The Official Crypto Christian Dictionary

The world of Bitcoin, Crypto, and Web3 may as well have it's own language. There are dozens of terms, acronyms, and jargon one must learn in order to understand everything. 

We decided to do your homework for you.

Here is the official Crypto Christian Dictionary! 

Altcoin:

• Short for “alternative coin.” 
• Altcoins are any cryptocurrency other than market leaders like Bitcoin.
• Each altcoin generally has unique features.
• They use blockchain technology to verify and record new transactions. Once a transaction is made, it cannot be reversed because it is broadcast to a blockchain.
• Generally a volatile and complex part of the market.

ATH (All-Time-High):

• The highest price a cryptocurrency has reached since its creation.

Bear (Bearish or Bear Market): 

• This is when the price of a token falls drastically, and is accompanied by negative market sentiment.

Bitcoin (BTC):

• A decentralized digital property that operates on a peer-to-peer blockchain network without any third parties. 

Blockchain:

• A growing list of blocks composed of records that link together using cryptography. Think of this as an excel spreadsheet.
• Each block consists of code from the previous block that includes a timestamp and transaction data. The timestamp is used to  prove that the transaction data existed when the block was published.

Block Reward:

• New Bitcoins are awarded to miners when they are the first to solve a complex math problem and create a new block of verified transactions. 

Bull (Bullish or Bull Market):

• A bull market is when the price of a token trends upward for a longer period of time. 

CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency):

• A digital currency owned and operated by a central bank or government. CBDCs are not decentralized and do not conform with the principles of Sound Money.

Cold Storage:

• Offline storage for a user's private keys which provides the an extra layer of security because it is not connected to the internet.

Cryptocurrency: 

• A digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography.

Cryptography:

• Code used to secure computer networks, online systems, and digital data. 
• Used to keep important information safe from data breaches. 

DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization):

• An organization or company that is formed via blockchain and is based on a native cryptocurrency.
• Company votes belong to anyone who owns tokens in the DAOs cryptocurrency. 

Decentralized Finance (DeFi):

• DeFi uses cryptocurrency and blockchains to manage financial transactions, with an aim to democratize finance through peer-to-peer relationships.

Decentralization:

• Token’s attributes are determined by a majority of network participants to prevent any user, organization, or government from manipulating the network.

Ethereum:

• An open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality that encourages users to develop new applications on top of the existing software.  

ETH:

• A platform for multiple cryptocurrencies to execute decentralized smart contracts. 

ERC-20:

• ERC is short for Ethereum Request for Comment, and the “20” refers to a proposal identifier within the blockchain.

Fiat:

• Legal tender like a country’s physical currency that is not backed by any asset or computing network. A fiat currency's money supply can be infinitely created and often leads to inflation. 

FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt): 

• Term used by the Bitcoin and investor community when the media or crypto opponents are trying to drive prices down or stop adoption.

Gas (Gas Fees):

• On Ethereum: the computing power needed to validate a transaction.
• On other blockchains, it is often referred to as “network fee”.

HODL (Hold On for Dear Life):

• An approach to cryptocurrency that is focused on long-term investing instead of selling on short term market changes.

Initial Coin Offering (ICO):

•  A token’s equivalent of an initial public offering. 

Know-Your-Customer (KYC): 

• A data-driven process that companies use to ensure customer identity, to verify a customer is suitable for services, and to avoid any malicious or criminal activity from being associated with  services

Market Cap:

• The total value of all of the cryptocurrencies tokens multiplied by the current market price of a single token. 

MetaMask:

• A wallet for cryptocurrency that operates via a plug-in for standard internet browsers.

Miner: 

• An individual or group that uses computers or specialized hardware to  solve a complex math problem and create a new block in a blockchain.

Non-Fungible-Token (NFT):

• A smart contract that guarantees ownership of a token.

Proof-of-Stake (PoS):

• A cryptocurrency mechanism based on consensus that processes transactions and creates new blocks in a blockchain. 

Proof-of-Work (PoW):

• A type of consensus algorithm where a significant amount of computing power is used to solve mathematical functions that maintain and secure the blockchain.
• A miner is rewarded with a blockchain’s native token as Proof-of-Work for solving the mathematical problem.

Private Key:

• A secret number that is used in cryptography to sign  transactions and prove ownership of a blockchain address.

Satoshi Nakamoto:

• The pseudonym of the person or persons who developed Bitcoin.

Smart Contract:

• A self-executing contract with the terms written into the code and exists in the blockchain network and controls the execution.
• Transactions are trackable and irreversible.

Stablecoin:

• A digital currency that is pegged to a “stable” reserve asset such as a country's legal tender or gold, and was designed to reduce the volatility of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Staking:

• The process in which one grants a portion of crypto to a blockchain network.

Token:

• Often refers to any cryptocurrency besides Bitcoin and Ethereum (even though they are also technically tokens).
• Also refers to crypto-assets that run on top of another cryptocurrency’s blockchain

Vitalik Buterin:

• A Russian-born Canadian programmer and writer who is one of Ethereum’s co-founders. 

Wallet:

• A hardware or software wallets that is used to store (generally multiple) cryptocurrencies, and allows on to manage all stored assets, control your private keys by confirming transactions, and send or receive cryptocurrencies from another cryptocurrency address

Web3:

• An idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web based on blockchain technology

Yield Farming:

• When one puts money into a decentralized finance (DeFi) application to earn interest, fees, or other rewards.