Cryptocurrency glossary

ADA is the cryptocurrency created by the company Cardano. It was launched in October 2017. It would manage, according to its claims, a 3rd generation blockchain. To do this, it employs many researchers and scientists who allow it to claim to be able to manage its blockchain with a " scientific approach ". It aims to manage a higher number of transactions than Bitcoin, Ethereum and other currencies.

Literally, "corner alternative." Here we are talking about an alternative to Bitcoin.
A "coin" is a currency that relies on its own blockchain. Litecoin with its own blockchain is an example of an altcoin. A currency that relies on a pre-existing blockchain is called a "token"

An ASIC ("Application Specific Integrated Circuit") is basically an electronic chip specifically designed to provide most of its power to a particular application. In the case of mining, ASICs are dedicated computers for the cryptographic calculation of digital currencies. This allows for much higher computing performance than a "classic" computer.

Bitcoin (BTC) is the first cryptocurrency created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.

More details about Bitcoin

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) appeared on August 1, 2017 following a desire to evolve the software managing Bitcoin. Because following the growing demand for this cryptocurrency and the complexity of calculating transactions, the cryptographic model on which Bitcoin was based has shown some shortcomings. In this case we are talking about Hard Fork.

Bitcoin Core is the Bitcoin management software. Satoshi Nakamoto, its creator, had previously released it as Bitcoin, then Bitcoin-Qt and finally rebranded it as Bitcoin Core in 2017. He is also known as Satoshi Client.

The terms coin and token are often used awkwardly to refer to the same thing. They represent a unit of cryptocurrency.

Despite sometimes imprecise or erroneous use, it is on the technical level that the two terms differ. A coin is the digital currency from its own blockchain, and it cannot work without it. A token is based on a pre-existing blockchain. Some examples:

– Bitcoin (BTC) is a coin that relies on the Bitcoin blockchain

– Ether (ETH) is a coin that relies on the Ethereum blockchain

– The Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a token that is based on the Ethereum blockchain.

It should be noted, however, that a token can later become a coin, as is the case of Binance Coin which was initially a token of the Ethereum blockchain but later migrated to its own blockchain, making it a coin.

Fiat currencies are the main currencies from the global and centralized economy. They are decreed by the States, which imposes their value, and their management is entrusted to the Central Bank. The most well-known and traded fiat currencies are the dollar, the euro, the pound sterling or the yen.

Fork, literally fork in English is the evolution of a cryptocurrency. Schematically, this fork symbolizes the separation of an element into two elements. It is not uncommon that faced with the growing success of a cryptocurrency, it no longer has the necessary assets for its proper functioning. This operation is based on the use of free software, which can therefore be modified by stakeholders other than the creators themselves, alternatives can be developed. This can give rise to a new currency, a split called a “hard fork” or a simple “soft fork” evolution.

Hard fork, literally "hard fork" is a major split in the evolution of a cryptocurrency. The result is a new coin inspired by the original. Bitcoin Cash, for example, is the result of a hard fork. The original currencies, however, continue to evolve. See the term fork.

An Initial Coin Offering is a type of fundraising. It can be considered the equivalent of an IPO but in the field of cryptocurrency. A company wishing to launch a cryptocurrency offers its first coins/tokens in exchange for digital assets already installed on the market. These tokens have little or no value on the market, but may have it if the cryptocurrency grows. This can be seen as a form of investment, in case the future of a cryptocurrency is thought to be promising.

A Non-Fungible Token is a special type of token. It can take different forms such as an image, an audio file or video.

Its so-called "non-fungible" nature makes it a token that has its own identity, it is somehow unique within the blockchain on which it rests, where a "fungible" token belongs to a genus and is replaceable by another of the same species, like real money. One cannot exchange a bitcoin for another or a euro coin for another euro coin without being able to distinguish them. A non-fungible token has its own value, and varies according to many factors.

SegWit is the minor evolution of the Bitcoin blockchain format. Faced with the strong growth of Bitcoin and the insufficiency of the initial software (slowdown in transaction processing, etc.), the people in charge of the original software (Bitcoin Core) proposed this new version which was activated on August 24, 2017 at 3:57 am (UTC / GMT + 1 hour) exactly and this without anything changing for users. This is called a soft fork.

Shitcoins refer to all cryptocurrencies on the market that are considered to bring no innovation. They are sometimes created without a defined purpose, fed by communities and offered at speculative prices. Some shitcoins are pale copies of already existing coins.

Soft fork is a slight evolution of cryptocurrency. Unlike the hard fork, it does not result in a new currency. The SegWit for example is the result of a soft fork. In this case, it is an evolution of the software managing Bitcoin.

A stablecoin, or stablecoin, is a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to another cryptocurrency or a fiat currency (usually the dollar).
This type of cryptocurrency responds to a major problem which is the volatility of decentralized cryptocurrencies. Thus, it is possible to enjoy the advantages of cryptocurrency, such as anonymity in transactions, while not fearing the loss of a third of the value of this currency in a few hours.