Crypto & GRID Dictionary

5

51% attack: An attack in which one party controls most of a network’s consensus power and can reorganize recent history.

A

Account abstraction: A design that lets wallet accounts use programmable validation, recovery, fees, and transaction rules.
Address: A public identifier used as a destination or source for blockchain activity.
AES: A widely used symmetric cipher that encrypts data with the same secret key used to decrypt it.
Air-gapped: Physically or logically separated from network connectivity to reduce remote attack exposure.
Airdrop: A distribution of tokens or credits to eligible wallets, usually at no direct cost.
Altcoin: A broad community term for a crypto asset other than Bitcoin.
AMM: A protocol that prices swaps using assets held in liquidity pools rather than a conventional order book.
APR: A simple annualized return rate that does not include compounding.
APY: An annualized return estimate that includes compounding.
ASIC: Specialized hardware designed to perform one narrow computation very efficiently.
Asymmetric cryptography: Cryptography that uses a paired public key and private key for signing or encryption.
ATH: The highest recorded market price of an asset.
Atomic swap: A direct asset exchange designed so either both sides complete or neither side does.
Atomic unit: The smallest indivisible amount a ledger records for an asset.
Audit: A structured review of code, controls, or financial records intended to identify errors and risks.

B

Bagholder: A holder left with a deeply depreciated asset after others have sold.
Base layer: The foundational blockchain whose consensus and ledger secure activity built above it.
Beacon chain: The coordination and proof-of-stake consensus layer at the center of modern Ethereum.
Bear market: A sustained period of falling prices and weak market confidence.
Bitcoin: The first widely adopted decentralized digital asset and proof-of-work blockchain.
Block: A signed batch of transactions or state updates added to a blockchain.
Block explorer: A searchable interface for viewing public blocks, transactions, addresses, and network state.
Block finality: The point at which a confirmed block is considered extremely unlikely or impossible to reverse.
Block header: The compact portion of a block containing commitments and metadata used to identify and verify it.
Block height: The sequential position of a block measured from the beginning of a blockchain.
Block reward: New issuance and fees awarded for producing or validating a block.
Block time: The average or targeted time between consecutive blocks.
Blockchain: A shared, ordered ledger whose history is linked and cryptographically verified.
BLS signature: A digital-signature scheme valued for compact aggregation of many signatures.
Bonding curve: A formula that changes an asset’s price according to its supply or pool balance.
Bonó: A bonus distribution awarded to eligible participants without changing the meaning of mining rewards.
Bridge: A system that transfers or represents assets between separate networks.
Bull market: A sustained period of rising prices and strong market confidence.
Burn: The permanent removal of tokens from usable supply.
Buy Command: An authenticated instruction requesting a disclosed USDC-to-GRID quote and, after approval, settlement from Purchase Allocation.
Byzantine fault: A failure in which a participant may act inconsistently, maliciously, or send conflicting information.

C

CEX: An exchange operated by a company that typically holds customer assets and manages an internal order book.
Chain ID: A value that distinguishes one blockchain network from another for signing and replay protection.
CHIP: The whole-number unit recorded by the native GRID ledger and used for exact accounting.
Cipher: A defined algorithm for converting readable information into protected ciphertext and back.
Ciphertext: Data transformed by encryption so it is unreadable without the required key.
Circulating supply: The estimated amount of an asset currently available to the market rather than locked or unreleased.
CLI: A text-based tool for operating GRID, inspecting the network, managing wallets, and running node commands.
Coin: An asset native to its own blockchain, commonly used for fees, rewards, or settlement.
Cold wallet: A wallet whose signing keys are kept offline or isolated from everyday network access.
Collateral: Assets pledged to secure a loan or position and subject to liquidation if requirements fail.
Commitment: A value that binds someone to hidden data without revealing it until a later opening step.
Community token: A token organized around a group, creator, membership, or shared culture.
Compute receipt: A signed record showing that a specific compute job was completed and measured.
Confirmations: The number of blocks added after the block containing a transaction.
Consensus: The rules participants use to agree on valid state and its ordering.
Coordinator: A service that assigns eligible compute jobs and coordinates claims, verification, receipts, and settlement.
Cross-chain: Activity or infrastructure spanning two or more distinct blockchain networks.
Crypto: A broad term for cryptographic assets, blockchain networks, protocols, and their communities.
Cryptography: The study and use of mathematical techniques for confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and verification.
Custody: Control over the keys or system capable of moving an asset.

D

DAO: A group that coordinates ownership or decisions through on-chain rules and voting.
DApp: An application whose core state or logic interacts with one or more blockchain protocols.
Data availability: Assurance that the data required to verify or reconstruct blockchain state is accessible.
DCA: Buying a fixed value at regular intervals instead of trying to time one entry price.
Decentralization: The distribution of authority, infrastructure, and verification across independent participants.
Decryption: The authorized conversion of ciphertext back into readable plaintext.
DeFi: Financial tools delivered by blockchain programs rather than a traditional intermediary.
DePIN: A network that coordinates real-world hardware or infrastructure using cryptographic incentives.
DEX: A protocol for trading assets through on-chain programs without a centralized order custodian.
Diamond hands: A meme describing someone who keeps holding through extreme volatility.
Digital signature: A proof created with a private key that authenticates data and can be checked with a public key.
Distributed ledger: A replicated record maintained across multiple participants rather than one central database.
Double spend: An attempt to use the same asset value in conflicting transactions.
Dust: An amount so small that spending it may be uneconomical or operationally inconvenient.
DYOR: A reminder to verify claims, risks, contracts, and sources before acting.

E

ECDSA: A widely used signature algorithm based on elliptic-curve cryptography.
EIP: A formal proposal describing a standard or change for Ethereum.
Elliptic-curve cryptography: Public-key cryptography based on arithmetic over elliptic curves, enabling compact keys and signatures.
Encryption: The transformation of readable data into ciphertext using a cryptographic key.
Entropy: A measure of uncertainty used when generating secure keys, nonces, and recovery secrets.
Epoch: A fixed interval of blocks or time used to organize validator duties and protocol events.
ERC-20: A common Ethereum interface for interchangeable token balances and transfers.
ERC-721: A common Ethereum interface for individually identified non-fungible tokens.
Escrow: An arrangement that holds assets until stated conditions are satisfied.
Ethereum: A programmable blockchain centered on smart contracts and decentralized applications.
EVM: The execution environment that runs Ethereum-compatible smart-contract bytecode.
Exchange: A venue or system where participants buy, sell, or swap assets.
Exit liquidity: Later buyers whose purchases let earlier holders sell, often used when describing manipulative launches.

F

Faucet: A service that distributes small amounts of tokens, usually for testing or onboarding.
FDV: Current price multiplied by the maximum or fully issued token supply.
Fiat: Government-issued currency such as the US dollar or euro.
Finality: Confidence or protocol certainty that accepted state will not be reversed.
Flash loan: A loan borrowed and repaid inside one transaction, reverting entirely if repayment fails.
Flash-loan attack: An attack using temporary large capital to manipulate prices or vulnerable protocol assumptions in one transaction.
FOMO: Urgency-driven buying caused by fear that an opportunity or price move will be missed.
Fork: A split or change in blockchain rules or history.
Front-running: Acting on observed pending activity by placing a transaction ahead of it for advantage.
FUD: Negative claims or sentiment that may be accurate, mistaken, or intentionally manipulative.
Fungibility: The property that equivalent units are mutually interchangeable.

G

Gas fee: A charge paid to process a transaction or execute an on-chain program.
Gas limit: The maximum computational work a transaction or block is allowed to consume.
Gas price: The amount offered per unit of computational gas, often affecting transaction priority.
Genesis: The authoritative starting state and first trusted history of the GRID ledger.
Genesis Node: The authoritative GRID service that anchors signed ledger history and the network’s initial trust boundary.
GEX: GRID’s exchange surface for disclosed CHIP inventory, liquidity, and market operations.
Governance token: A token used to propose, vote on, or delegate decisions for a protocol or treasury.
GRID: The native unit of account and reward for GRID’s useful-compute network; exact ledger amounts are recorded in Chips.
GRID Network: The open compute fabric connecting nodes, peers, coordinators, wallets, registry names, and signed ledger history.

H

Halving: A scheduled event that cuts a network’s new block issuance, commonly by half.
Hard cap: A fixed upper limit on how many units of an asset may exist.
Hard fork: A protocol-rule change that older software cannot fully validate.
Hardware wallet: A dedicated device designed to isolate private keys while signing approved transactions.
Hash: A fixed-length cryptographic fingerprint used to detect changes in data.
Hash function: A one-way function mapping arbitrary data to a fixed-length digest with strong change detection.
Hash rate: The number of proof-of-work hash attempts performed per unit of time.
Hash time-locked contract: A conditional contract using a hash secret and timeout so value can be claimed or safely refunded.
HMAC: A keyed construction that verifies both message integrity and possession of a shared secret.
HODL: A crypto-community meme meaning to keep holding rather than sell through volatility.
Hodler: A person who holds a crypto asset, especially with a longer-term view rather than frequent trading.
Hot wallet: A wallet connected to a network for convenient, frequent transactions.

I

Identity: A verifiable representation of a person, operator, organization, or device tied to keys or attestations.
Impermanent loss: The value difference a liquidity provider may experience when pooled asset prices move relative to simply holding them.
Indexer: A service that organizes raw chain data into efficient searchable records.

K

KDF: A function that derives one or more cryptographic keys from a password, secret, or master key.
Keccak: The cryptographic hash family underlying SHA-3 and Ethereum’s commonly used keccak256 function.

L

Layer 1: A base blockchain that provides its own consensus, data, and settlement.
Layer 2: A scaling system built above a base chain while relying on it for some security or settlement.
Ledger: The ordered record of balances, ownership, transactions, or state maintained by a network.
Lending protocol: A DeFi system where users supply assets, borrow against collateral, and earn or pay interest.
Leverage: Using borrowed funds or derivatives to amplify gains and losses relative to posted capital.
Light client: Software that verifies selected blockchain information without storing and executing the full chain.
Limit order: An instruction to buy or sell only at a specified price or better.
Liquidation: Automatic sale or closure when collateral can no longer safely support a loan or leveraged position.
Liquidity: How easily an asset can be bought or sold without sharply moving its price.
Liquidity pool: Assets deposited into a smart contract to support swaps, lending, or other market activity.
Long: A position that benefits when an asset’s price rises.
LP token: A receipt-like token representing a provider’s share of a liquidity pool.

M

Mainnet: A live blockchain network whose state and assets are intended for real use.
Margin: Capital posted to open and maintain a leveraged trading position.
Market cap: Market price multiplied by the circulating supply of an asset.
Market order: An instruction to trade immediately against the best available prices.
Maximal extractable value: Value gained by controlling transaction inclusion, exclusion, or ordering within blocks.
Meme coin: A crypto asset whose identity and demand are driven largely by internet culture, humor, or a community narrative.
Mempool: A node’s collection of valid unconfirmed transactions waiting for block inclusion.
Merkle proof: A compact proof showing that a specific item belongs to a Merkle tree without revealing every item.
Merkle root: The single hash at the top of a Merkle tree that commits to all included leaves.
Merkle tree: A tree of hashes that enables efficient integrity checks and compact inclusion proofs.
Mesh: The desktop browser for opening grid:// realms and navigating services on the GRID Network.
Mining: Earning network rewards by completing and verifying eligible useful work.
Mint: The authorized creation of new token units or uniquely identified assets.
MPC: Cryptographic methods allowing parties to compute or sign together without revealing their private inputs.
Multisig: An account requiring a defined number of multiple keys to authorize an action.

N

NFT: A uniquely identified token representing distinct ownership, membership, rights, or metadata.
Node: A machine or process that participates in a distributed network.
Node operator: A person or organization responsible for running and maintaining a network node.
Nonce: A value used once to prevent replay, vary hashes, or order account transactions.
Not your keys, not your coins: A reminder that whoever controls the private keys ultimately controls the ability to move assets.

O

Off-chain: Activity performed outside direct blockchain state, sometimes with results later committed on-chain.
On-chain: Data or execution directly recorded and verified by a blockchain.
Open source: Software whose source code is published under terms allowing inspection and often modification and redistribution.
Oracle: A service that supplies external facts or measurements to an on-chain system.
Oracle manipulation: An attack that distorts external data used by a protocol to trigger unfair trades, loans, or liquidations.
Order book: A list of open buy and sell orders arranged by price.
Overcollateralization: Requiring collateral worth more than the borrowed amount to absorb price risk.

P

Paper hands: A meme describing someone who sells quickly when prices become volatile or frightening.
Peer-to-peer: Direct interaction between network participants without requiring one central intermediary.
Permissioned chain: A blockchain where participation or validation requires authorization.
Permissionless: A system that allows participation without prior approval, subject to protocol rules.
Phishing: Deceptive communication or interfaces designed to steal secrets or trick users into signing harmful actions.
Phoenix: The native desktop wallet for GRID custody, rewards, transfers, and locally signed actions.
Plaintext: Information in its original readable form before encryption or after authorized decryption.
Privacy coin: A crypto asset designed to obscure transaction participants, amounts, or histories.
Private key: Secret signing material that proves authority over a wallet or identity.
Proof of reserves: Evidence intended to show that a custodian controls assets corresponding to customer liabilities.
Proof of Resource: GRID’s method for measuring and verifying useful computational work and contributed resources.
Proof of Stake: A consensus family in which validators commit capital and may be penalized for dishonest behavior.
Proof of Work: A consensus mechanism in which miners expend computation to compete for block production.
Protocol: The formal rules, message formats, and behaviors participants follow to interoperate.
Public key: Shareable cryptographic material used to verify signatures or derive an address.
Pump and dump: Coordinated promotion intended to raise a price before insiders sell into later buyers.
Purchase Ability: The authenticated ability to request Buy or Sell Commands against disclosed Purchase Allocation inventory.
Purchase Allocation: The 2B GRID top-level treasury allocation for approved Buy and Sell Commands, Hodler purchase access, settlement inventory, and orderly exchange operations.

Q

Quantum resistance: Cryptographic design intended to remain secure against capable quantum computers.

R

Randomness: Unbiased unpredictable values used for keys, lotteries, committees, and protocol selection.
Realm: A named destination or service opened through a grid:// address in Mesh.
Recovery phrase: A sequence of words used to recover wallet keys, commonly synonymous with a seed phrase.
Reentrancy: A vulnerability where external code calls back into a contract before its earlier state transition is safely completed.
Registry: The public naming system that maps reviewed GRID names to entities, services, or network resources.
Rekt: A meme term for suffering a severe trading, investment, or security loss.
Reorganization: Replacement of recent accepted blocks by a different valid chain history.
Replay attack: Reusing a valid signed message in another context where it was not intended to authorize a second action.
Ring signature: A signature proving that one member of a group signed without revealing which member.
Rollup: A scaling system that executes or batches activity away from a base chain and posts data or proofs back to it.
Rug pull: A project abandonment or deliberate extraction that leaves participants with impaired or worthless assets.

S

Salt: A unique non-secret value mixed into password hashing or key derivation to defeat precomputed attacks.
Satoshi: The smallest standard unit of Bitcoin, equal to one hundred-millionth of a BTC.
Scalability trilemma: The idea that blockchain designs face difficult tradeoffs among decentralization, security, and scalability.
Schnorr signature: A signature scheme with useful linear properties that support efficient aggregation and multisignature designs.
Seed phrase: A human-readable recovery secret capable of restoring a compatible wallet.
Self-custody: Holding and controlling one’s own private keys instead of delegating them to a custodian.
Sell Command: An authenticated instruction requesting a disclosed GRID-to-USDC quote and approved settlement path.
Sequencer: A service that orders and batches transactions for many rollup systems.
SHA-256: A cryptographic hash function producing a 256-bit digest and used prominently by Bitcoin.
Sharding: Splitting data or work across multiple groups so a network can process more in parallel.
Short: A position that benefits when an asset’s price falls.
Sidechain: An independent blockchain connected to another network through a bridge or two-way asset mechanism.
Signature: Cryptographic evidence that a particular key approved specific data.
Slashing: Loss of staked assets imposed for provable consensus violations or sometimes serious downtime.
Slippage: The difference between the expected trade price and the final execution price.
Smart contract: Code deployed to a blockchain that executes under that network’s rules.
Snapshot: A recorded state at a specific block or time, often used to determine balances or voting eligibility.
Social engineering: Manipulating people into revealing secrets or approving harmful actions.
Soft fork: A protocol change where upgraded nodes enforce stricter rules that older nodes can still accept.
Solidity: A programming language widely used to write contracts for Ethereum-compatible networks.
Soulbound token: A token designed to remain bound to an account rather than trade freely.
Spot market: A market where assets are bought or sold for direct ownership rather than derivative exposure.
Stablecoin: A crypto asset designed to track another asset, commonly a fiat currency.
Stablecoin depeg: A period when a stablecoin materially diverges from the value it is designed to track.
Staking: Locking or delegating assets to support proof-of-stake security or participate in protocol incentives.
State channel: A system where participants exchange signed state updates off-chain and settle the final result on-chain.
Sybil attack: An attack where one actor creates many identities to gain disproportionate influence.
Symmetric encryption: Encryption that uses the same secret key for both encryption and decryption.

T

Testnet: A network used to test software and protocol behavior without production-value assets.
Threshold signature: A signature produced only when a threshold number of distributed key shares cooperate.
Throughput: The amount of work or transactions a system can process over a given time.
Token: A digitally recorded unit representing value, utility, governance, access, or another claim.
Tokenomics: The supply, allocation, issuance, utility, and incentive design of a token.
Total supply: The number of token units currently created, excluding units permanently removed when methodology accounts for burns.
TPS: A throughput measure counting how many transactions a system processes per second.
Transaction: A signed instruction that requests a change to ledger state.
TVL: An estimate of assets deposited into a DeFi protocol or set of protocols.

U

UTXO: A discrete spendable output used by Bitcoin and similar ledger models.

V

Validator: A participant that checks transactions or blocks against network rules.
Validator set: The group currently authorized or selected to participate in consensus.
Vanity address: An address generated to begin or end with a chosen recognizable pattern.
Verifiable random function: A keyed function producing unpredictable output together with a proof that others can verify.
Vesting: A schedule that unlocks an allocation gradually or after milestones.
Volatility: The degree and speed at which an asset’s price changes.

W

Wallet: Software or hardware that manages keys and signs actions; assets remain recorded on the ledger.
Wallet drainer: Malware or a hostile application that tricks users into authorizing asset theft.
Watch-only wallet: A wallet that monitors addresses and balances without holding the private keys needed to spend.
Web3: A broad term for applications and communities built around wallets, tokens, and decentralized protocols.
Whale: A holder whose large balance or trades may materially affect a market.
Wrapped token: A token representing an asset in another protocol or token standard, usually backed by locked or custodied units.

Y

Yield farming: Moving or depositing assets across DeFi protocols to earn fees, incentives, or interest.

Z

Zero-knowledge proof: A proof that a statement is true without revealing the underlying secret information.
zk-SNARK: A compact zero-knowledge proof system with small proofs and fast verification, sometimes requiring trusted setup.
zk-STARK: A zero-knowledge proof family designed for scalability and transparent setup using hash-based assumptions.