quantum, is regard into the APY.

Annual Report

An periodic report is an essential document for any company as it provides a detailed understanding of the establishment’s fiscal performance as well as its unborn prospects.

Annualized Rate of Return

‍An annualized rate of return is a way to measure and track the performance of an investment over time.

Anonymous

obscurity is when commodity isn’t known or named.

Anti- dump/Anti-Dumping Policy

In the world of blockchain, theanti-dumping policy is a set of rules that protects investors from falling victim to a pump and dump scheme, in which a large number of commemoratives are bought by an investor( Goliath) to boost the commemorative’s value and also ditched at a much advanced price, performing in losses to investors who bought the asset latterly.

Anti-Fragile

A quality attached to an asset that means it performs better when exposed to volatility and shocks.

Anti-Malware

Anti-Malware is a type of operation software that prevents, detects, and removes malware from computers & electronic bias.

Anti-Money Laundering( AML)

A set of transnational laws legislated to dock felonious associations or individualities censoring plutocrat through cryptocurrencies into real- world cash.

Antitrust Law

Antitrust is a collection of laws that prohibits illegal competition or monopolistic practices by businesses.

Antivirus

A piece of software designed to cover against vicious software and cyber attacks in general.

Apeing

Apeing is when a cryptocurrency dealer buys a token shortly after the token design launch without conducting thorough exploration.

API

API stands for operation Programming Interface. It’s a set of routines, protocols, and tools for structure software operations. APIs specify how software factors should interact, similar as what data to use and what conduct should be taken.

Application Layer

The top-most layer of a seven-layered OSI model.

AR Token( Arweave)

AR is Arweave’s native commemorative.

Arbitrage

Arbitrage is the practice of snappily buying and dealing the same asset in different requests to take advantage of price differences between the requests.

Arbitrage Pricing proposition( APT)

The arbitrage pricing proposition( APT) offers a frame for assessing request effectiveness and relating arbitrage openings in fiscal requests.

Arbitrageur

An arbitrageur is a type of investor who exploits pricing inefficiencies between two different requests.

Arm Virtual Machine( Qtum)

Qtum’s arm virtual machine allows druggies to execute operations in a decentralized manner.

Aroon Indicator

Aroon Indicator is used to identify the actuality, changes, and corrective retracements and gauge the strength of an ongoing trend in fiscal requests.

Ascending Channel

thrusting channels are trend durability patterns that have an thrusting price action as their main specific.

Ashdraked

The complete loss of a dealer’s total invested capital, specifically as a result of shorting Bitcoin.

ASIC

An acronym for operation-specific intertwined circuit — a device designed for the sole purpose of mining cryptocurrencies.

ASIC- Resistant

This term generally applies to blockchains and mining algorithms, designed to give no benefit for ASICs over consumer grade tackle.

Ask Price

The minimal price that a dealer is willing to accept for an asset. The ask price is also occasionally appertained to as the offer price.

Asset- Backed Commemoratives

Asset- backed commemoratives are digital claims on a physical asset and are backed by that asset.

AUM

means under operation measures the total request values of all the finances controlled by an individual or fiscal institution on behalf of their guests.

Astroturfing

The practice of disguising marketing juggernauts or else patronized messaging as the unprompted views of genuine community members.

Asynchronous

Events that don’t do contemporaneously or at the same rate are appertained to as asynchronous.

AtomicDEX

AtomicDEX offers a cryptocurrency portmanteau and DEX in one operation that’s available for multiple platforms.

Attestation Ledger

An documentation tally is an account book designed to give substantiation of individual deals. It’s generally used to “ attest ” that a fiscal sale took place, or to prove the authenticity of deals or products.

Transaction

An transaction is a public trade through a bidding process where an asset is vended to the loftiest endeavor.

Augmented Reality( AR)

Augmented Reality( AR) is an immersive experience that improves the value and operation of real- world particulars using computer- generated intuitive information transferred through a variety of sensitive modalities similar as sound, touch, smell, and sight.

Authentication

Authentication is a process that confirms a stoner’s identity using watchwords, SMS canons, fingerprints, and other forms of power attestations before granting access to sensitive and/ or particular information.

Authority Masternode( VeChain)

An authority masternode( AM) is a network- connected garçon that runs the VeChainThor full knot program.

Automated Market Maker( AMM)( streamlined)

An automated request maker( AMM) is a system that provides liquidity to the exchange it operates in through automated trading.

Autonomous Economic Agent( AEA)

A result( software reality) byFetch.ai and IOTA foundation that can take conduct without external input using its own intelligence for the profitable benefit of the proprietor.

Average Periodic Growth Rate( AAGR)

It’s the mean return of an individual investment, portfolio, asset or cash inflow on an periodic base.

Average Annual Return( AAR)

Average Annual Return( AAR) refers to a chance deduced when reporting the literal return.

Average diurnal Trading Volume( ADTV)

The average diurnal trading volume( ADTV) of stock or crypto is the number of shares coins traded in one day.

Average Directional indicator( ADX)

The average directional indicator( ADX) is a specialized index that measures how strong a request trend is by using price moving pars and is represented by numbers ranging between 1 and 100, where a larger value suggesting a stronger trend.

Average Return

The average return is the mean value of a sequence of returns generated over a specified period of time.

Average Selling Price( ASP)

An average selling price( ASP) refers to the quantum at which a specific item is vended.

Aave

Aave is Ethereum’s decentralized borrowing and lending platform. Aave users can borrow by providing collateral in the form of crypto assets. In return, lenders who provide collateral for Aave will receive aTokens. aTokens automatically pays holders interest from funds earned from platform trading fees. Aave pioneered the technology of “flash loans” that allow unsecured loans as long as the principal is repaid within the same his Ethereum transaction block.

AAVE Token

AAVE Token is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 asset used as the governance token of the Aave blockchain protocol. AAVE token holders can propose changes in the Aave protocol and approve or reject new proposals. With sufficient distribution, AAVE tokens should eventually enable autonomous and decentralized management of the Aave platform.

Acala USD Stablecoin (aUSD)

Acala USD Stablecoin (aUSD) is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and running on the Acala Network blockchain. aUSD facilitates the operation of the Acala network and is integral to the Acala decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. Users can borrow USD after depositing cryptocurrency assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Polkadot (DOT) via Collateralized Debt Position (CDP) on Honzon stablecoin protocol I can.

Account Abstraction Layer (AAL)

The Account Abstraction Layer (AAL) is the technical infrastructure that enables smart contract development on the Qtum blockchain. Qtum’s base layer follows the UTXO model used for blockchains such as Bitcoin. Qtum’s AAL allows you to “abstract” or transfer the account model used in Ethereum to work with the UTXO model.Qtum’s AAL is a computer intermediary that enables interactions between UTXOs and account models.

Account Model

Account Model is a blockchain architecture that directly transfers information and value. Smart contract platforms like Ethereum use an account model, as opposed to the UTXO model used by the Bitcoin network, which limits the possibilities of smart contracts. A potential drawback of the account model architecture is the difficulty in scaling transactions per second (TPS).

Account Checker Tool

Account Checker is a script or program that takes a list of usernames and passwords, called a combolist, and tests them against a set of target websites. The Account Checker tool greatly increases the speed and efficiency with which attackers can test large numbers of credentials across different websites and service providers. These tools are commonly used by malicious attackers who attempt to carry out fraud and identity theft against account holders who have stolen access.

Accredited Investor

An accredited investor is an investor who meets specific criteria pertaining to income, net worth, and qualifications. While similar conditions can vary from country to country, generally accredited investors can include high- net- worth individualities( HNWIs), fiscal institutions, banks, and large pots. Accredited investors are frequently suitable to pierce complex investments that other investors might not have access to — including adventure capital enterprises, barricade finances, and angel investment enterprises. Accredited investors can also profit from high returns and increased diversification, although the types of investments that are limited to accredited investors can also be subject to advanced threat, high minimal investment quantities, low liquidity, and advanced freights.

Acquirer knot(Crypto.com)

On theCrypto.com blockchain network, Acquirer Nodes grease the agreement of deals between trafficker and client. There are two main types of Acquirer Nodes client and Merchant Acquirer Nodes. The two knot types communicate to corroborate trafficker verification, perform agreement for druggies, and give an escrow service that enablesCrypto.com’s portmanteau and disbenefit card products.

Adaptive Information Dispersal Algorithm( Harmony)

Harmony’s Adaptive Information Dispersal Algorithm is used for segmenting shards of data on Harmony’s blockchain to allow for the briskly propagation of blocks together with RaptorQ erasure garbling and other technology. The methodology is a critical element of Harmony’s adaptive state sharding result.

Adaptive State Sharding( Elrond Network)

Adaptive State Sharding technology allows the Elrond Network to make use of resemblant processing by combining three standardized sharding types( state, network, and sale sharding) into one balanced high- performance system. The result is a secure blockchain with blazing fast scalability and sale times. This enables shard incorporating and shard splitting to allow the network to operate more efficiently, therefore perfecting overall network performance.

Admin Key

An admin key holds special access to make changes to a design’s protocol or smart contract. It’s generally held by a design’s authors or core platoon. Proponents of decentralization argue that holding admin keys goes against decentralized governance practices and acts security pitfalls, while numerous systems have stated their intention to exclude them from practice.

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network( ARPANET)

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network( ARPANET) is an early interpretation of the internet. ARPANET was created by theU.S. Department of Defense and used two specialized foundations of the ultramodern internet a packet switching network with distributed control and TCP/ IP.

Aeternity Blockchain

The Aeternity blockchain is known for its platform-specific Sofia smart contracts, Fate Virtual Machine( VM) frame, state channel scaling technology, as well as its own decentralized mystic and governance structure. Aeternity is designed for decentralized finance( DeFi), document, contract, tab, and damage operation, payments, loans, blockchain- grounded identity, Internet of effects( IoT) blockchain individualities and tackle, gaming, commutable andnon-fungible commemoratives( NFTs), and other uses. Aeternity was conceptualized in 2016, raised backing through a token immolation in 2017, and launched its mainnet in 2018.

Airdrop

An airdrop is a token distribution system in which means are directly transmitted to stoner holdalls for free. Airdrop donors don’t pay for commemoratives entered. generally used as a marketing tactic to produce mindfulness around a design, airdrops can also affect after a chain chopstick, token upgrade, or as part of a fundraising medium.

Airnode( API3)

An airnode is an mystic knot designed to be fluently deployable by operation programming interface( API) providers that want to share in the API3 blockchain protocol and bring their data feeds on- chain. Airnode enables API providers to run their own knot with little- to- no conservation, allowing them to affiliate their API data feeds with smart contract platforms. When an API provider uses an airnode, they come a first- party mystic that directly provides data to the blockchain without the involvement of central bumps.

Alameda Research

innovated in 2017, Alameda Research is a quantitative trading establishment that was innovated by Sam Bankman- Fried. Alameda Research is one of the top liquidity providers in the cryptocurrency space.

Algorand Smart Contract( ASC1)

Algorand Smart Contracts( ASC1s) are smart contracts that operate on Subcaste 1 of the Algorand protocol. ASC1s generally represent fairly small smart contracts, with larger smart contracts being reserved for Subcaste 2. ASC1s are written in an Assembly- suchlike programming language called sale prosecution blessing Language( TEAL), which is also interpreted by Algorand bumps.

Algorand Standard Asset( ASA)

Algorand Standard means( ASAs) are on- chain means native to the Algorand blockchain protocol. As on- chain means, ASAs enjoy the same speed and security as Algorand’s agreement protocol itself. ASAs can be commutable ornon-fungible, representing particulars as varied as stablecoins, in- game points, or a deed to a house. ASAs must basically cleave to several parameters determined by Algorand, though they also allow inventors some customizability.

Algorithmic Stablecoin

Algorithmic stablecoins don’t use edict or cryptocurrency as collateral. rather, price stability results from the use of algorithms and smart contracts that manage the force of commemoratives in rotation. In this model, the stablecoin’s algorithm automatically expands or contracts the number of commemoratives in rotation in order to meet a specific price target.

Algorithmic Trading

Algorithmic trading( also known as algo trading) is a ultramodern system of request trading that utilizes computer software enciphered to follow a particularly defined set of fine instructions — an algorithm — to place one or numerous trades contemporaneously. The formulas cipher against price, timing, volume, and other fine models to follow specific strategies. Algorithmic trading models execute thousands of trades to induce gains at a speed, frequence, and thickness insolvable for a mortal dealer. Algorithmic trading technology gives requests more liquidity and advanced profitability, while also potentially barring mortal emotion and error that can negatively impact trading opinions.

All- Time High( ATH)

All- time high( ATH) is a term that denotes the loftiest price of an asset ever recorded on an exchange or request. ATH is the contrary of the each- time low( ATL), which again represents the smallest price at which an asset has ever traded. ATHs are generally set by means during bull request uptrends in the blockchain and cryptocurrency request, when means may witness ages of extreme growth in value.

All- Time Low( ATL)

All- time low( ATL) is a term that denotes the smallest price of an asset ever recorded on an exchange or request. ATL is the contrary of the each- time high( ATH), which again represents the loftiest price at which an asset has ever traded. ATLs are generally set by means during harsh bear request downturns in the blockchain and cryptocurrency request, when means have dropped mainly from former ATH bull request prices.

Allocated Gold

According to the London Good Delivery set of nonsupervisory and compliance norms, gold can be bought in two distinct forms allocated or unallocated. When a client purchases allocated gold, they’ve power over the gold and can choose to store it on their own, or in a vault at a London Bullion Market Association( LBMA) installation. Unallocated gold doesn’t feature direct power over specific gold bars, but rather holds annuity to a certain quantum of gold.

Allocation

An allocation is an allotment of commemoratives or equity that’s bought, earned, or reserved for a specific investor, platoon, association, or corresponding reality. Blockchain startups must determine their original commemorative allocation to grease the long- term viability of their business model, with colorful allocations for marketing, software development, and functional costs. numerous blockchain systems also have their own coffers and foundations which generally retain a specific token allocation as well. It’s also common for blockchain startups to give early platoon members a specific token allocation, with the reservation that they can not vend their commemoratives for several times.

Alpha Coefficient

In a traditional fiscal environment, nascence is a measure of an investment’s active return when compared to a request indicator. For example, a nascence of 10 indicates that an investment’s return over a specific time period outperformed the average request return over the same period, whereas a negative nascence indicates that the investment underperformed the request. In contrast, beta measures an investment’s volatility and provides an indication of its relative risk. The capital pricing model used in modern portfolio proposition is comprised of two critical components: nascence and beta.

Alpha Homora

Alpha Homora is a service-based protocol developed by Alpha Finance Labs that enables users to earn interest on their crypto deposits by utilising standardised yield farming and leveraged derivative yield farming. Alpha Homora V1 is initially designed for Ethereum and BNB Chain, and it allows users to participate as yield farmers, liquidity providers, ether (ETH) and BNB lenders, bounty hunters, and liquidators. Alpha Homora V2, which will be built initially for Ethereum, aims to expand these capabilities by allowing for leveraged yield farming and the use of multiple assets at the same time.

Alpha Lending

Alpha Lending is a permissionless, decentralised pool-based lending and borrowing protocol that employs algorithmic autonomous interest rates. Alpha Lending, which runs on BNB Chain and Ethereum, is intended to facilitate the use of cross-chain assets and to help lenders and borrowers maximise their return on investment. The platform employs interest-bearing alTokens to represent the user’s portion of their deposit (such as alBNB if BNB is deposited). Lending pool contracts on Alpha aid in the use of deposits, withdrawals, repayments, liquidations, and assets borrowed by platform users.

Alpha Version (Software Release)

The alpha version is one of many stages in the software release lifecycle that must be completed before the finalised production version is released. The cycle usually starts with the pre-alpha release, followed by the alpha, beta, release candidate (gamma and delta), release to manufacturing (RTM), general availability (GA), and finally the production or live release, in that order. An alpha version, like a beta version, is an early version of a software implementation or blockchain network that must go through several stages of development before it can be considered a production version.

AlphaX (Alpha Finance)

AlphaX is a decentralised, non-orderbook perpetual swap trading marketplace that introduces a new trading product to decentralised finance (DeFi) that was previously unavailable on-chain. AlphaX users will also be able to hedge leveraged yield farming/liquidity providing positions and use a market-neutral leveraged position with Alpha Homora. AlphaX is specifically designed to minimise downside risk and employs three distinct features that set it apart from competitors: a funding rate baked into the price, the use of tokenized leveraged long and short positions, and minimised slippage via the dynamic k algorithmic model.

Altcoin

An altcoin is an “alternative coin,” or any cryptocurrency launched after Bitcoin. It refers to any cryptocurrency that is not bitcoin (BTC). Examples of altcoins include ether (ETH), dogecoin (DOGE), and litecoin (LTC).

alToken (Alpha Finance)

When an Alpha Lending Protocol user deposits an asset (such as BNB), they are issued an alALPHA token (similar to BNB), which is an interest-bearing asset that represents their initial deposit. The initial deposit is transferred into a smart contract, which aggregates the total liquidity of each asset into a pooled fund that can be borrowed from. The interest paid by borrowers is then distributed proportionally among liquidity providers.

Alchemix

The Alchemix decentralised finance (DeFi) lending platform uses the synthetic protocol token alUSD. Users of Alchemix can deposit DAI to create alUSD, a stablecoin that tokenizes a user’s future yield in Yearn.Finance vaults. As a result, alUSD serves as the mechanism through which Alchemix provides automatically repaying stablecoin-backed loans.

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is a proprietary service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that was introduced in 2006 to provide customers with access to object storage through a specialised web interface. Amazon S3 uses the same storage architecture as Amazon’s global ecommerce enterprise and can be used to store almost any type of object, including internet applications, data archives, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, analytics, hybrid cloud storage, and more.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a division of the American ecommerce behemoth Amazon. AWS is well-known for offering on-demand cloud computing services to businesses, individuals, and governments on a pay-as-you-go basis. AWS also offers cloud server setup and hosting, data storage and transfer, content delivery, networking, analytics, application services, and a variety of distributed computing building blocks and tools. AWS provides its customers with Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which enables them to use an all-in-one virtual cluster of computers that emulates the characteristics of a real computer and complex cloud computing systems.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Lambda

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Lambda is a serverless computing service that allows you to run programmes without having to run your own servers or manage code. AWS Lambda will automatically allocate the amount of computational power required to run the code request if you upload it as an image or ZIP file. You can have the code run automatically across hundreds of AWS and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, or you can control it directly from an online app. Lambda applications can scale to meet the associated traffic of a programme and can be written in a variety of programming languages.

Amortizing

Amortization is the process of spreading an initial or overhead cost over time or between parties. Transaction costs on the Orchid network are kept low by amortising fees across transactions and users. To reduce individual user costs, transaction fees are gradually paid off or broken down into increments that are then shared across a large network.

Amp (AMP)

The Flexa network’s digital collateral token is AMP, a payment system that allows users to spend certain cryptocurrencies at select retailers’ physical locations. AMP is an ERC-20 token that is used as collateral to guarantee retail payments while blockchain transactions are pending. Flexacoin has been replaced by the AMP token (FXC). The AMP token is being supported for the first time on Gemini Exchange.

Anchor Protocol

The Anchor Protocol is a savings protocol that was designed to run directly on top of the Terra stablecoin ecommerce payment platform. It enables users to earn yield-powered block rewards by lending Terra deposits to borrowers who use liquid-stake Proof-of-Stake (PoS) assets from PoS blockchain protocols as collateral in the form of bonded assets (bAssets). Anchor Savings has no minimum deposits, account freezes, or sign-up requirements and is accessible to anyone in the world who has Internet access. The Anchor ecosystem employs its main utility token (ANC) as well as other asset types created specifically for use within Terra’s decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

Andre Cronje

Yearn.Finance was founded and is led by Andre Cronje. He created the majority of the original Yearn products before relinquishing personal control of the protocol with the launch of the YFI governance token in 2020. Cronje is still an active member of the Yearn community and the decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

Angel Investor

An angel investor, also known as a seed investor or private investor, is a person who seeks out new opportunities to fund start-ups with high growth potential. Angel investors typically lend capital to new businesses in exchange for a percentage of ownership in the company. To increase the chances of a startup’s success, angel investing can also include mentoring, business advice, marketing and advertising strategies, and connection facilitation. Angel investors frequently participate in private sales or pre-sales that precede public funding rounds such as Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in the blockchain space (ICOs).

Ankr ETH (aETH)

Ankr ETH (aETH) is a fictitious asset that can be staked on the Ankr Network instead of ether (ETH). When a user deposits ETH in an Ankr deposit contract, they receive aETH in exchange, lowering the barrier to entry for investors who want to stake ETH but do not have the minimum 32 ETH coins required to stake on the Ethereum Consensus Layer (formerly known as Ethereum 2.0) to receive a yearly APY. When a user deposits ETH and receives aETH in exchange, their investment is locked in for the same amount of time as users who stake 32 ETH on the Ethereum network.

Ankr Governors

Anyone who has ANKR stored in a private, supported wallet is considered a member of the platform’s governance. These users can vote on proposals that affect the project’s direction.

Ankr Providers

Ankr providers provide the computing power required to run Ankr “sidecars” on an Ethereum Consensus Layer node, each of which can hold up to 32 ether (ETH). Providers can use their own hardware or set up an Ankr node. Providers also submit insurance in ANKR or ETH, assisting in the network’s protection against poor node performance or unexpected fund withdrawals. If ANKR is used as the insurance, the equivalent of 2 ETH in ANKR is required to submit insurance. At the end of the staking period, rewards for an ANKR-funded node are issued in ANKR. The purpose of this guaranteed amount is to protect stakeholders from potential losses.

Ankr Staking

Ankr staking (previously known as Stkr) is a system that uses assets like aETH — Ankr’s version of Ethereum’s ETH, or ether — to address the current liquidity and accessibility issues with staking on the Ethereum Consensus Layer (formerly known as Ethereum 2.0). To earn yearly staking rewards, would-be validators must normally stake a minimum of 32 ETH. As a result, Ankr created a novel model that improves the accessibility and liquidity of Ethereum staking by allowing stakers to stake a smaller fractional amount of ETH using Ankr’s aETH (essentially creating a staking pool).

Anti-Malware

Anti-malware software is a type of software that is designed to prevent, detect, and remove malware. Malware refers to any type of ‘malicious software’ that is specifically designed to cause damage to computers and computer systems. Malware includes, among other things, viruses, trojan horses, and ransomware.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

AML is a comprehensive set of processes, regulations, and rules designed to combat money laundering, terrorism funding, and financial crimes such as cyber theft and fraud. AML procedures require financial institutions to monitor transactions to ensure that funds are not used for criminal activities, tax evasion, or other violations. To gain access to financial services in the blockchain industry, an AML check is frequently required.

Antivirus

Antivirus software is a type of software used to prevent, detect, and remove computer viruses. Computer viruses are malicious computer programmes that are designed to replicate and harm computers and computer systems.

Anyswap

Anyswap is a cross-chain protocol that allows you to deposit coins and convert them into wrapped tokens; you can also send or convert assets between compatible blockchains using cross-chain swap. Anyswap supports coins that use the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) or the Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) (EdDSA). Bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), cardano (ADA), litecoin (LTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), stellar lumens (XLM), and many other coins are among them.

Aping In

This refers to a crypto investor recklessly investing a significant portion of their net worth in a relatively unknown coin or token. When you “ape in,” you buy a project right away, with little to no research, and buy more than you can afford to lose (if the price falls). Aping in is done in the hope of making massive gains; while this does happen on occasion, those who “ape in” frequently suffer heavy losses, sometimes losing their entire investment.

Application Binary Interface (ABI)

In a blockchain ecosystem, an application binary interface (ABI) is a standardised method for interacting with smart contracts. ABIs enable smart contracts to interact with external data as well as other contracts on the blockchain platform. ABIs, like application programming interfaces (APIs), allow separate software systems to communicate and interact with one another.

Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI)

Tendermint, the company that created the Cosmos blockchain, created the Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI), which is a specialised application programming interface (API). The ABCI is intended to function as a middle layer that allows blockchain-based replication engines on multiple computers to communicate with a deterministic state machine (the application) on a single computer. In layman’s terms, the ABCI enables a blockchain protocol to communicate with an application in order to facilitate application development and other related tasks.

Application Layer

The application layer is made up of the user interface (UI) that is responsible for customer interaction, often via a mobile or desktop application. The application layer also consists of business logic, which is responsible for exchanging certain algorithmic data so that applications are able to function optimally and make use of smart contracts and other mechanisms. The application layer is considered the client-layer or front-end of the system, with the opposite end of the system known as the bank-end or data access layer (DAL).

Application Programming Interface (API)

An application programming interface (API) is a collection of protocols and codes that govern how various software platforms communicate and share data. APIs define the various types of requests and calls that can be made, the data types that can be used, and how these requests can be made. It acts as a bridge between various software systems. An API allows a developer to incorporate features of an external application into their own software. APIs improve web interoperability by allowing different platforms to communicate with one another.

Approved Address

An approved address is a list of addresses that have been granted permission to transact on an account by a wallet, exchange, or blockchain-based financial services platform. Certain transactions are prohibited for addresses that are not on the list. An approved address is usually used for security and compliance purposes.

AR Token (Arweave)

AR is the Arweave protocol’s native token. It allows users to pay for storage and is used to compensate miners for data storage.

Aragon Client

The Aragon client is a decentralised application (dApp) for Aragon One that is used to create and manage decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) built on the Aragon network. This process works by running Aragon apps within the client, giving Aragon application developers instant access to sandboxing, transaction pathing, application listing, and human readable transactions. It also allows notifications to be sent to system users. Essentially, the Aragon client simplifies the complex DAO creation process for application developers, allowing them to focus on creating and managing new and existing DAOs.

Aragon Court

The Aragon Court is a dispute resolution mechanism that allows Aragon-based organisations to resolve disputes that they are unable to resolve on their own. When a company files a lawsuit, it must first deposit collateral and pay fees. Then, at random, jurors are chosen to review and rule on the dispute. Following the unanimous decision of the jurors, the parties involved may choose to appeal the decision, which will be sent to a larger pool of jurors for review. Both parties must deposit additional ANT as collateral in order for the appeal to be heard.

Aragon Network Agreement

You can participate in the governance of the Aragon Network DAO and Aragon Court by holding ANT. Specifically, ANT holders can amend the Aragon Network Agreement, which contains the Aragon Network’s human-readable rules and is used to guide rulings in Aragon Court; change the Aragon Network DAO and Aragon Court and their parameters; and govern a common funding pool.

Aragon Network DAO

The Aragon Network DAO is a non-profit organisation that provides infrastructure and services to the Aragon Network and its users in order for them to build decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), decentralised applications (dApps), and other blockchain infrastructure. The Aragon Network DAO interacts with Aragon’s ANT token, Aragon Court, Aragon Client, aragonOS, Aragon Network Agreements, and other related technologies in this manner.

AragonOS

The Aragon Operating System (aragonOS) is a smart contract system used to manage Aragon organisations and entities. AragonOS is used to help define organisational stakeholders and outline their rights. Organizations can also use aragonOS to instal apps that allow them to integrate functions like fundraising, voting, and payments. Anyone can create an app, use it within their organisation, and publish it to the Aragon ecosystem.

Arbitrage

To arbitrage is to profit from the price difference between two markets for an asset or security. For example, if one bitcoin (BTC) sells for USD 60,000 on exchange ABC and USD 60,015 on exchange XYZ, an arbitrageur can profit by USD 15 for each BTC arbitraged between these exchanges. Arbitrage can be automated by using sophisticated computer systems and software to monitor prices and conduct high-volume trades that capitalise on even minor price differences. Arbitrage is a necessary financial mechanism for maintaining price consistency across exchanges and other financial markets.

Arm Virtual Machine (Qtum)

Qtum’s Virtual Machine (VM) is called ARM, and it was written in Intel’s x86 machine language. Smart contracts can be written in a variety of programming languages, including C, C++, Rust, and Python, using the x86 Virtual Machine. Qtum previously used the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), but the x86 was created to expand its capabilities. ARM is fully compatible with Solidity (the Ethereum network’s programming language), allowing Ethereum developers to build applications on the Qtum blockchain with ease.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science concerned with developing programmes — or smart machines — capable of performing decision-making and problem-solving tasks that normally require human intelligence. AI is being used in self-driving car programmes, financial trading tools, spam detection, and a variety of other industries.

ASIC Miner (ASIC Mining)

An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miner is a type of computerised mining rig used to mine bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. Originally, crypto mining rigs were designed to mine cryptocurrency using a central processing unit (CPU) on a laptop or personal computer, but GPU miners — and later ASIC miners — surpassed the capabilities of this traditional model. ASIC miners are designed and manufactured specifically to complete the mining process much faster and more efficiently than traditional computers.

ASIC-Resistance

ASIC-resistance is a design feature that has been implemented on some Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchains to prevent them from being dominated by ASIC miners. The goal is to make mining more equitable for retail miners while maintaining mining decentralisation. This is typically accomplished by employing a custom mining algorithm or changing the algorithm on a regular basis to prevent profitable ASIC miners from being developed. Despite the fact that some blockchains were designed to be ASIC-resistant, many have since been dominated by ASIC miners who have defeated the various ASIC-resistant designs and countermeasures.

Asset

A monetary asset is anything that can be owned or purchased. Assets can refer to a variety of financial and physical instruments in the context of investing. Stocks, real estate, precious metals, and fiat currency are examples of assets (such as USD).

ASSETS (The Sandbox)

ASSETS are tokens created by players who create user-generated content in The Sandbox game. ASSETS adheres to the ERC-1155 standard.

Assets Under Management (AUM)

AUM is a measurement that represents the total market value of all assets managed by a financial fund, institution, or portfolio manager. The precise definition of what AUM is, however, is ambiguous because not all institutions classify different types of assets in the same way. The AUM value fluctuates due to market fluctuations as well as money inflows and outflows to and from the fund.

Asymmetric Encryption

Asymmetric encryption is a cryptographic system that encrypts with a public key and decrypts with a private key. The public key can be shared with anyone, whereas the private key should be kept private to ensure security. Asymmetric encryption is thought to be more secure than symmetric encryption, which employs a single key for both encryption and decryption. Asymmetric encryption is used on the Bitcoin network.

Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT)

Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT) is a consensus mechanism that improves on traditional Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus by solving the Byzantine General’s Fault in a novel way. Nodes can reach consensus independently using aBFT by using a two-stage block confirmation process with a two-thirds supermajority. The first stage proposes a final irreversible block (LIB), which is then finalised to make the block irreversible. With no independent leading node responsible for block creation and finalisation, ABFT consensus is considered leaderless, resulting in a faster and more secure network. aBFT is used in the Fantom and Hedera Hashgraph protocols, as well as other networks.

aToken (Aave)

In the Aave protocol, an aToken is an ERC-20 token that represents an ownership claim on an underlying asset. When a user deposits assets into Aave liquidity pools, the platform generates an aToken automatically. For example, giving DAI to Aave will automatically generate aDAI. Holders of aTokens earn interest on their deposits on a continuous basis, the value of which is represented in the aToken.

Atomic Swap

A peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange of crypto assets between two parties that does not involve the use of a trusted third party, such as a centralised exchange. Atomic swaps use smart contracts to exchange crypto assets between blockchain networks by locking, verifying, and unlocking them.

Auction

An auction is a type of market in which buyers and sellers interact through bidding. Auctions provide increased liquidity and price discovery.

Audit (Blockchain or Smart Contract)

An audit is a process that involves a thorough examination of a blockchain’s codebase or the smart contracts of a specific application in order to identify errors in code, incorrect design, security issues, and other inefficiencies. To ensure that the blockchain and its interconnected applications and smart contracts are not vulnerable to attackers or other challenges, blockchain protocols and applications must audit their entire codebase. A typical audit entails agreeing on audit specifications, running tests, using symbolic execution tools, performing extensive code analysis, and creating a report to show the results.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that augments real-world objects with computer-generated perceptual information via a variety of sensory mechanisms such as sound, touch, smell, and sight. AR is typically defined as a system that combines the real and virtual worlds, allows for real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. AR differs from virtual reality (VR) in that it alters an individual’s perception of the world by enhancing or changing how it interacts with the individual rather than replacing the user’s real-world environment with a virtual one.

Augur Decentralized Oracle System

Augur’s proprietary oracle system, the Augur Decentralized Oracle System, was designed to help data from the physical world and the blockchain world communicate. Augur’s oracle system aids the prediction market platform in reaching a consensus by aggregating continuous real-time price feed data from the internet (via sources such as CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, and Binance) to achieve the most accurate live price data on an ongoing basis. Market outcomes are typically heavily reliant on market price feed validation. The Augur Decentralized Oracle System operates by employing a Designated Reporter who stakes REP tokens in order to report on the outcomes of events in various markets.

Authentication

Authentication is a procedure that verifies a user’s identity before granting access. The user provides login credentials such as passwords, SMS codes, and fingerprints to gain access to an account, platform, or private space. Generally, authentication precedes authorization, which is a verification of a user’s level of access.

Authority Masternode (AM) (VeChain)

Authority Masternodes (AMs) ensure network consensus and the VeChainThor blockchain’s security. AMs are in charge of platform block propagation and enable VeChainThor’s Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus methodology. To host an AM, the user must have 25 million VeChain tokens (VET) and pass a stringent authentication process. AMs are the most powerful nodes in VeChain’s nodal hierarchy, but they are extremely rare.

Authorization

Authorization is the process of determining a user’s level of access. It determines a user’s access and permission to content or resources. Authentication, or identity verification, is usually followed by authorization.

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

An automated clearing house (ACH) is an electronic network in the United States that processes financial transactions. An ACH payment transfers funds directly from a user’s bank account to the recipient’s account. A direct deposit payment from an employer is a common type of ACH transaction.

Abenomics

An automated market maker (AMM) is a fully automated decentralised exchange (DEX) where trades are made against a liquidity pool of tokens. The liquidity pools’ token values and prices are governed by an algorithm. Trades can occur at any time because AMMs do not rely on an active market of buyers and sellers. Popular AMMs include the Uniswap, Curve, and Balancer.

Abenomics is Japan’s economic strategy, which consists of three arrows: monetary policy, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms.

Abnormal Return

The term “abnormal return” refers to the out-of-the-ordinary profits made by certain assets or securities over a specific time period.

Absolute Advantage

Absolute advantage occurs when a company can produce the same product as other companies while using fewer resources.

Absolute Return

The term absolute return refers to the return on investment (positive or negative) achieved over a specific time period.

Abstract

Abstract is something that exists in thought as an idea.

Accepting Risk

Accepting risk, also known as risk acceptance, is a risk management strategy used by businesses to accept risks associated with specific events rather than investing resources to address them.

Account

An account is essentially a record of the financial activities of a specific asset.

Account Abstraction

Account abstraction is the process of customising certain elements of smart contract accounts to make it easier for users to interact with blockchain.

Account Balance

The amount in a bank/cryptocurrency account that can be accessed immediately is referred to as the account balance. Account balance, on the other hand, refers to the sum obtained from the difference between all debit and credit transactions posted to a company’s account in accounting.

Account Number

An account number is a string of numbers (and sometimes letters) that is used to identify a specific bank account and the account holder.

Accountability

The desire or willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions is referred to as accountability.

Accounting Conservatism

Accounting conservatism is a principle that requires the immediate recognition of future expenses and liabilities rather than future assets and revenues in a volatile situation.

Accounting Method

An accounting method is a set of rules that govern how and when revenue and expenses are recorded in a business.

Accounting Token

Accounting tokens, like any spreadsheet-based accounting system, are essentially tokenized credit or debit entries (IOU/UOM).

Autonomous Economic Agent (AEA) (Fetch.ai)

An autonomous economic agent (AEA) is a software entity that can perform actions without human intervention or control. Once created and given a directive, AEAs can act on their own behalf, granting them agency. On the Fetch.ai platform, each agent’s wallet contains a unique identifier that allows the AEA to transact with the network’s native FET tokens. AEAs can exist solely as software, as an application programming interface (API), or as hardware in the real world (like a thermometer or other type of sensor).

Ava Labs

Ava Labs is the blockchain development firm that created and designed the Avalanche blockchain protocol and ecosystem. Emin Gün Sirer, a Cornell professor and Avalanche CEO, and several other founders founded Ava Labs in New York state. Ava Labs is also in charge of the development of other projects, including Ryval.

Avalanche Virtual Machine (AVM)

The Avalanche Virtual Machine (AVM) is the native virtual machine that assists developers in creating and deploying new blockchains on the Avalanche platform. To aid in this process, the system copies the AVM and deploys it on a new blockchain or subnetwork within the Avalanche ecosystem. The main AVM is also intended to assist the system in the creation of various smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps) for use in decentralised finance (DeFi), enterprise, and other applications.

Average Directional Index (ADX)

The average directional index (ADX) is a technical indicator that measures the strength of a market trend. The ADX is calculated using price moving averages and is represented by a number between 1 and 100, with a higher number indicating a stronger trend.

Axie Infinity

A blockchain-based gaming metaverse in which players collect and breed digital pets known as Axies to compete in a turn-based card game. Axies can be bred and sold as well.

Axie Infinity Shards (AXS)

Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) are Axie Infinity’s governance token. It is an ERC-20 token that was available for purchase in both public and private sales in 2020. The token can be used to vote on Axie Infinity changes and can be staked to earn rewards.