Blockchain vocabulary

• Blockchain: A Blockchain is an accurate and permanent record of transactions that have

been verified and stored in a chronological sequence.
• Blocks: A block is an individual transaction or piece of data that is being stored within
the Blockchain.
• Blockchain Network: The Blockchain network and Blockchain are terms used
interchangeably. They represent the entire Blockchain from the structure itself to the
network that it is a part of.
• Decentralization: The concept in which users work together to validate transactions
without relying on a central authority.
• Participant: A client that owns a copy of the Blockchain and verifies transactions across
the network.
• Deterministic: The same input will always produce the same output, but that output will
never produce the original input.
• Hash: A fixed-length string of a varying combination of letters and numbers produced
from a specific input of arbitrary size.
• Hash Function: A function that takes in an input of a random size, performs hashing on
this input, and generates a random output of a fixed size, also known as the hash.
• Genesis Block: The genesis block is the first block on the Blockchain and it is typically
hard-coded into the Blockchain structure. Being the first block on the Blockchain, it does
not have a link to a previous hash.

• Timestamp: The time the block is created determines the location of it on the
Blockchain.
• Data: The information to be securely stored in the block.
• Hash: A unique code produced by combining all the contents within the block itself —
also known as a digital fingerprint.
• Previous Hash: Each block has a reference to the block prior to its hash. This is what
makes the Blockchain unique because this link will be broken if a block is tampered with.

• Bitcoin: Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not backed by any country’s central bank or
government. Bitcoins can be traded for goods or services with vendors who accept
Bitcoins as payment.

• Blockchain: Blockchain is a new paradigm of organization. It’s an incorruptible ledger

that allows users to establish connections without the need of a middleman or third
party, and recording all transactions in a decentralized database.

• Peer-to-peer: a P2P architecture divides tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are
equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application. They are said to form a
peer-to-peer network of nodes.
• Ether: Ether is, like bitcoin, a digital asset that doesn’t require a third party to approve a
transaction. It is a form of payment made by the clients of the platform Ethereum. We
will find a more in-depth explanation in the next units.

• Litecoin: Litecoin has largely been described as the “silver” to Bitcoin’s “gold”. It
appeared two years after Bitcoin (2011), improving some technical aspects like the
average time necessary to process a transaction. Its value proposition is the same.

• Ripple: Ripple is a digital currency that utilizes Blockchain technology and the concept of
digital tokens to simplify global banking. Major Banks and financial institutions can
adopt Ripple’s system and use it to effectuate economic transactions in a more efficient
way.

• Solar Coin: SolarCoin is an alternative digital currency that provides an incentive to

produce more solar electricity globally, by rewarding generators of solar electricity.
SolarCoin is intended to shift the cost of electricity, thereby reducing the payback time
of a solar Installation.