Crypto and mining glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms you will see most often.
51% attack
An attack in which one party controls a majority of a network's mining power and can reorganize recent transactions. Very costly on large networks.
Address
A string of characters you share to receive crypto, derived from a public key.
ASIC
Application-specific integrated circuit. Hardware built to perform one mining algorithm very efficiently, such as SHA-256 for Bitcoin.
Block
A bundle of confirmed transactions added to the blockchain.
Block reward
New coins issued to the miner who adds a valid block, plus transaction fees.
Blockchain
A shared ledger made of blocks linked in order using cryptographic hashes.
Cold wallet
A wallet that keeps private keys offline, such as a hardware wallet or paper backup.
Consensus
The rules and process by which network participants agree on which transactions are valid.
Difficulty
A network setting that controls how hard it is to find a valid block, adjusted to keep block times steady.
Efficiency (J/TH)
Joules of energy used per terahash of mining power. Lower numbers mean more efficient hardware.
GPU mining
Mining with graphics cards. Used for some coins, though many major networks have moved away from it.
Halving
A scheduled reduction of the block reward by half. Bitcoin halves roughly every four years.
Hash
A fixed-length output produced by a function from any input. Even a tiny input change produces a completely different hash.
Hash rate
The number of hash calculations per second performed by a miner or the whole network.
Hot wallet
A wallet connected to the internet, convenient but more exposed to online attacks.
Mempool
The waiting area for unconfirmed transactions before they are included in a block.
Mining pool
A group of miners who combine hash power and share rewards.
Node
A computer that stores a copy of the blockchain and verifies transactions and blocks.
Nonce
A number miners change repeatedly while searching for a valid hash.
Private key
A secret number that proves ownership and authorizes spending. Never share it.
Proof of stake
A consensus method in which validators lock up coins as collateral instead of using mining hardware.
Proof of work
A consensus method in which miners spend computing power and energy to earn the right to add blocks.
Public key
A value derived from a private key that is used to create addresses and verify signatures.
Rug pull
A scam in which project creators drain funds and abandon the project.
Seed phrase
A list of words that can restore a wallet and all of its keys. Treat it like cash and keep it offline.
Stablecoin
A crypto asset designed to hold a steady value, often pegged to the U.S. dollar. Pegs can fail.
Staking
Locking up coins on a proof-of-stake network to help validate transactions in exchange for rewards.
Transaction fee
A payment included with a transaction that incentivizes miners or validators to process it.
Wallet
Software or hardware that manages your keys and lets you send and receive crypto.