A marketing tactic in which a company sends tokens of their cryptocurrency into
the wallet address of a member of a blockchain at no charge, to raise awareness
of their cryptocurrency.
The fundamental basis of cryptocurrency. A blockchain is a digital ledger of
transactions stored simultaneously on multiple nodes of the same network. Unlike
traditional banking and payments solutions, a blockchain’s open and
decentralized network allows for instant, low-cost transactions where anyone can
participate, while securing transactional history by cryptography and social
consensus.
The capacity of a third-party or an individual to retain and safeguard a user’s
assets in a wallet address. Custody solutions can be either custodial or self
custody, depending on which entity has control over the private keys of the
wallet address. (See also Private Keys).
The native cryptocurrency built into the Ethereum blockchain that is used to pay
gas (or network fees) and can be staked to secure the network. (See also
Gas.
A virtual machine that executes code in a precise manner to create smart
contracts on Ethereum. Many other blockchain networks are based on the EVM and
are known as EVM-compatible blockchains.
A developer tool that issues testnet tokens of no monetary value to be used for
testing payment flows and interactions with smart contracts on blockchain test
networks.
A network fee charged in ETH by EVM-compatible blockchains to execute
transactions. Non-EVM blockchains such as Solana charge network fees in SOL. End
users pay the fee by default, although developers can sponsor the fee to provide
a simpler user experience.
A non-fungible token is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a
blockchain, and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be
copied, substituted, or subdivided.
An encrypted password that safeguards a user’s holdings in a wallet address.
This can take the form of a data string of letters and numbers 64 characters or
longer. A user (or a user’s app) must present a private key to authorize a
transaction. Translated to the world of traditional finance, the private key
could be compared to a personal signature or PIN code.
A public-facing address of a user’s wallet that must be shared to receive funds.
Every wallet address has both a private key and a public key. Translated to the
world of traditional finance, the public key could be compared to an account
number or ATM card.
A cryptocurrency that is pegged to an offchain reserve asset like the US dollar
or the euro. Stablecoins are designed to provide a sound store of value and
facilitate payments in a familiar currency. Circle issues two stablecoins, USDC
and EURC, which reflect 1:1 the value of the US dollar and the euro
respectively.
A blockchain network used for testing purposes by developers, similar to a
staging environment. A testnet will operate just like its corresponding mainnet
(similar to a production environment), but the transactions on a testnet use
tokens of no monetary value.
A data string that identifies a location where digital assets are stored on a
public blockchain. Similar to a public key, however a public key serves to
facilitate transactions for a wallet address.
