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Glossary

Glossary

All the terms from the world of Cryptocurrencies that help you understand the topics better and allow you to start trading with confidence.

A

AML

Anti-money laundering regulations prevent illegal activities on centralised exchanges.

AMM

Smart contracts adopted by decentralised exchanges to automatically execute orders.

API

Tools that simplify the development of apps and web services.

APR

The annual percentage rate you receive for an investment or loan.

APY

The annual percentage yield you receive for an investment or loan.

ASIC

Devices dedicated to mining certain cryptocurrencies.

ATH and ATL

Acronyms used to indicate the maximum and minimum price of a cryptocurrency

Address

The string of characters that identifies a cryptocurrency wallet.

Aggregator

An online collector of similar content or services from different sources for easy access

Airdrop

A way of distributing a new cryptocurrency on the market

Algorithm

procedure applied to solve a problem

Altcoin

Cryptocurrencies that followed Bitcoin as alternative solutions.

Arbitrage

Buying and selling in different markets in order to take advantage of the disparity in prices.

Audit

A verification process that ensures the correct functioning of software.

B

Bear Market

A market phase characterised by price lows.

Benchmark

A standard for measuring the performance of a financial instrument or market.

Bid and Ask

Supply and demand on a cryptocurrency exchange.

Bitcoin

The longest-lived cryptocurrency on the market and the first application of blockchain.

Black Swan Event

An unexpected event that has a significant effect.

Block

The set of encrypted transactions that, connected to other blocks, makes up a blockchain.

Block Explorer

It allows you to consult any transaction made on a blockchain online

Block Height

The number of blocks in a blockchain starting from the genesis block.

Blockchain

A technology based on cryptography that enables decentralised and uncensored execution of any type of transaction.

Break-Even Point

The balance point between losses and gains, income and expenditure.

Bridge

In blockchain technology, it is a connection that allows interaction between different blockchains.

Bull Market

A market where there is an upward price trend

Buy Wall and Sell Wall

High number of purchases or sales demanded at a certain price.

C

CeFi

Centralised finance is the centralised counterpart of DeFi, but should not be confused with traditional finance.

Circulating Supply

The number of units of a cryptocurrency available on the market.

Coin

A cryptocurrency that is natively based on its blockchain

Coin Burning

A way to remove cryptocurrency units from the circulating supply

Cold Wallet

Wallets that are not connected to the internet

Consensus Mechanism

A decentralised way to validate transactions on blockchain.

Crowdfunding

Online fundraising open to anyone.

Crypto Lending

A financial service that allows lending and borrowing cryptocurrencies on a centralised or decentralised platform

Cryptocurrency

Virtual currency based on cryptography and blockchain.

Cryptography

The branch of computer science that studies secure communication methods

Custody

Managing one's wallet by knowing its private key

D

DAO

The Decentralised Autonomous Organisation is a form of automated blockchain governance.

DApp

Decentralised application allowing the use of a blockchain-based service.

DEX

A Decentralised Exchange allows cryptocurrency trading without intermediaries and directly on the blockchain.

DLT

Distributed Ledger Technologies are technologies based on an immutable ledger of transactions, the control of which is distributed.

DYOR

Do Your Own Research, don't just take any information from one source at face value

DeFi

Decentralised Finance includes all blockchain-based and decentralised financial solutions.

Decentralised

It is said of a system governed by the consensus of its participants and without a central authority or hierarchy.

Delisting

Removing a cryptocurrency from an exchange's offering

DoS

A Denial of Service is a computer attack that aims to make a network or service inaccessible.

Double Spending

The possibility for an attacker to spend the same amount twice if the payment system does not have a mechanism to prevent this.

E

ERC-20

The Ethereum token standard that has enabled hundreds of projects to launch their own cryptocurrency on Ethereum.

ETF

Exchange Trade Funds are passively managed investment funds.

Exchange

Services facilitating the purchase and sale of digital assets based on daily market prices.

F

FOMO

Fear Of Missing Out is an expression often used in the context of trading and cryptocurrencies

FUD

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt refers to a negative market sentiment

Fee

Commission paid for the execution of transactions.

Fiat Currency

Legal tender currency, the official currency adopted by a government.

FinTech

A sector that combines finance and technology, where companies develop technologically innovative financial services.

Financial Bubble

Increase in the value of an asset, in an excessive way, given its intrinsic value.

Forex

The Foreign Exchange Market allows fiat currency trading.

Fungibility

It is the property of a means of payment to be divisible into equal parts to facilitate the exchange of goods.

Futures Contract

A contract that regulates the execution of a transaction at a predetermined price on a specific date.

G

Genesis Block

This is the first block of a blockchain, sometimes referred to as block 0.

Governance

In the cryptocurrency sector, it indicates the way and rules by which projects and blockchains are governed.

H

Halving

The halving of the reward given to miners for each validation, every 4 years.

Hard Fork

A division of the blockchain due to the incompatibility of the new version of the protocol with the previous one.

Hash

A cryptographic function that serves to identify each block of the blockchain

Hot Wallet

A cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet.

I

ICO

An event where a newly created cryptocurrency is sold to distribute it on the market and promote it.

IEO

An event hosted by an exchange where a newly created cryptocurrency is sold to distribute it on the market and promote it.

Inflation

The gradual increase in the prices of a market or currency.

Interoperability

The ability to exchange data with other platforms, including those based on different types of blockchain, as well as with the off-chain world.

K

KYC

Identity verification procedure required by European regulations for exchanges.

L

Limit Order

A buy or sell order that is executed only when the cryptocurrency reaches the set price.

Liquidity

How easy it is to convert a cryptocurrency or financial instrument into fiat money or the base currency.

M

Market Cap

The total value of all the coins or tokens of a cryptocurrency in circulation

Market Maker

Companies or organised entities that, in partnership with an exchange, are always willing to buy and sell a cryptocurrency.

Market Order

Instant buy or sell at the next best price available on the market.

Miner

Proof-of-Work network nodes that validate transactions and are rewarded with new cryptocurrencies.

Mining

The process of adding new blocks to the blockchain and creating new bitcoins by miners.

Mining Pool

A company that bases its business on mining, by collecting a large number of powerful mining devices.

Moon

When the price of a cryptocurrency rises very fast, they say it soars 'to the moon'.

N

NFT

A Non-Fungible Token is a unique asset registered on the blockchain.

Network

The set of interconnected computers, called nodes, on which the blockchain of a given cryptocurrency is based.

Node

Device connected to a blockchain and participating in its network.

O

Off-chain

Transaction that is not performed on the blockchain.

On-chain

Any process performed on the blockchain.

Open-source

Open-source software is public and available for anyone to reuse.

Oracle

A service that collects data not available on blockchain, verifies it and provides it to smart contracts

Order Book

L'elenco di tutti i prezzi a cui i trader sono disposti a scambiare una certa quantità di criptovaluta su un exchange.

P

P2P

A peer-to-peer network allows users to exchange data without intermediaries.

Prediction Market

Exchange-traded markets created for the purpose of trading the outcome of events.

Private Key

Cryptographic code that gives access to a wallet.

Proof-of-Stake

A consensus mechanism based on putting cryptocurrencies at stake in order to contribute to the blockchain.

Proof-of-Work

A consensus mechanism based on computational power to contribute to the blockchain.

Public Key

Cryptographic code that identifies a wallet on the blockchain.

Pump&Dump

A strategy that inflates the price of a cryptocurrency to generate profits only for those who implement it.

R

ROI

A value that measures the return generated by an investment.

S

S&R

Technical analysis tools that allow you to interpret the market trend.

Satoshi Nakamoto

The pseudonym used by the creator or group of developers of Bitcoin.

Scarcity

How much an asset is available and consequently how much value it has.

Shards

'Fragments' of blockchain operating in parallel.

Slippage

The difference between the execution price of an order and the price entered in the order.

Smart Contract

An agreement in digital form that allows actions to be triggered automatically if certain conditions are met.

Stablecoin

Cryptocurrencies pegged to the price of a stable asset such as a fiat currency or precious metal.

Staking

Depositing and holding cryptocurrencies on certain blockchains to obtain cryptocurrency incentives.

Stop Order

A trading order that allows you to set a price at which another order is triggered.

Swap

The conversion of tokens into other tokens on a decentralised exchange.

T

TPS

Literally 'transactions per second', it is a measure of the speed of a blockchain.

Token

Digital unit of value based on a third-party protocol.

Tokenomics

An economic model that regulates the distribution and use of a project's cryptocurrency.

Trading

Buying and selling cryptocurrencies on the basis of a study aimed at making money.

Transaction

Exchange of value, property or data between two parties.

Trend

A perceived tendency of financial markets to move in a particular direction over time.

V

Virtual Currency

Term used in legislation to define cryptocurrencies.

Volume

The amount of currency traded in a given period.

W

Wallet

Software that allows you to send, receive and store your cryptocurrencies.

White Paper

Technical and informative document used by cryptocurrency projects to present their technological proposal.

Y

YNG

Young (YNG) is the Utility Token at the heart of the entire Young Platform ecosystem.

Yield Farming

A typical feature of decentralised finance that allows people to put their cryptocurrencies to work for a return.