CryptKi Glossary:
Understand what you’re reading

0–9

2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)
Extra verification step requiring a second method in addition to a password.

A

Address
Public identifier used to receive crypto, derived from a public key.

Address poisoning
Scam where attackers send small transactions from lookalike addresses to trick users when copying addresses.

Airdrop
Free distribution of tokens to wallet addresses.

Airdrop farming
Practice of using multiple wallets or repeated actions to maximize airdrop eligibility.

Algorithm
Mathematical rules defining how a blockchain validates transactions or generates keys.

Allowance
Amount a smart contract is allowed to spend from your wallet.

Alpha
Information believed to give an advantage in the market.

Altcoin
Any cryptocurrency other than bitcoin.

AMM (Automated Market Maker)
System that enables trading using liquidity pools instead of buyers and sellers.

Approval
Permission given to a smart contract to use your funds, sometimes without further confirmation.

Approval scam
Malicious approval allowing a contract to access and drain your funds.

APR (Annual Percentage Rate)
Annual return without compounding.

APY (Annual Percentage Yield)
Annual return including compounding.

Arbitrage
Buying and selling an asset to profit from price differences.

Asset
Any token, coin, or digital item held in a wallet and carrying value.

Asymmetric cryptography
Encryption system using a public key and a private key.

Atomic swap
Direct exchange of assets between two parties without an intermediary.

Authority
Ability to control or authorize actions on funds.

B

Backup
Copy of data used to restore access if lost.

Bagholder
Investor holding assets that have significantly lost value.

Bear market
Market with declining prices.

BIP-32 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 32)
Standard for hierarchical wallet key generation.

BIP-39 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 39)
Defines how seed phrases are generated from a list of words.

BIP-44 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 44)
Defines how wallets structure accounts and addresses.

bitcoin (BTC)
Native asset used on the Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin (network)
Blockchain network where bitcoin transactions are recorded.

Blacklist
List of blocked addresses or users.

Block
Group of transactions added to the blockchain.

Block explorer
Tool used to view transactions, balances, and activity on a blockchain.

Blockchain
Distributed ledger that records transactions and cannot be easily altered.

Borrowing
Taking a loan using crypto as collateral.

Bridge
Tool used to move assets between blockchains, often involving additional risk.

Broadcast
Sending a transaction to the network.

Bug bounty
Program rewarding users for finding vulnerabilities.

Bull market
Market with rising prices.

Burn address
Address used to permanently remove tokens from circulation.

C

CDP (Collateralized Debt Position)
Position where assets are locked as collateral to borrow.

CEX (Centralized Exchange)
Platform where a company manages trading and custody of funds.

Chain
Another term for blockchain network.

Clipboard hijacking
Malware that replaces copied wallet addresses.

Coin
Cryptocurrency native to its own blockchain.

Cold storage
Keeping crypto offline for security.

Cold wallet
Wallet that stores private keys offline, reducing exposure to online attacks.

Collateral
Assets used to secure a loan.

Compounding
Reinvesting earnings so they generate additional returns over time.

Compound interest
Interest calculated on both initial amount and accumulated interest.

Compromise
Loss of security of a wallet or key.

Confirmation
Validation of a transaction by the network, making it increasingly irreversible.

Consensus
Mechanism used to agree on valid transactions.

Contract (smart contract)
Program executed automatically on a blockchain.

Control
Ability to use and move funds.

Cryptography
Techniques used to secure data and transactions.

Custodian
Entity that holds and controls assets on behalf of users or clients.

Custodial wallet
Wallet where a third party controls the keys and can restrict access to your funds.

Custody
Holding and managing private keys, which defines who controls the funds.

D

DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)
Organization governed by smart contracts and token holders.

Day trader
Trader opening and closing positions within the same day.

DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging)
Strategy of investing fixed amounts regularly.

Debt ceiling
Maximum amount that can be borrowed.

DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
Financial services built on blockchain without intermediaries.

Depeg
Loss of a stable asset’s target value.

Delegation
Assigning control or voting power to another entity.

Derivation path
Structure used to generate wallet addresses from a seed.

DEX (Decentralized Exchange)
Platform for trading directly from a wallet, without giving custody to a third party.

Digital signature
Cryptographic proof that a transaction was authorized using a private key.

Double spending
Attempt to spend the same funds twice.

Dusting attack
Sending small amounts to track wallet activity.

DYOR (Do Your Own Research)
Do your own research before making decisions.

E

EIP (Ethereum Improvement Proposal)
Design document describing standards or changes for Ethereum.

E-money token
Token representing electronic money backed by fiat.

Encryption
Process of securing data using cryptography.

ENS (Ethereum Name Service)
Naming system that maps human-readable names to wallet addresses.

ERC-20 (Ethereum Request for Comments 20)
Standard for fungible tokens on Ethereum.

ERC-721 (Ethereum Request for Comments 721)
Standard for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

ERC-1155 (Ethereum Request for Comments 1155)
Standard supporting both fungible and non-fungible tokens.

Escrow
Funds held until specific conditions are met.

EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)
Environment where Ethereum smart contracts run.

Exposure
Amount of value currently at risk.

F

Fake airdrop
Scam pretending to distribute free tokens.

Fees
Costs paid to execute transactions or services.

Fiat
Government-issued currency (EUR, USD, CHF, etc.).

Fiat gateway
Service connecting banking systems and crypto, often requiring identity verification.

Finality
Point where a transaction is considered irreversible by the network.

Flash loan
Loan borrowed and repaid in a single transaction.

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
Fear of missing out on an opportunity.

Fork
Change in blockchain rules.

Front-running
Executing a transaction before another to gain advantage.

FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
Fear and uncertainty used to influence decisions.

Full node
Node that validates and stores the full blockchain.

Fungible
Interchangeable asset with identical value.

Futures
Contract to buy or sell an asset at a future date.

G

Gas
Unit measuring computation cost on a blockchain.

Gas fee
Fee paid to execute a transaction, required for it to be processed.

Gas limit
Maximum gas allowed for a transaction.

Gas price
Cost per unit of gas.

Genesis block
First block of a blockchain.

Governance token
Token used to vote on protocol decisions.

H

Hardware wallet
Physical device that keeps private keys offline and signs transactions securely.

Hash
Unique output generated from input data.

Hash function
Function that converts data into a fixed-length hash.

HODL (Hold On for Dear Life)
Holding crypto instead of selling.

Honeypot
Malicious token that cannot be sold.

Hot wallet
Wallet connected to the internet, convenient but more exposed to attacks.

I

Immutable
Data that cannot be changed once recorded, even if incorrect.

Impermanent loss
Loss occurring when the price ratio of two assets in a liquidity pool diverges, the greater the difference, the greater the loss compared to simply holding.

Indexer
Tool organizing blockchain data.

Inflation
Increase in asset supply.

Intermediary
Third party involved in a transaction.

Interoperability
Ability of systems to interact.

Investor
Person holding assets long term.

Irreversibility
Transactions cannot be undone once confirmed.

J

JSON-RPC
Standard format used by applications to communicate with blockchain nodes.

K

Key (cryptographic key)
Element used to control access to funds or authorize actions.

Key pair
Combination of public and private keys.

Keylogger
Malware recording keystrokes.

KYC (Know Your Customer)
Identity verification process.

L

Layer 1
Base blockchain network.

Layer 2
Scaling solution built on top of Layer 1.

Ledger (registre)
Record of transactions.

Lending
Providing funds to earn interest.

Leverage
Using borrowed funds to increase exposure.

Liquidation
Automatic closing of a position.

Liquidation price
Price at which liquidation occurs.

Liquidity
Availability of assets for trading.

Liquidity pool
Funds locked in a smart contract to enable trading or lending.

Liquidity provider (LP)
User supplying liquidity.

LP token (Liquidity Provider token)
Token representing a share of a pool.

LTV (Loan-To-Value)
Ratio between borrowed amount and collateral.

M

Mainnet
Live blockchain network.

Malware
Software designed to harm systems.

Mempool
Queue of pending transactions waiting to be included in a block.

MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)
Authentication using two or more independent verification methods.

Margin trading
Trading with borrowed funds.

Market cap
Total value of an asset.

Market order
Order executed instantly.

MEV (Maximal Extractable Value)
Value extracted by reordering or inserting transactions.

Miner
Entity validating Proof of Work transactions.

Mining
Process of validating transactions.

MITM (Man-in-the-middle)
Attack intercepting communication.

Mnemonic phrase
Another term for seed phrase, used to recover wallet access.

Multisig (Multisignature wallet)
Wallet requiring multiple approvals.

N

Naming service
System that links human-readable names to blockchain addresses.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token)
Unique digital asset.

NGMI (Not Gonna Make It)
Used to criticize poor decisions or weak projects.

Node
Computer participating in a blockchain.

Non-custodial wallet
Wallet where you control the private keys and therefore the funds.

Nonce
Number used to order transactions.

O

Off-chain
Outside the blockchain.

Off-ramp
Service converting crypto to fiat.

On-chain
On the blockchain.

On-ramp
Service converting fiat to crypto.

Optimistic rollup
Layer 2 scaling solution.

Oracle
Service providing external data to smart contracts, which they rely on.

Order book
List of buy and sell orders.

Overcollateralization
Providing more collateral than borrowed.

Ownership
Control over funds through possession of private keys.

P

Pair (trading pair)
Two assets traded together.

Passphrase
Additional word or sentence protecting a seed phrase, creating a separate wallet.

Peg
Target value of an asset, usually linked to a currency.

Peer-to-peer
Direct interaction without intermediary.

Permit
Signature-based approval allowing spending without a separate on-chain approval transaction.

Permission
Access granted to act.

Permissionless
Open system without approval.

Phishing
Fraud tricking users into revealing sensitive information or approving actions.

Pool
Shared funds used in DeFi.

Private key
Secret key that gives full control over funds and must never be shared.

PoS (Proof of Stake)
Validation using staked assets.

PoW (Proof of Work)
Validation using computation.

PSM (Peg Stability Module)
Mechanism used to maintain a stable asset’s peg.

Public key
Key used to generate addresses.

Q

R

Redemption
Process of exchanging a token for its underlying value.

Replay attack
Reuse of a transaction on another network.

Retail
Individual investor.

Revoke
Action of cancelling or reducing a previously granted approval.

Rollup
Layer 2 scaling solution.

RPC (Remote Procedure Call)
Interface to interact with a blockchain.

RTFM (Read The F* Manual)
Advice to read documentation.

Rug
Short form of rug pull. Sudden collapse or abandonment of a project after attracting users or funds.

Rug pull
Project abandoned by developers.

RWA (Real World Assets)
Tokenized representation of real-world assets.

S

SBT (Soulbound Token)
Non-transferable identity-linked token.

Scalper
Trader making very short-term trades.

Security token
Token representing ownership or financial rights.

Seed phrase (Recovery phrase)
List of words that gives full access to a wallet and must be kept secret.

Self-custody
Holding your own private keys instead of relying on a third party.

SHA-256
Cryptographic hash function widely used in Bitcoin and other systems.

Shill
Aggressive promotion of an asset.

Sidechain
Separate blockchain connected to a main blockchain.

Signature
Proof that a transaction or message was approved with a private key.

Signature phishing
Tricking users into signing malicious messages that can grant access to funds.

Signing
Approving a transaction.

Simple interest
Interest calculated only on the initial amount.

SIM swap
Taking control of a phone number.

Slashing
Penalty in Proof of Stake where part of a validator’s stake is lost.

Slippage
Difference between expected and executed price.

Smart contract
Program on a blockchain that executes automatically when conditions are met.

Snapshot
Record of balances or blockchain state at a specific moment.

Social engineering
Manipulating users to gain access.

Spear phishing
Targeted phishing attack.

Spot trading
Immediate buying or selling.

Stablecoin
Crypto pegged to stable value.

Staking
Locking assets to earn rewards.

Swap
Exchange of assets.

Swing trader
Trader holding positions over days.

Synthetic asset
Token that tracks the value of another asset.

secp256k1
Elliptic curve standard used for key generation and signatures in many cryptocurrencies.

T

Testnet
Blockchain used for testing.

Token
Asset created on an existing blockchain via a smart contract, as opposed to a coin which is native to its own blockchain.

Token burning
Permanent removal of tokens from circulation to reduce supply.

Trader
Person actively trading.

TradFi (Traditional Finance)
Traditional financial system.

Transaction
Transfer of value recorded on a blockchain and usually irreversible.

Transaction fee
Cost of processing a transaction.

Trustless
System where rules are enforced by code, not by trusting a third party.

U

UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output)
Represents available funds from previous transactions.

Utility token
Token used to access a service.

V

Validator
Entity validating Proof of Stake transactions.

Validity
Compliance of a transaction with the protocol rules required for it to be accepted by the network.

Vault
Smart contract that manages deposited assets.

Verification
Process by which nodes check that a transaction follows the protocol rules before adding it to the blockchain.

Volatility
Price variation level.

W

WAGMI (We’re All Gonna Make It)
Expressing optimism in crypto.

Wallet
Tool that manages private keys and allows interaction with blockchain assets.

Wallet address
Public identifier derived from a public key, used to receive funds.

WalletConnect
Protocol connecting wallets to apps securely.

Web3
Decentralized internet based on blockchain.

Whale
Large holder of crypto.

Whitelist
List of approved users or addresses.

Whitepaper
Foundational document describing a project and how it works.

Wrapped token
Token representing another asset on a different chain.

X

Y

Yield
Return from an investment.

Yield farming
Earning rewards by providing liquidity.

Z

Zero-knowledge proof
Proving information without revealing it.

zk-rollup
Scaling solution using zero-knowledge proofs.

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