Crypto Accounting Glossary

Market Manipulation is a deliberate attempt to interfere with market integrity.

A market order is a type of order to purchase or sell a cryptocurrency immediately at the best available price.

A mempool is a storage mechanism in a cryptocurrency node that holds information about unconfirmed transactions before they are added to the blockchain.

Mining refers to the process by which new units of a cryptocurrency are created (as rewards for miners) and fraudulent transactions are prevented by the creation of a chained block of transactions. Mining operations incur costs and generate revenue, both of which need to be accounted for.

A mnemonic phrase (also known as mnemonic seed, or seed phrase) is a list of words which store all the information needed to recover a cryptocurrency wallet.

Multisig, short for multi-signature, is a security feature in cryptocurrency wallets that requires multiple private keys to authorize transactions.

A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) represents a unique digital asset, implying that each unit is distinct and cannot be interchanged on a one-to-one basis with any other token.

Net Asset Value (NAV) is the value of an entity’s assets minus the value of its liabilities. It is often used in reference to funds or companies.

Net Income represents the final profit or loss a company or individual has after deducting all expenses from their total revenue. It is a critical indicator of financial health and performance.

A Network is a group of computers linked together.

Network fees, also known as transaction fees, are small amounts paid by the user to the miners to include their transaction in a block. These fees can affect the cost basis of transactions in crypto accounting.

A no-coiner is an individual who does not hold or invest in cryptocurrencies, often due to skepticism, lack of interest, or concerns about their value and security.

Nodes are devices or data points on a larger network, in the context of crypto, they validate and relay transactions.

In cryptocurrency systems, a nonce is a number that a blockchain network uses only once.

Off-chain refers to transactions or operations that occur outside of the main blockchain. These transactions are executed using alternative protocols or layers that are built on top of the blockchain.

On-Chain refers to transactions recorded on the blockchain.

An oracle is a source of information that smart contracts can use to interact with the outside world. Oracles can impact the execution of smart contracts.

An order book is a list of buy and sell orders for a specific cryptocurrency.

Outlier detection refers to identifying data points that significantly deviate from other observations. In crypto accounting, outlier detection can be important for identifying unusual or suspicious transactions that may require further investigation.

In the context of crypto, an output refers to the destination for a transaction, an output is the designation of the receiver's address and the amount sent.

Over the counter trading in the crypto context is done directly between two parties, without the supervision of an exchange.

Overhead refers to the ongoing business expenses not directly attributed to creating a product or service. In the context of crypto, this could be the cost of electricity.

A Paper Wallet is a physical offline storage method for cryptocurrency private keys, usually in the form of a printed paper with QR codes or plaintext.

Polkadot is a multi-chain platform that allows different blockchains to interoperate in a shared security model.

In the context of cryptocurrency, privacy pertains to the safeguarding of transactional details and the concealment of the identities of the individuals or entities involved in these transactions.

Privacy Coins are cryptocurrencies focused on providing private transactions.

A private key is a sophisticated form of cryptography that allows a user to access his or her cryptocurrency. A private key is an integral aspect of bitcoin and altcoins, and its security makeup helps to protect a user from theft and unauthorized access to funds. Secure management of private keys is crucial to prevent asset loss.

Proof of Stake (PoS) is a consensus algorithm that chooses validators based on the number of tokens held.

Proof of Work is a consensus mechanism used in blockchain networks to validate and secure transactions.

A set of rules that determine how data is transmitted over a network, such as a blockchain.