Questions tagged [terminology]
Questions concerning terminology, jargon, abbreviations, acronyms and phrases that are essential to the cryptocurrency community.
137
questions
3
votes
3answers
70 views
What is “consensus”?
I’m really struggling to get my head around a particular piece of lingo in the bitcoin/blockchain space, and would really appreciate if someone was able to give a bit of clarity. I have been doing a ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
what is measured in units of sat/kw?
Whilst learning about bitcoin & lightning fees I have encountered the abbreviation sat/kw a few times, most recently here:
Why can’t lightning tx’s be signed with sighash single to allow for fee ...
2
votes
0answers
24 views
How to detect a consensus is BFT or not? [on hold]
Can we divide consensus algorithms into BFT (Byzantine Fault
Tolerant) and non-BFT ?
If so, How to detect a consensus is BFT or non-BFT ?
Is there any non-BFT consensus algorithm example ?
1
vote
1answer
68 views
“Fork choice rule” : A general term? or a specific algorithm?
Is "Fork choice rule" a general term including all the algorithms used for choosing a branch among other branches in a fork (including longest chain rule in Bitcoin etc) ?
Or is it a specific ...
2
votes
2answers
474 views
What is a txn? How can it be invalid?
I read this in a IRC exchange:
verifies your txns against a random node that you don't control. if for some reason that node went rogue, you might have accepted an invalid txn
What is a txn?
2
votes
1answer
23 views
What does “Green address verification” mean in the context of transaction validation?
I am only new to Bitcoin and I would like to know what a "Green address verification" is. I have an Electrum wallet ver 3.3.6 and I think the term is being used in the context of faster transactions ...
2
votes
1answer
136 views
Why do we need to chain the blocks (creating blockchain) in a permissioned blockchain?
The main question is:
What does "chaining block" mean in a permissioned blockchain? OR in any blockchain network in which creating a new block does NOT need consuming resources/energy ? (even in the ...
3
votes
2answers
149 views
What is the unit of time_lock_delta in LND?
LND has a configuration setting called time_lock_delta with the description "The required timelock delta for HTLCs forwarded over the channel.". I assume this to refer to some measure of time, but ...
1
vote
3answers
54 views
What does channel num_updates mean?
Some LND wallets provide a channel's "Number of Updates". Here's an example from Zap Desktop:
The LND gRPC API Channel Reference cites a property called num_updates. The description of this field is ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Required conditions to be selected as intermediary node (Payment Service Provider) in Lightning Network?
I bring up some important questions about terminology of the Lightning Network and how to select the intermediary node as the Payment Service Provider in a routing channel:
The following video (Link ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
“stable-coins”: A formal definition?
In crypto-currency news, we might heard about term of "stable-coins".
Can we define a stable-coin as follows:
A crypto-currency that is pegged to a fiat / formal currency to minimize the ...
1
vote
1answer
29 views
Is there any “permissionless” blockchain “without a native coin”?
We may certainly say that a "permissioned" blockchain cannot have a native coin (or cryptocurreny) since in permissioned blockchain we need a permission to be eligible to participate for transactions ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
If Bitcoin addresses are a single-use token, how several transactions belong to a single address? (Edited)
While in Bitcoin wiki (Link to the page) is explicitly mentioned:
"A Bitcoin address is a single-use token."
We therefore expect that every address would be belonged to only a single transaction ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views
How to fund a bidirectional channel in Lightning Network by two participants? (Edited)
I brought up a similar question here: (Link to question) for a payment channel (in general case and without specifying which payment channel implementation.) Since this funding channels depends on the ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
meaning of “full node” in Lightning Network?
According to this answer: (Link to answer),
"A 'full node' refers to a fully validating node on the
Bitcoin network, meaning the node validates each block and transaction that happens on the ...
4
votes
1answer
167 views
Lightning Network: asymmetry in the information tracked by each participant?
In following paper, written by Christian Decker et al., there is a paragraph that is not clear to me.
eltoo: A Simple Layer2 Protocol for Bitcoin
"The central idea of Lightning is to invalidate ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
Implementing an “ad-hoc-like network of payment channels” on top of Bitcoin network?
If we define an ad-hoc network as follows:
"An ad hoc network is a network that is composed of individual devices
communicating with each other directly." [1]
ad-hoc networks do not rely on ...
1
vote
1answer
92 views
What is a “half” in Bitcoin?
I saw in an article something about a Bitcoin algorithm half in 2020. What exactly is this? I have tried looking this up but I couldn't find anything that told me what it was only a website counting ...
1
vote
1answer
62 views
In what way does Spectre have “weak” liveness?
In his article The Spectre Protocol, Aviv Zohar, one of Spectre's authors, mentions that Spectre has weak liveness.
Why does he mention that Spectre has "weak" liveness, and how would "strong liveness"...
2
votes
2answers
356 views
Exact definition of “Liveness” and “Safety” properties in a consensus?
Two main properties of a consensus are "Liveness" and "Safety".
What are the exact and precised definition of "Liveness" and "Safety" properties in a consensus ?
Are the following definitions ...
8
votes
1answer
236 views
-1
votes
1answer
37 views
What does Starkware Industries mean?
What does Starkware Industries mean? Is it related to Zcash company?
Its name apparently comes from Zero Knowledge Stark (zk-STARKs).
I appreciate it if someone could define Starkware Industries in ...
1
vote
1answer
778 views
Can we estimate how many node has the Bitcoin network? [duplicate]
Is it possible to estimate the amount of nodes (hosts) are connected to the Bitcoin network in a given time?
Note: Here node means host.
0
votes
1answer
118 views
Differences/similarities of “Bitcoin script” and “Ethereum smart contract”?
Can we compare Bitcoin script and Ethereum smart contract ?
And if yes,
What are differences/similarities of Bitcoin script and Ethereum smart contract in sense of functionality, architecture and ...
0
votes
3answers
72 views
Is blockchain always “public”?
Is the following definition of blockchain by its wikipwdia page correct?
Where it is mentioned:
A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed and public digital ledger
...
Cannot we have a ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
What is the correct use of the term “validating”?
First, in the Bitcoin context what does validating mean?
Second, is it incorrect to say something like
" the average time it takes to validate a block by the network is 10 minutes."
The way, I ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
What the difference between old segwit (3) and new segwit address (bc)?
i'm not that kind of person who understands cryptography and math, can you tell me simply the main purpose of new segwit address? are transactions fee the same for new segwit (bc1)?
instead of "Old ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
Proper grammar regarding Bulletproofs
For non-native speakers talking about Bulletproofs with correct grammar is tricky.
I tried to use the white paper as a reference, but it is not consistent. Even in the abstract it mixes plural and ...
1
vote
1answer
119 views
What is QuoteAssetVolume and BaseAssetVolume?
This is a JSON result for a candle returned by an exchange API for ETHBTC:
{ openTime: 1517340600000,
open: '0.10635000',
high: '0.10742000',
low: '0.10635000',
close: '0.10687200',
volume: ...
0
votes
5answers
3k views
Are BTC and Bitcoin Core the same?
I recently saw an offer to "Buy Bitcoin Core with your credit card".
Is this "Bitcoin Core" the same thing as BTC?
43
votes
1answer
13k views
What are Channel Factories and how do they work?
One of the open research questions for Lightning Network is that it will take a massive amount of on-chain transactions to create enough payment channels for all the Lightning Network users. Lately, I'...
1
vote
1answer
580 views
What is the difference between Segwit and non-segwit?
What's the difference? What is the definition of these two terms?
-1
votes
2answers
73 views
Why isn't bitcoin itself its own ledger?
Sorry if I'm asking a very daft question here, bitcoin newbie.
When I first heard of bitcoin, I thought bitcoin itself kept a record of who had spent it and when. I didn't know the blockchain was a ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the difference between on-chain scaling and off-chain scaling?
What is on-chain scaling and off-chain scaling?
What is the core difference between on-chain scaling and off-chain scaling?
0
votes
1answer
94 views
Definition of `Idx`
idx is an integer in source code of bitcoin related softwares.
https://github.com/decred/atomicswap/blob/70f795e/cmd/btcatomicswap/main.go#L391
https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd/blob/...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Does bitcoin deflate or does it appreciate?
How are these two terms related?
Bit Coin is obviously appreciating in value, but does that alone mean that the economy is deflationary? Or, is deflation and inflation a result of external pressures ...
2
votes
1answer
168 views
what are chaff coins in cryptocurrency?
I read in several paper about "chaff coins" but I could not find a clear definition for this phenomenon. Does it refer to a specific coin? Is there any "formal" definition for that ?
Reference: ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Race Attack vs. Double-Spending Attack: are they same?
Race Attack vs. Double-Spending Attack: are they same?
I know definition of both attack both some times it is called as "race attack" and most of the time called as "double-spending". I guess (maybe) ...
7
votes
3answers
14k views
What is the difference between a miner and a full node?
I have trouble finding the difference between a full node and a miner. It looks like these two names are used interchangeably which I think is not entirely correct. Miners do process blocks and full ...
0
votes
1answer
10k views
What is the unit “Th” as in Th/s? [duplicate]
I keep seeing this everywhere, but it seems impossible to search. What does Th stand for? What does it mean? How do you calculate the Th?
For example, "The 13.5 TH/s is $2773.28 US". What does that ...
2
votes
1answer
269 views
Public-Ledger or Public-Journal
Said Bitcoin (To speak generally; Block-Chain) is a Distributed Public Ledger and as we know;
The Journal is a book where all the transactions are recorded immediately when they take place which is ...
2
votes
1answer
613 views
Are memory pool and transaction pool the same thing?
As far I know, unconfirmed transactions are stored in the memory pool. However, in the Bitcoin wiki, I see a data structure called transaction pool. Are they the same thing or not? Also for the orphan ...
2
votes
2answers
559 views
Do we put all the transactions in the memory pool?
I wonder if orphan transactions are also stored in the memory pool? If yes, how do the Bitcoin client distinguish between the orphan and non-orphan transactions?
13
votes
1answer
21k views
What is a nonce?
When I see the block info on blockchain, I see that there is a field named "nonce", I could not find any relevant information on web regarding what a nonce is. Please explain what a nonce is what is ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the “Count” column in the order book on Bitfinex?
I can't understand what count means here. I would have assumed that it was the number of orders at that price, but the total column does not seem to reflect this. Can't find any info in the ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
What exactly does “trustless” mean in terms of Bitcoin?
People often say that Bitcoin is trustless, what exactly does it mean?
I know you don't need to trust one of following entities when you transact in Bitcoin, but what don't you need to trust?
third ...
2
votes
1answer
248 views
What exactly does redeem in the context of bitcon mean?
In this website, it says "The purpose of pay-to-script-hash is to move the responsibility for supplying the conditions to redeem a transaction from the sender of the funds to the redeemer."
I looked ...
1
vote
1answer
146 views
How can a Bitcoin transaction be used multiple times (If it is so)?
My understanding is that a transaction is a transfer of value between Bitcoin wallets that gets later included in the block chain. So a Bitcoin transaction is used only once in my understanding.
2
votes
3answers
415 views
What does the term “Electronic Cash” stand for in computer science lingo?
Very often in various online discussions, people cite the word "cash" from the Bitcoin whitepaper title as evidence that Bitcoin should be used for everyday transactions.
I've seen mentions that the ...
12
votes
1answer
5k views
Replace-by-Fee vs Child-pays-for-Parent?
Both RBF and CPFP attempt to solve the problem of transactions not confirming because of an insufficient fee. What are the pros/cons of using one vs the other?
Are both currently functional and ...
