Address: A combination of letters and numbers that represent the location of a wallet on the blockchain.

Algorithm: A sequence of instructions used to solve a problem.

Asynchronous: Events in electronic systems that occur independently of the program flow. 

Altcoin: Any coin alternative to bitcoin. 

Beta (release): An early version of the software that receives feedback and suggestions for improvement. 

Bitcoin (BTC): The first global, decentralized cryptocurrency. 

Bitcoin Cash (BCH): Altcoin created in 2017 as an alternative to Bitcoin. Its purpose is to accelerate the transaction process. Its disadvantage is that it requires special equipment to mine.

Bits: A subunit of bitcoin, there are 1,000,000 bits in one bitcoin

Block: A computer file that stores transactions. When arranged in a linear sequence, they create a blockchain. 

Blockchain: A digital ledger that records every transaction ever occurred in chronological order. 

Bull Market: A positive trend of prices in traditional and crypto markets.

Circulating Supply: Total of tokens and coins publicly available and circulating the market. 

Coin: The representation of digital value that lives on a specific blockchain or cryptocurrency network. 

Coinbase: A popular centralized cryptocurrency exchange platform, the first to go public on Nasdaq. 

Cold Storage: A secure method of storing cryptocurrency offline. It is also known as a hardware wallet that looks similar to a USB. 

Cosigner: An additional person with partial control over a wallet. 

Cryptocurrency: A digital and decentralized currency secured by cryptographic techniques that work as a medium of exchange within peer-to-peer systems.

Cryptofer: A person who scams people into fraudulent pseudo investments for their benefit. They create a false image of being economically successful, showing off luxurious items that are not even their own. All this is to impress people, fake themselves as millionaires, and get people to invest in their scheme under “being your boss.”

Cryptography: Use of mathematics and computation to encrypt and decrypt information.

Custody: The holding of assets or ownership of one’s funds. 

Decentralization: Distributing power away from a central point. Transfer of control from a centralized entity to a distributed network. 

Decentralized exchange: Users exchange directly from their wallets, with no need for initial funds. 

Decentralized Finance (Defi): Emerging financial technology built on blockchain networks.

Decryption: Reverting an encryption process to convert unreadable data to readable data. 

Digital Gold: The term used to describe cryptocurrency by comparing it to real gold based on its increase in value. 

Do Your Own Research (DYOR): Advice for investors to do their research instead of copying others’ actions. 

Encryption: The conversion of information to secure data using mathematical techniques. 

Ethereum: The second-largest cryptocurrency used to create new applications. The only payment method for purchasing NFTs. It was created in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin.

Exchange: A marketplace where cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold.

Falling Knife: Term that refers to an asset bought at a low price with the hopes of bouncing back.

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD): An acronym to spread negativity and uncertainty on investors. 

Fiat: A term for currency controlled by a government.

Forex: Stands for ‘Foreign Exchange Market,’ a global market for trading fiat currencies.

Hacker: Unauthorized, experienced users of computer systems who gain access with the purpose of stealing, deleting, or spreading information. 

HODL: Stands for ‘Hold on for Dear Life’ and is used to recommend maintaining and securing current coins instead of selling them. 

Hot Wallet: A software-based crypto-wallet connected to the internet. It is more susceptible to hacking and cyber attacks than cold wallets. 

ICO (Initial Coin Offering): Similar to Initial Public Offerings (IPO) of stocks. A fundraising method for new cryptocurrency projects. 

Litecoin: Altcoin created in October 2011 to increase the speed of transactions. Its offer is four times the value of Bitcoin’s with 84 million coins.

Market Capitalization: Refers to the total value of all the coins that have been mined. Calculate by multiplying the current number of coins by their current value.

Mining: the process where cryptocurrencies are made available. Log of transactions between users.

NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens): units of value used to represent ownership of unique digital items like art, usually on Ethereum blockchain.

Public Key: Your wallet’s address is similar to your bank account number. Share it publicly to receive money. 

Private Key: is an encrypted code that allows direct access to your cryptocurrency. It cannot be shared and is similar to our bank password. 

Token: unit of digital currency, usually has other value proposition besides transfer.

Transaction fee: the amount of bitcoin included in each transaction. It encourages miners to add each transaction to a block. 

Wallet: a place to store your cryptocurrency holdings. It may be hot (online) or cold (offline).