Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms used across this site.
- Digital Asset
- Exists only in digital form, recorded on a blockchain — no physical note or coin behind it.
- Self-Custody
- Direct control of the cryptographic keys that authorize the movement of a digital asset, without a third-party custodian.
- Private Key
- The cryptographic credential that authorizes a transaction on a decentralized network.
- Public Key / Address
- Derived from a private key and safe to share publicly — used to receive digital assets without exposing the key itself.
- Recovery Phrase (Seed Phrase)
- A human-readable sequence of words that can be used to reconstruct the cryptographic keys of a compatible wallet.
- Blockchain
- A shared record of transactions, copied across many independent computers rather than stored on one company's server.
- Decentralized Network
- No single operator calls the shots here — validation is spread across independent participants instead of one central point of control.
- Block
- A batch of transactions confirmed and added to a blockchain at the same time.
- Multi-Party Computation (MPC)
- Distributes signing authority across separate devices, commonly via independently generated key shares, so complete signing authority never exists in a single place.
- Layer 1
- A base blockchain network where transaction fees are set directly by competitive bidding for block space.
- Layer 2
- A system built on top of a base network that processes some activity outside that base layer while relying on it for security, settlement, or dispute resolution. Many implementations do this by batching transactions before settling the result on the base layer.
- Phishing
- A deceptive attempt to trick a user into revealing a private key or approving a malicious transaction.
- Node
- One computer among many in a decentralized network, helping validate and relay transactions.