Glossary

Crypto, in plain words.

22 terms you meet in the news, explained without jargon.

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Altcoin: Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Ether, Solana and XRP are all altcoins.

Bitcoin: The first cryptocurrency, launched in 2009. Its supply is capped at 21 million coins, and new coins are created as rewards for miners who add blocks to its blockchain. Read: Bitcoin halvings, explained: why miners earn half as much every four years →
Block: A batch of transactions added to a blockchain together. Each block points to the one before it, which is what makes the chain. Read: Bitcoin vs Ethereum: why one adds a block every 10 minutes and the other every 12 seconds →
Block reward: The new coins a Bitcoin miner earns for adding a block. It halves roughly every four years. Read: Bitcoin halvings, explained: why miners earn half as much every four years →
Block time: The average gap between new blocks on a blockchain. Bitcoin aims for about 10 minutes; Ethereum produces a block every 12 seconds. Read: Bitcoin vs Ethereum: why one adds a block every 10 minutes and the other every 12 seconds →
Blockchain: A shared record of transactions kept by many computers at once, grouped into blocks that are chained together so past entries are very hard to change. Read: Bitcoin vs Ethereum: why one adds a block every 10 minutes and the other every 12 seconds →

Cold wallet: A crypto wallet kept offline, such as a hardware device. Harder to hack than an app or exchange account, but you must not lose it or its recovery phrase.

DCA: Dollar-cost averaging: buying a fixed amount at regular intervals instead of all at once, so you buy more when prices are low and less when they are high.

Exchange: A platform where you buy and sell crypto for rupees or other coins. If the exchange holds your coins, you are trusting it to keep them safe.

Gas fee: The fee paid to process a transaction on Ethereum and similar blockchains. It rises when the network is busy.

Halving: The scheduled cut, by half, in the number of new bitcoins paid to miners for each block. It happens every 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years. Read: Bitcoin halvings, explained: why miners earn half as much every four years →

Market cap: A coin's price multiplied by the number of coins in circulation. A rough measure of how big a crypto asset is.
Mining: Using computers to compete to add the next block to a proof-of-work blockchain like Bitcoin, in exchange for the block reward and fees. Read: Bitcoin halvings, explained: why miners earn half as much every four years →

Private key: The secret that controls a crypto wallet. Anyone who has it can move the coins; if you lose it, they are gone. Never share it.
Proof of stake: A way of running a blockchain where validators lock up coins as a stake, instead of using mining hardware. Ethereum switched to it in 2022. Read: Bitcoin vs Ethereum: why one adds a block every 10 minutes and the other every 12 seconds →
Proof of work: A way of running a blockchain where miners spend computing power to add blocks. Bitcoin uses it. Read: Bitcoin vs Ethereum: why one adds a block every 10 minutes and the other every 12 seconds →

Seed phrase: A list of 12 or 24 words that can rebuild your wallet and its private keys. Anyone asking for it is trying to steal your coins.
Stablecoin: A crypto token designed to keep a steady value, usually one US dollar, often backed by cash and short-term bonds. USDT and USDC are the largest.

TDS on crypto: In India, 1% of the sale value is deducted as tax at source when you sell crypto above set limits. You can claim it against your final tax bill. Read: How India taxes crypto: a flat 30%, 1% TDS, and no relief for losses →

Virtual digital asset (VDA): The Indian Income Tax Act's term for crypto and similar tokens. Gains on VDAs are taxed at a flat 30%, and losses cannot be set off against other income. Read: How India taxes crypto: a flat 30%, 1% TDS, and no relief for losses →
Volatility: How sharply a price swings up and down. Crypto prices are far more volatile than shares or gold.

Wallet: An app or device that holds the keys to your crypto. A custodial wallet is one where a company holds the keys for you.