The popular Blockchain and Cryptocurrency terms you need to know

If you are a new entrant to the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain, you will be overwhelmed by dozens of words and phrases, completely specialized terms. strange.What is an example like a hash?Or how is a DApp?And what does "hodl" mean?Don't be foolish, just look up these words with a regular dictionary, which will only make you more trouble.

Below is the system of common terms commonly used in the blockchain and cryptocurrency that you will need.

51 Percent Attack

Attack 51%.One of the biggest weaknesses of blockchain comes from a security standpoint.An entity on a blockchain only needs 50% + 1 to control the entire network, allowing them to do almost everything they want, including spending frauds, coin blocking and authentication authentication. of certain transactions, affecting miners .

Block

As the name suggests, the Blockchain is made up of blocks.Each block is basically like a page on a traditional paper ledger, it contains a list of recent transactions.When a block is completed, it will be added to the end of the previous block, forming a block chain.Each block also contains solutions to math problems on that block.Without these solutions, that block cannot be added to the string.Different electronic currencies use blocks of different sizes.The current example Bitcoin uses a block of 1 MB in size.

Block Height

The height block is the number of individual blocks in a blockchain.The first block is called Height 0. It is also known as Genesis Block.

Blockchain

Blockchain is a distributed accounting book that records all transactions and smart contracts for an electronic or platform platform.This book is shared for people who join the network.This shows that in the whole system is not the only one location, a document can be the only authoritative basis, because the same copy of the ledger version is located in many places.

Please refer to more details about Blockchain in the article What is Blockchain?How does blockchain work?Pros and cons of blockchain?

Cold Storage

You cannot keep electronic money in your bank account or in your wallet.Instead, you need to keep them in the cold storage.Cold storage means keeping a digital wallet in the form of offline means there is no connection to the Internet.Cold storage usually comes in three main forms: QR code format that you can store somewhere safe, a USB drive or a dedicated hard wallet (hardware wallet).

Confirmation

A transaction will receive a confirmation when it is hashed (hash, hash function is a mathematical function that maps from any length-length data to fixed-length data) successfully and is added to the blockchain.Usually in the electronic money world, after a certain period of time, the excavator will perform confirmation of transactions in a block.The more verified a transaction is, the more secure it will be.For Bitcoin, most companies will require about 6 assertions before processing transactions.

Cryptocurrency

Electronic money.A decentralized digital currency can be used for goods trading, services and asset transfers.Electronic money first appeared in the world is Bitcoin.Bitcoin copper was released in January 2009.

DApp

DApp stands for the phrase 'decentralized app' (decentralized application).Unlike a normal application (using centralized servers to run application code), a DApp will run on a decentralized peer-to-peer network.A famous example is CryptoKitties, a cat-raising game.The famous EtherDelta trading platform is also a form of DApp.

DApps also need a front-end to work.This requirement distinguishes them from smart contracts, only running on the back-end.

Fiat

Fiat is a common national currency unit such as US dollar, pound and euro.It is declared legal and recognized by the government but is not supported to convert into physical assets such as gold.

Fork

Fork is a technical term commonly used by Bitcoin developers in particular or in programming circles in particular, in open source projects.It simply uses the source code of a previous software and then changes it to create another function.For example, when you update an app on a smartphone, you get a Fork from the old version, so the 'Fork' concept in Bitcoin is similar.

A blockchain fork may arise for many reasons.It is possible that due to security security requirements, there may also be a part of the community that wants to take the project in a different direction, or perhaps there are some new administrative rules added to the blockchain code.A hardfork (a mandatory software update that will conflict with the older version) will cause the previously invalid blocks and transactions to become valid, while a SoftFork (software update does not causing conflicts with the older, optional version and allowing the network to adjust for new features while processing) will make the previously valid blocks become invalid.

Halving

The code of Bitcoin regulates that only 21 million coins can exist.To manage the coin line, the reward for miners digging a valid block will be adjusted at certain times.The first round of the game takes place at the end of 2012, the first 210,000 blocks will give a reward of 50 coins, but to the 210,001 block, the reward has been reduced to 25 coins for each block.The second installment takes place in mid-2016 at the number of 420,001 blocks, and the reward is reduced to 12.5 coins.And this will repeat until 2140, when all 21 million Bitcoin are dug out.

If the number of coins generated is too fast and there is no limit to the maximum number of Bitcoin created.Bitcoin prices will be inflated and will be of very low value when too many Bitcoin circulate in the market.

Hash Rate

Hash Rate is a measure of the computing power of a device used for mining, or digging Bitcoin and other digital currencies.Hash Rate tells us how often to participate in Bitcoin network of excavators and their digging power.It can be understood that Hash Rate is a term for the amount of hash that an electronic money miner can perform every second.

Hashing

Hashing is a cryptographic term that refers to a technique that uses a certain mathematical formula to transform an object, or a key (in short), to summarize any input of any length. Output data has a fixed length.In the world of blockchain, input is every transaction that has ever happened, meaning that the output is a direct reflection of the current state of the blockchain.A change to the input (such as a modified transaction) will significantly change the output and warn people about the fraud attempts that have been made.

Hodl

Hodl is a term used in electronic money to indicate when a person holds a coin without selling it, regardless of how much the price is down.The term comes from when a member's post has a Game Kyuubi nick on bitcointalk, with the title: 'I AM HODLING', posted on December 18, 2013.

Hot Wallet

Hot wallet (hot wallet) is a term referring to electronic money memory connected to the Internet.Coin held in an electronic money exchange will be of this type.The security and safety of hot wallets depend on the habits of users and third parties.Therefore, to avoid security risks, you should not keep a large amount of coins in hot wallet.

Virtual money users often keep a small amount of money in hot wallets for shopping and the rest is stored in cold wallet.

ICO

As electronic money becomes more popular, the number of electronic start-ups also increases.These new currencies will be publicly available via ICO (Initial Coin Offering).ICO is a popular form of investment calling in Cryptocurrency projects.When a company or group issues their own cryptocurrency, they often generate a certain amount of Token and sell these tokens to investors in various Crowdsale.They are like the encrypted version of an IPO stock market.

Lambo

It is a phrase that you may find a lot in forums and chat rooms.In fact, the word does not imply technical significance, but is a fun way of saying association when someone becomes rich thanks to electronic money, so that they can buy Lamborghinis.

Lightning Network

Lightning Network is an expansion solution of Bitcoin, making Bitcoin network more flexible to improve transaction speed as well as transaction costs.Using the smart contract function, Lightning Network allows payments to be executed immediately.It even allows cross-payment in the blockchain, as long as both use the same hash code.Compared to Bitcoin's virtual money system, Lightning Network is still in its infancy.

Mining

Due to the encryption nature of electronic money, verifying transactions requires a tremendous computing power as well as a dedicated hardware system.Those who use computing power to solve transactions will receive an electronic amount as a bonus.This process is called mining, or more generally, digging coins.

Mooning

That means the price will go up very high.In 2017, it seems that overnight value of electronic currencies has increased dramatically.The market capitalization of the industry has increased from US $ 15 billion in January to US $ 600 billion in December. Ripple is the most impressive growth currency.Its price increased to 28.963% in 12 months.The phenomenon is called mooning.

Node

As a network node, a software that runs on a computer that joins the network with other computers also runs the same software on a peer-to-peer network.On peer-to-peer networks, each node (node) is considered equal.It is responsible for verifying transactions and making distribution ledgers always up to date.

Permissioned Ledger

Most blockchains, including Bitcoin, allow anyone to enter the market.This brings certain risks.Blockchain will likely be 51% more vulnerable.Permissioned ledger means those who are verified to be able to participate in the blockchain system.

Private Key

Meaning private key or secret key.If you want to deposit or withdraw, you need to use your own key.Anyone who knows this key can access your wallet, so you need to be careful.If you lose your private key, you will lose access to your wallet forever.

Public Key

Public key is the key used to encrypt information.If you want to receive electronic funds, or from exchanging with others, you need to provide them with your public key (also known as a public address).Key sharing does not lead to security risks.

Satoshi

A Satoshi - named after Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto - is the smallest unit of Bitcoin that can be recorded on the blockchain.It is worth 0.00000001 BTC.

Smart Contracts

Smart contract.This is a new concept of embedding executable code like software programs, which are embedded in transactions so that the transaction can be executed under different conditions depending on the situation.In addition to digital currencies, some blockchains also support smart contracts.The most prominent smart contract network is Ethereum.

Smart contracts allow non-monetary assets to be exchanged seamlessly on a blockchain without going through an intermediary.Assets may include membership records, insurance or even real estate.

What terms have not been mentioned?

Of course, these are just the most common terms in the blockchain world that newbies often encounter.If the deeper you go into the world of virtual money, the more terminology you will encounter.There is no other way but to cultivate and learn more.Good luck!

See more:

1. 6 best Bitcoin digging software for Windows, Mac, Linux
2. How to create and use Bitcoin Wallet, Ethereum Wallet on Blockchain
3. What to do when the computer is infected with a virus that fights virtual money?
4. Programming blockchain part 1: C ++ programming language