Cryptocurrency Terms and Definitions

Fork means a fork of cryptocurrencies.

HashRate is an indicator which shows the efficiency of the mining farm.

A masternode — this "fellow" is somewhat reminiscent of a miner. It serves the cryptocurrency system with its computing power, and in return it receives some portion of the cryptocurrency as a reward.

Miner is a person who produces some cryptocurrency.

A soft fork is a soft update of a cryptocurrency protocol that is compatible with older versions of the software, in which the network continues to operate as a single whole and is not split into separate chains.

Cloud mining is the renting of computing power from a third-party service to mine cryptocurrency without buying and maintaining your own equipment, which lowers the barrier to entry but increases dependence on the provider.

A node is a computer connected to a cryptocurrency network that stores blockchain data and verifies transactions according to the protocol rules, sustaining the operation of a decentralized system without a single center.

Mining is the process of confirming transactions and creating new blocks in the blockchain, for which network participants receive a reward in cryptocurrency in exchange for the computational work of their equipment.

A crowdsale is the public sale of tokens of a new crypto project, during which the team raises funding while participants acquire tokens before they reach the open market, often on more favorable terms.

A cryptocurrency faucet is a service that gives users tiny fractions of cryptocurrency for performing simple actions, for example entering a captcha or viewing ads, and it serves more as a learning tool than as a way to earn money.