Web3 & Blockchain Glossary
Master the language of decentralized technology. Our comprehensive glossary covers essential blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3 terminology.
Aave
A decentralized lending and borrowing platform
ABI
Application Binary Interface for smart contracts
Account Abstraction
Making smart contracts act as user accounts
Across Protocol
An optimistic cross-chain bridge
Active Liquidity
Liquidity within the current price range
Actively Validated Services
Services secured by restaked ETH
Address
A unique identifier for receiving cryptocurrency
Airdrop
Free distribution of tokens to wallet addresses
Alchemy
A blockchain development platform
Algorithmic Stablecoin
A stablecoin using algorithms to maintain its peg
Altcoin
Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin
AML
Anti-Money Laundering regulations
Angel Investor
Individual providing early-stage funding
APR
Annual Percentage Rate - the yearly interest rate
APY
Annual Percentage Yield - the yearly return on an investment
Arbitrage
Profiting from price differences across markets
Arbitrum
An Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution using optimistic rollups
Artificial Intelligence
Computer systems mimicking intelligence
Arweave
A permanent decentralized data storage protocol
Ask Price
The lowest price a seller is willing to accept
Asset-backed Token
A token representing ownership of real assets
Asymmetric Encryption
Encryption using different keys for encrypt/decrypt
ATH
All-Time High - highest price ever reached
ATL
All-Time Low - lowest price ever reached
Atomic Swap
Direct exchange between different blockchains
Automated Market Maker
A protocol that uses liquidity pools instead of order books
Avalanche
A Layer 1 blockchain platform with multiple subnets
AVS
Short for Actively Validated Services
AWS
Amazon Web Services cloud platform
Axie Infinity
A popular blockchain-based game
Backend
Server-side logic and data management
Balancer
An automated portfolio manager and trading platform
Base Fee
Minimum fee burned per transaction in EIP-1559
Beacon Chain
Ethereum's PoS consensus layer
Bear Market
A market with falling prices
BEP-20
Binance Smart Chain token standard
Bid Price
The highest price a buyer is willing to pay
Bidding
Offering to buy at a specific price
Binance Smart Chain
A blockchain compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine
BIP
Bitcoin Improvement Proposal
BIP32
Bitcoin Improvement Proposal for hierarchical wallets
BIP39
Standard for mnemonic seed phrases
Bitcoin
The first decentralized cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto
Block Explorer
A tool for viewing blockchain transactions and addresses
Block Height
The number of blocks in a blockchain
Block Reward
Cryptocurrency awarded for mining a new block
Blockchain
A distributed ledger technology that records transactions across multiple computers
Bonding
Selling tokens to a protocol at a discount
Bribes
Incentives for voting in a certain direction
Brute Force
Attempting every possible combination to crack security
BSC
Short for Binance Smart Chain
Bug Bounty
A reward program for finding security vulnerabilities
Builder
Entity constructing blocks in PBS
Bull Market
A market with rising prices
Bundler
Entity aggregating user operations in ERC-4337
Burn and Mint
Burning on one chain minting on another
Buyback and Burn
Repurchasing and burning tokens to reduce supply
Byzantine Fault Tolerance
A system's ability to function despite some nodes failing
Caching
Storing data for faster future access
Call Option
Option to buy an asset at a set price
Carbon Credits
Tradeable certificates for carbon reduction (blockchain)
Carbon Footprint
Environmental impact measurement (blockchain)
Cardano
A proof-of-stake blockchain platform
Ceiling Price
The highest price for an NFT in a collection
Celestia
A modular data availability network
Censorship Resistance
Inability to prevent transactions or participation
Centralized Exchange
Full term for CEX
CEX
Centralized Exchange operated by a company
CFTC
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Chainlink
A decentralized oracle network providing real-world data
Chainlink VRF
Chainlink's verifiable randomness oracle
Circulating Supply
The number of tokens available in the market
Cliff
A period before vesting begins
Climate Finance
Financial systems addressing climate change
Cloud Computing
Computing resources over the internet
CoinGecko
A cryptocurrency data aggregator
CoinMarketCap
A popular crypto market data website
Cold Wallet
An offline wallet for storing cryptocurrency
Collateral
Assets pledged to secure a loan
Collateralized Stablecoin
A stablecoin backed by other assets
Committee
A subset of validators for specific tasks
Commodity
A basic good or raw material
Community
The user base and supporters of a project
Community Governance
Decision-making by community members
Compiler
Software translating code to machine language
Compound
A DeFi lending protocol
Concentrated Liquidity
Providing liquidity within specific price ranges
Connext
A protocol for cross-rollup communication
Consensus Layer
Where validators agree on blockchain state
Consensus Mechanism
The method by which a blockchain network agrees on the current state
Consortium Blockchain
A blockchain controlled by a group of organizations
Token Burning
Permanently removing tokens from circulation
Web3 Bridge
A protocol connecting different blockchains for asset transfers