Crypto Journalism Resources

Decentralization

When data and tasks are spread across a network instead of coming from a central source, like a bank or treasury. For example, there is no bitcoin company or bitcoin overlord in charge of bitcoin transactions. Community members contribute computing power to fuel the bitcoin network. Transaction records are spread across the network.

Ledger

A file or receipt for recording transactions and changes to an account balance. “Ledger” shouldn’t be confused with trade history, as the ledger balance can provide more information like balances on a specific date, margin trades, or what a currency was traded for, depending on the type of ledger.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency. It is roughly 13 years old. It uses blockchain technology, a type of software that spreads data out across the network of participants so no single party can change the records. In bitcoin’s case, the receipts for every transaction are public. They are associated with bitcoin wallet addresses, comparable to email addresses except they are longer and harder to memorize. Bitcoin is the most secure cryptocurrency because, so far, it has the most people contributing to the network. (Someday another crypto community may be bigger, and as such more diverse and secure, but not today.) Cryptocurrencies often rely on the “safety in numbers” principle.

Mining

The process of making new cryptocurrency. People run specialized computers that can calculate very difficult math problems in order to verify bitcoin transactions and write them into the shared ledger. In bitcoin’s case, this is called “proof of work,” referring to the complex math problems that require lots of power and specialized hardware.

Halving

The Bitcoin Halving is a highly anticipated event that only occurs once every four years. Bitcoin miners earn newly minted bitcoin as a reward for each new block they add to the blockchain. At the time of Bitcoin’s inception, this block reward was 50 whole bitcoins! However, the protocol was programmed to automatically reduce this reward by 50% every four years (50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, 3.125 and so on). This is part of Bitcoin’s controlled supply algorithm which will ensure that there will never be more than 21 million coins created. As the block reward continues to reduce, the incentive for bitcoin miners to continue adding blocks will be the transaction fees paid by people who are using the network to transfer value. Bitcoin Halvings are scheduled to continue until approximately the year 2140.

Node

All software is connected to hardware, somewhere, and likewise a bitcoin node supports the network by validating transactions. Some people download node software on their own laptops, some build node devices using a Raspberry Pi. Either way, the node is what gives the user their own full copy of the blockchain, rather than relying on other people’s hardware to keep track of the public ledger. Unlike bitcoin, a full archival Ethereum node is difficult to run and as such is usually only managed by corporations. (Anything that is not fully archival is not a fully functional, self-contained node, although blockchain advocates will get very touchy about this subject. Saying something is an incomplete node is not a moral judgment; It is a factual statement about which entities are responsible for specific aspects of the network.) 

Hodl/hodler

The unconventional spelling of “hold” arose from a typo-filled drunken rant on bitcointalk.org in 2013. Hodling means saving cryptocurrency for an extended period of time, as opposed to day-trading or panic selling when the fiat-denominated price of cryptocurrency fluctuates. A hodler is someone that saves or holds cryptocurrency for many years.

Recovery seed

A “seed phrase” or “recovery phrase” or “backup seed” is a list of words that act as a collective password. Wallet software will typically generate a seed phrase and instruct the user to write it down on paper. Then, if something happens to that specific wallet device, the user can still recover access to the funds another way.

Sats/Satoshis

Tiny fractions of bitcoin. Sats, short for “Satoshis” after bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, are to bitcoin what cents are to dollars.

Lightning Network

This scaling solution adds an upper layer to bitcoin, so to speak, because the internet is built in layers. Creating a purely bitcoin transaction offers more security, but usually takes longer and requires higher transaction fees. People can use the Lightning Network for payments if those benefits aren't necessary. These smaller amounts of bitcoin, often used for payments, are called Satoshis.

When in doubt, it is usually best to call up a blockchain expert and ask them to help you understand the public data you’re looking at. It’s very easy to misinterpret data. For example, if you see the term “coinbase” on bitcoin block explorers, it has nothing to do with the company by the same name. A “coinbase” transaction is created by bitcoin miners whenever a new block is found, and it includes the block subsidy as well as transaction fees.

Press contacts at companies like Brink, Chainalysis and Elliptic are often very helpful for off-the-record guidance or help on background. Search Meetup.com for a local BitDevs meetup if you want to go meet technical experts in person. In the meantime, here are some free, basic guides for learning about blockchain analysis, privacy vulnerabilities, and various network trends: