Lexicon
Blockchain
Refers to a complete list of all completed transaction blocks since the beginning of Bitcoin. In order to strengthen the security of the system, the Blockchain has been designed so that each block of transactions contains the hash generated from the previous block. The Blockchain is a technology for storing and transmitting information that is low cost, secure, transparent and operates without a central controlling body.
By extension, the Blockchain designates a secure and distributed database (because it is shared by its various users), containing a set of transactions whose validity can be verified by anyone. The Blockchain can therefore be compared to a public, anonymous and unfalsifiable accounting ledger.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a decentralized electronic currency conceived in 2009 by an unidentified developer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. When we write Bitcoin, we are talking about the protocol or network. When it is spelled bitcoin, it is the crypto-currency. Official currency symbol : Acronyms used by the exchange platforms: BTC and XBT
Ethereum
Ethereum is a platform, similar to a "world computer", on which applications can be run without the need for a centralized server. Each node of the blockchain is responsible for part of the execution of the applications on it. Like Bitcoin, which does not need an intermediary (bank) to exchange monetary units, Ethereum offers services that no longer need intermediaries to be executed.
Ethereum aims to build a Web where intermediaries between customers and the services they seek no longer exist. For example, it would be possible to order a driver without going through a service like Uber, which takes a commission on each trip/transaction for connecting the customer and the driver. The Ethereum blockchain works with the crypto-currency Ether whose acronym is ETH.
Digital Assets
Designates a set of assets related to the Blockchain as for example: crypto-currencies, tokens, etc...
Smart Contract
Smart contracts are autonomous programs that, once started, automatically execute predefined conditions. They work like any conditional instruction of the "if - then" type (if such condition is verified, then such consequence is executed). It is often said that if the blockchain is an Excel spreadsheet, then smart contracts are macros. These smart contracts rely on the blockchain technology of the Ethereum network to make the terms and conditions of their execution unforgeable.
A practical example: let's imagine that you want to create a site that allows everyone to make a bet. You make a contract that contains the following instructions :
If someone sends money and bets on "PSG", record their bet and calculate new odds.
Si quelqu'un envoie de l'ether et parie sur « OM », enregistrer son pari et calculer une nouvelle cote.
À l’issue du match, consulter une base de données fiable contenant le résultat du match et distribuer les gains mathématiquement en fonction des cotes et des paris de chacun.
Une fois le programme créé, il peut s’exécuter de façon entièrement automatique et vérifiable par chacun. C’est un système de pari totalement transparent et décentralisé. Comment les contrats sont-ils exécutés ? Pour exécuter les instructions sur la blockchain Ethereum, il faut de la puissance de calcul. Cette puissance de calcul est fournie par les participants au réseau. Ce sont des particuliers ou des entreprises qui décident de mettre à la disposition du réseau leur ordinateur pour faire fonctionner la blockchain. Ils sont rémunérés pour cela, par l’octroi d’ethers.
Plateforme d'échanges
refers to a marketplace where crypto-assets are exchanged with each other or against fiat currencies. This allows you to invest or speculate on the price of crypto-assets (e.g. Binance, Gate.io, Bittrex, etc...).
NFT
An NFT is a digital file to which a digital certificate of authenticity has been attached. More precisely, the NFT is a cryptographic token stored on a blockchain. The digital file alone is fungible, whether it is a photo, a video or other, the associated NFT is non-fungible.
Token / Jetons
Refers to the uniquely issued assets for each crypto-currency or project. For example, Ethers are the tokens of the Ethereum network.
KYC
Refers to the process of verifying the identity of a company's users in order to ensure customer compliance with legislation related to anti-corruption, money laundering, financial fraud, terrorist financing, etc...
Hold, Holding
Refers to the fact of keeping a crypto-asset and not selling it whatever the price variations (rise/fall).
PoW (Proof of Work)
A system for deterring spam and DDoS attacks by requiring computer computing power from the service requester. This system is characterized by the asymmetry of the computational cost: the work must be difficult for the requester to perform, but easily verifiable by a third party.
In crypto-currencies, this proof-of-work validation method is used to add an additional block to the blockchain, each miner in the network must perform time- and energy-intensive calculations in order to encrypt all the transactions in a block as well as the encrypted transactions in the previous blockchain.
When the solution is validated, it is broadcast to the entire network. The miner who found the solution is rewarded with new money according to the terms defined by the crypto-currency protocol. The falsification of a proof of work is difficult, if not impossible.
PoS (Proof of Stake)
Proof of Stake is an alternative to the Proof of Work mechanism, which is often criticized for its electricity cost and environmental impact. The Proof of Stake algorithm attempts to address these issues by removing the concept of mining entirely and replacing it with a virtual mining mechanism.
Proof-of-stake requires the user to prove that they own a certain amount of a given crypto-currency in order to gain the right to validate additional blocks. The algorithm will randomly select a validator from among the eligible people (the larger the amount of the crypto-currency a person owns, the more likely he or she is to be selected) and assign him or her the right to create the next block.
As in the proof-of-work mechanism, the longest string is by default considered the valid string.
Airdrop
An Airdrop occurs when a team wants to promote the launch of a crypto / NFT project. They will then offer tokens in a periodic and controlled way to people who meet a specific set of characteristics (example: being an active member on a forum and putting in his signature the link of the website of the crypto-currency in question).
Altcoin
Altcoin is short for "Alternative Coin". An Altcoin refers to all crypto-currencies other than Bitcoin.
Private Key
A private key is a sequence of letters and numbers. It is stored in the user's Bitcoin wallet and unless you make the effort to retrieve and export it, it is generally invisible to the user.
The wallet uses this private key to sign the transactions sent to prove that you are the owner of the wallet and the bitcoins it contains, and that you are authorized to make the transaction. The public key is calculated from the private key. The reverse is impossible.
Public Key
It allows you to receive or send crypto-currencies. This key can take the form of a sequence of letters and numbers or a QR code. One could compare the public key to a RIB/IBAN for traditional currencies.
Wallet / Digital Wallet
A wallet is a wallet in which it is possible to store crypto-currencies. There are online wallets on exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken. But there are also private wallets that allow you to store crypto-currencies on your own without using an intermediary.
Crypto / Digital Assets
A peer-to-peer, decentralized electronic currency whose implementation relies on the principles of cryptography to validate transactions and the generation of the currency itself. Unlike traditional currencies that are printed, crypto-currencies are created by solving mathematical problems based on cryptography.
DEX
An acronym for Decentralized EXchange, decentralized cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Such a platform is governed by smart contracts and all transactions are searchable on the blockchain. DEXs do not verify the identity of their users, unlike CEXs. The most famous DEXs are Uniswap, SushiSwap or PancakeSwap.
Décentralisation
In the context of Bitcoin, decentralization is an ongoing issue. It consists of ensuring that no central authority (company, group of individuals, etc.) can have control over the network.
The more nodes belonging to different entities on the network, the more decentralized the network is considered. This is made possible by the fact that the blockchain is distributed among all the nodes in the network. Learn more
DeFi / Decentralized Finance
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a field of application of blockchain technologies. It brings together finance services offered without a central control body, for example decentralized loans or oracles. Understanding DeFi
Déflation
Deflation is the reduction of prices in an economy as time passes. Bitcoin with its money creation algorithm is deflationary.
Fiat / Fiduciary Currency
Fiduciary money is the classic money including coins and banknotes: euros, dollars, etc.
Fork
The creation of an alternative version of the blockchain. The cause of this fork can be either malicious, accidental, due to a bug or intentional when developers decide to introduce new features. The longest version of the blockchain becomes the main version.
Hard Fork : Splitting the blockchain into two parts can lead to the creation of two distinct currencies, but with a common history. A very well known hard fork is that of the ETC to create the ETH, following a disagreement of vision on the immutability of the blockchain.
Soft Fork : Minor modification of the blockchain without splitting it into two parts. For example, segwit is implemented via a soft fork.
Gas
When you want to use a smart contract on the Ethereum network, you have to use computing power. The gas represents the computing time needed to carry out such an operation. It is the price we will pay to use the smart-contract, it varies according to the type of smart contract.
ICO (Initial Coin Offering)
An ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is a method of distributing tokens via a fundraising. It is used to launch projects related to crypto-currencies and blockchain. During an ICO, investors can buy tokens, which is similar to buying shares in a traditional company. This allows the project to raise funds, and it allows investors to take part in the project and speculate on its future value.
IDO (Initial DEX Offering)
An IDO (Initial Dex Offering) works in almost the same way as an ICO, except that the fundraising takes place on a decentralized platform and does not require, at least in most cases, verification of identity.
IEO (Initial Exchange Offering)
An IEO (Initial Exchange Offering) is another variant of the ICO. An IEO takes place on a centralized exchange platform, as its name suggests. In order to participate, you will need to have tokens in your portfolio that are linked to the platform. For example, in the case of Binance IEOs, only users who have NBBs in their wallets can participate.
Metaverse
The metaverse is a concept of an online 3D virtual world, which most often combines its elements with non-fungible token technology (NFTs). Within a metaverse, users can meet through virtual avatars, for various activities: work, play, attend a concert, etc.
Mining
The process of solving a computing challenge imposed by a Proof of Work (PoW). The use of computing power to process transactions, secure the network and keep all users of the system in sync. Mining is rewarded by the generation/distribution of new bitcoins/altcoins.
Miner
A person or group of people who connect one or more machines to the network to perform mining. Each miner is paid in proportion to the computing power he/she brings to the network.
Satoshi Nakamoto
Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym of the person who created Bitcoin. He is also the founder of the Bitcoin.org website and the BitcoinTalk forum. To this day, it is still unclear who is hiding behind this pseudonym. Is it one person? A group of cryptographers? A government entity? No one knows.
Scalability
Scalability, or scaling, is the ability of a blockchain to scale to an increasing number of users and transactions. This is an issue facing many blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Staking
Staking is a process made possible by the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. In order to stake, a user locks a part of his crypto-currencies. These can no longer be used, but they do help to support the operations of the network. In exchange for this work, the user receives "staking" rewards, which are proportional to the number of tokens he has locked.
Swap
Token swaps are a direct exchange of a certain amount of one token for another. This is done in a decentralized way, via a protocol like Uniswap or SushiSwap, where the liquidity of the supported token pairs is fed by the users.
Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin, born on January 31, 1994, is a Russian-Canadian programmer. He is known as the co-founder of Ethereum and Bitcoin Magazine. He received the 2014 Pether Thiel Fellowship Award for his work and is listed in Fortune magazine's Under 40 list.
Web 2.0
The "Web 2.0" brings the notions of interoperability between users with the arrival of social networks and platforms like YouTube. It refers to the Web of today, mostly controlled by large companies such as Google, Amazon or Facebook. It is particularly centralized and censorship is present.
Web 3.0
Web 3.0" brings decentralization to the Internet ecosystem. In addition to users, all data is interconnected in a decentralized manner. Web 3.0 has been developing particularly since the advent of blockchain, thanks to protocols such as IPFS and Filecoin (FIL).
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