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Glossary
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- Halving Halving occurs when the reward miners receive for adding new blocks to the blockchain is cut in half. This occurs approximately every four years. It's programmed into Bitcoin's code from the day of its inception. Miners run computers to solve complex math problems to verify Bitcoin transactions. When they solve one, they can create fresh Bitcoins. That's how new coins enter the system. Back in 2009, miners pulled in 50 Bitcoins per block. The first halving occurred in 2012, reducing the reward to 25. The next one in 2016 brought it down to 12.5. Then 6.25 in 2020. The most recent halving in 2024 cut it to 3.125 per block. This pattern continues until roughly 2140, when the last Bitcoin gets mined. After that? No more new coins will be mined. Halving helps control the supply of Bitcoins. As per its code, there can only be 21 million Bitcoins mined in total, and halving makes sure that this supply is released over a long period of time. Here's where regular people pay attention: many believe halving pushes prices up. Past halvings have seen high price jumps in the months after, though nothing's certain. Some analysts call post-halving market dynamics overhyped. Markets know exactly when halvings occur, so the impact gets baked into the prices early. However, some believers continue to meticulously record and monitor each of these events.
- Hard Fork In the world of crypto, a hard fork is when a blockchain network makes a radical change to its protocol. Imagine you are driving down a highway, and suddenly the road splits into two completely different directions. You have to pick a side because the two new paths don't ever meet again. In tech, it is called being "backward-incompatible." In the event of a hard fork, one group of developers and miners proposes a change. This could be changes to the size of a block or how transactions are validated; they then "fork" the code. Those who upgrade move onto the new path, while those who refuse to change stay on the original path. This is done because the two versions no longer "speak the same language"; the chain literally splits into two separate, independent networks. Some fitting examples include Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in 2017. The split happened because of a massive debate over transaction speeds. One side kept the original Bitcoin ($BTC$), while the "rebels" created Bitcoin Cash ($BCH$). If you held Bitcoin at the time of the split, you suddenly found yourself owning an equal amount of the new Bitcoin Cash tokens too. Another example would be the hard fork in 2016 between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. This was the aftereffect of a major hack, where the DAO and community couldn't agree on whether to "undo" the theft. Most moved to the new Ethereum (ETH) we know today, while the purists stayed on the original "Ethereum Classic" (ETC) chain. In short, a hard fork is a permanent split that creates two separate currencies, two separate communities, and two different futures.
- Hash In crypto parlance, a hash is a fixed-length string of letters and numbers created by putting any kind of data through a special mathematical function called a hash function. This data can be in the form of a transaction, a block of transactions, or even a password. It can be looked at like a super secure digital fingerprint.So no matter how big and large the original data is, the hash will always be the same short length. In the case of Bitcoin its 64 characters. This is even if the data is a long sentence or an entire movie file. But remember even the tiniest change in the input can create a completely different hash. Moreover, you can never reverse-engineer the original data just by looking at the hash, which means it’s only a one-way street.So if you are wondering where are they used, remember that every time you send crypto, the details like the amount, sender, receiver, etc. are hashed to create a unique transaction hash also denoted as txID. This is what you see on a blockchain explorer. Miners collect these transactions, combine them with other data and hash everything together to produce the block hash.Truth is, stumbling upon a valid block hash during Bitcoin's mining process is incredibly tough and is basically a brute-force race that eats up a ton of power, but that's exactly what keeps the whole chain from being messed with. It’s the same deal with your public wallet address. That's essentially just a hashed version of your public key, acting as a clever layer of privacy that lets anyone verify a transaction without ever touching your actual sensitive info.
- Hashrate Hashrate is a significant mesure of total miner´s computational power in a blockchain network, especially in the case of those employing Proof-of-Work (PoW) systems such as Bitcoin. It shows the number of "hashes" or rather attempts, that the miners can do in a second while trying to solve the mathematical riddles that let new blocks be added to the blockchain. Thus, the network's attempts per second are directly proportional to the hashrate. A good hashrate is considered a security and welfare indicator of a PoW network. The more miners there are providing computing power, the harder it becomes for a single group to seize control or carry out a 51% attack. That means, high hashrate translates into more competition, better security, and a more robust blockchain. Hashrate in terahashes is (TH/s), petahashes is (PH/s), and exahashes is (EH/s) per second. These figures indicate the vast amount of computational power being utilized in the entire mining ecosystem. Hashrate is the most important element affecting the reward of miners. Higher personal hashrate increases the chance of solving a block but at the same time, the increase of the whole network hashrate may also result in harder mining conditions. In conclusion, hashrate is an ultimate indicator of power in a PoW blockchain and is a main factor in both performance and security.
- HODL HODL is a well-known term within the cryptocurrency universe that signifies the holding of your digital coins instead of selling them, even if the market is very volatile. The term was born from a typographical error in an online discussion in 2013, where one of the Bitcoin investors wrote "I am hodling" during a time of heavy price fluctuation. The mistake became a phenomenon, and gradually, it was adopted by the crypto community. HODL today is a term that can be found on the lips of the crypto investors who mainly and purposely speak about it as a long-hold investment approach. The HODLers are those who have the firm conviction that in the long run, the cryptocurrency will be worth a lot, and hence, they do not panic in case of drops in prices, negative news, or even overall pullbacks in the market. They are not looking to cash in on short-term price fluctuations but rather to ride out the storm. HODLing is a phenomenon that is very prevalent among Bitcoin proponents who regard the currency as a long-term store of value, akin to gold, but in its digital form. It is also a strategy employed by traders who wish to reduce their emotional involvement and hence the tendency of buying when the prices are high and selling when they are low. HODLing has the advantage of lowering psychological pressure and preventing incorrect trading decisions; however, it is not a zero-risk practice. Price drops might last for a long time, and not every coin or project will survive. In other words, HODLing means keeping your cool, not paying attention to the short-term noise, and maintaining your long-term belief in the crypto's worth.
- Honeypot In crypto, a honeypot is a trap smart contract, usually an ERC‑20 token, made to steal investors’ money. People buy these tokens, pushing the price higher, but the scammers also embed a hidden restriction in the code that prevents most users from selling or withdrawing them. It does so by imposing impossible sell thresholds, manipulating balances to zero on transfer attempts, or routing sells only through the owner's address. One simple way is to block the transaction unless it comes from the owner or a whitelisted wallet. The scammer, on the other hand, is exempt from these restrictions and goes on to drain the liquidity pool, leaving victims with worthless tokens. To lure people, fraudsters use hype methods like bot-driven trading volumes, fake charts showing rapid gains without selling, anonymous teams with slick websites, and promises of high yields, or they ride on the popularity of TV shows or memes. People give in, succumbing to FOMO, or fear of missing out. Victims buy in, inflating the pot, but can't exit when the price peaks. One such example was in 2021, during the hype of the Netflix series Squid Game, when the SQUID token was released. It was promoted heavily on social media, causing it to surge 45,000% in days. Investors poured in over $3.3 million, but the contract later blocked people from selling because it had an explicit anti-dump feature that was marketed as a player-protected token. But developers rug-pulled the liquidity and vanished with the funds.
- Hot Storage Hot storage indicates cryptocurrency wallets that are always connected to the internet. The plus of hot storage is that it allows users to trade, send or receive digital currencies easily and quickly because the wallet is on an online device. Mobile wallets, desktop wallets, browser extensions, and crypto-exchange-hosted wallets are some hot storage examples. The major benefit of hot storage is its convenience. The user can trade, transact, or use the decentralized applications without needing any special hardware or manual setup. Hot wallets are most often the easiest option for regular transactions or active trading. Though the risk of being constantly online is always there. Hackers could steal private keys through malware, phishing, or breaches. Although respectable platforms do security measures effectively, hot wallets are still considered less secure than offline ones mainly because they are often subjected to online threats. That’s the reason why many cryptocurrency holders keep only small or moderate amounts in hot storage, assets they need for daily use, while the rest of their long-term investments are kept in cold wallets, which are offline and hence, more secure. To summarize, hot storage provides speed and accessibility but to a greater security risk. It is still essential for everyday crypto activity, but it demands security habits that are both careful and highly conscious of the online vulnerabilities.
- Hot Wallet A hot wallet is like a checking account in the crypto world. It is a digital tool used to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies, and its defining feature is that it is always connected to the internet. Because it’s online, a hot wallet is incredibly convenient. You can pull out your phone or open a browser tab and trade tokens or buy an NFT in seconds. This constant connectivity is what makes it "hot" or ready to use at a moment's notice. Hot wallets are designed for daily activity. People use them to make quick trades or move funds to an exchange. You can also pay for goods or services online using one. It is also used to connect with decentralized apps (dApps) or Web3 games. However, hot wallets come with their own set of risks. Being online makes it a target for hackers and phishing. It is often advised to keep large life savings in a "hot" wallet, as it is device-dependent, and in case your phone gets compromised, your wallet might be too. A few commonly used hot wallets include MetaMask, which is a popular browser extension used to interact with the Ethereum network. Then there is Trust Wallet, which is a mobile app known for supporting a massive variety of different coins. The Coinbase wallet has also grown popular as its a "self-custody" app that lets you control your keys while staying linked to the Coinbase ecosystem.