Glossary
April 14, 2021
API: a set of functions and procedures allowing the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.
Consensus Algorithm: a set of rules that allow users or machines to coordinate in a distributed setting. The algorithm must be fault-tolerant: even if singular nodes fail or contribute falsely, the algorithm should still enable generation of a singular state of truth.
Crop Insurance: an instrument that protects farmers against crop loss due to blight, pests, drought, or inclement weather events.
Decentralized Applications (dApps): a computer application that runs on a distributed computing system.
Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”): a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks to offer traditional financial instruments, and instead utilizes smart contracts on blockchains, the most common being Ethereum.
Dox: search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent.
ERC-20: an Ethereum standard for fungible tokens. ERC-20 tokens include ETH, LINK, and AAVE, for example.
ERC-721: the earliest and most well-known Ethereum standard for non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
ERC-1155: a multi-token Ethereum standard for a token that combines the fungible ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards. Created by Enjin.
Fiat: by decree. Refers to a change in currency policy embarked on by many developed nations. After the abolishment of Bretton Woods, for example, the US dollar was no longer redeemable for or tied to gold, but instead imbued with value “by fiat”.
Hashing: creating an indelible signature on a blockchain ledger.
Immutability: the quality of being unchangeable.
InterPlanetary File System (IPFS): a protocol and peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system. IPFS uses content-addressing to uniquely identify each file in a global namespace connecting all computing devices.
Node: a single computer contributing work to a network. Nodes will store, spread, and preserve blockchain data.
Oracle: a bridge between real-world data and blockchain applications.
Pigovian Tax: a tax designed to punish and thus disincentivize activity that is deleterious to the social good.
Protocols: sets of rules that govern interaction amongst agents.
Reputation Layer: a scorecard that tracks a node’s history of good or bad activity.
Self-Sovereignty: the quality of maintaining ownership and control.
Skeuomorphic: mimicking real-world counterparts in appearance and/or how the user can interact with them. Digital examples include the recycling bin and folder icons on a PC desktop. Physical examples include grills on electric vehicles and candle-shaped electric lights.
Slashing: the confiscation of resources held by those acting in bad faith.
Smart Contract: a computer program or a transaction protocol which is intended to automatically execute, control or document legally relevant events and actions according to the terms of a contract or an agreement. The objectives of smart contracts are the reduction of need in trusted intermediators, arbitrations and enforcement costs, fraud losses, as well as the reduction of malicious and accidental exceptions.
SMTP: an internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission.
SWIFT: allows individuals and businesses to accept/send international money via electronic or credit card payments.
Total Value Locked (“TVL”): a measure of the aggregate asset base held or staked in a given application’s protocol.
Transparency: the quality of being open to and visible by anyone.
Web 2.0: Web 2.0 refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture and interoperability for end users. Much of the data generated by Web 2.0 is stored on central servers owned and operated by corporations. The term was coined by Darcy DiNucci in 1999 and later popularized by Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty at the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 Conference in late 2004.
Web 3.0: A more open, decentralized, and intelligent web. Data interacts in a distributed, as opposed to centralized, manner. Originally called the Semantic Web by World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee.