Glossary 35

Short, clear definitions of the terms you meet when exchanging crypto and currencies.

  • Acquiring
    Accepting payments by bank cards. In «crypto ↔ card» exchanges, bank acquiring is involved, with its own limit…
  • Altcoin
    Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. The term covers thousands of coins — from Ethereum to niche tokens.…
  • AML check
    An assessment of a crypto address or transaction for links to fraud, darknet and sanctions. Reduces the risk o…
  • Chargeback
    Disputing and reversing a card payment through the bank. In crypto exchange it's a risk for the seller: the bu…
  • Cold wallet
    Storing keys offline (hardware or paper wallet). Maximum protection from hacking, but less convenient for freq…
  • Confirmation
    Inclusion of a transaction in a network block. The more confirmations, the more reliable the transfer; exchang…
  • Crypto address
    A wallet identifier for receiving funds on a specific network. Addresses of different networks are incompatibl…
  • Crypto exchange
    A trading venue with an order book where buyers and sellers set the price. Cheaper at volume, but requires an …
  • Crypto wallet
    An app or device for storing keys and managing crypto. It can be hot (online) or cold (offline).…
  • Decentralization
    The absence of a single controlling center: the network runs on many independent nodes. A property of most cry…
  • Deep link
    A link straight to a specific exchange direction in a monitor, not the homepage. Saves clicks: opens a ready e…
  • Escrow
    Freezing of funds by a third party (the platform) until the deal's terms are met. In P2P, escrow protects both…
  • Exchange direction
    The pair «what you send → what you receive», e.g. USDT → Sberbank. Each direction has its own rate, reserve an…
  • Exchange limit
    The minimum and maximum amount an exchanger accepts for a direction. Your amount must fit within the limits, o…
  • Exchange rate
    How many units of the received currency you get per unit of the sent one. The best rate isn't always the best …
  • Exchanger (exchange office)
    A service that performs the actual exchange of one currency for another at its own rate and from its own reser…
  • Exchanger monitor
    A service that collects rates, reserves and ratings of many exchange offices and shows them in one place, so y…
  • Exchanger reserve
    The amount of currency an exchanger has available for a given direction right now. If the reserve is smaller t…
  • Fiat
    Ordinary state-issued money — rubles, dollars, euros. Contrasted with cryptocurrency; «crypto ↔ fiat» is the m…
  • Gas
    The fee for computation and transfers on Ethereum and compatible networks. The amount depends on network load:…
  • KYC (verification)
    «Know Your Customer» — identity verification (documents) on exchanges and some services. Monitored exchangers …
  • Liquidity
    How easily an asset can be exchanged without a big price change. Popular pairs (USDT, BTC) have high liquidity…
  • Network (blockchain)
    The environment where a cryptocurrency is issued and transferred (TRC20, ERC20, BEP20, etc.). The network affe…
  • Network fee
    The blockchain's charge for processing a transfer, independent of the exchanger. On TRC20 it's usually tiny; o…
  • P2P exchange
    Exchanging directly between people via a guarantor platform that holds crypto in escrow until payment. Can be …
  • Private key
    A secret key giving full control over the funds at an address. Whoever knows the private key owns the coins. N…
  • SBP (Faster Payments System)
    A Bank of Russia service for instant transfers between banks by phone number. Many exchangers pay out rubles v…
  • Seed phrase
    A set of 12–24 words that restores a wallet and all keys. Keep it offline; leaking the seed phrase means losin…
  • Spread
    The difference between the buy and sell price. The wider the spread, the costlier entering and exiting are. Es…
  • Stablecoin
    A cryptocurrency pegged to the value of a fiat currency, usually the dollar (USDT, USDC, DAI ≈ 1 USD). Handy f…
  • Token
    A crypto asset issued on top of another blockchain (e.g., USDT on Ethereum). Unlike a network's coin, a token …
  • Transaction
    A transfer of funds on the blockchain. Each transaction gets a unique hash (TxID) and passes through network c…
  • Transaction hash (TxID)
    A unique identifier of a transfer on the blockchain. It lets you check the status and details of a transaction…
  • Verification
    Confirmation of a user's or operation's identity/data. On exchanges — KYC by documents; in exchange it may be …
  • Volatility
    The degree of price fluctuation of an asset. Bitcoin's is high (the rate jumps), stablecoins' is near zero (pe…