Altcoin is an alternative cryptocurrency to Bitcoin.

Altcoin is a catch-all word made up of alternative and coin to form altcoin. It actually refers to a group of crypto-currencies, all virtual currencies other than Bitcoin.

Anti money laundering (AML) refers to the web of laws, regulations, and procedures aimed at uncovering efforts to disguise illicit funds as legitimate income.

Bitcoin is a system that operates without a central authority or a single administrator, but in a decentralized manner thanks to the consensus of all the nodes on the network.

Its system is based on a network, the blockchain, fed by ten thousand computers across the planet.

Thus, it is impossible to prevent someone from carrying out a transaction, but it is also impossible to cancel a transaction. Nobody controls it and cannot choose to go back unless more than half of the people securing the network agree

A block comprises a file in which data pertaining to the most recent transactions on the Bitcoin (BTC) network is permanently recorded.

The blockchain is a decentralized data registry that is securely shared. Blockchain technology allows a select group of participants to share data.

The blockchain provides data integrity with a single source of truth, eliminating data duplication and increasing security.The blockchain is a decentralized data registry that is securely shared. Blockchain technology allows a select group of participants to share data

With blockchain, transactional data from multiple sources can be collected and shared. Data is divided into shared blocks that are concatenated with unique identifiers in the form of cryptographic hashes.

Token burning refers to the permanent removal of existing cryptocurrency coins from circulation.

A central bank digital currency, or CBDC, isn’t too different from a traditional currency issued by a central bank. One can define CBDC as a digital version of fiat currency, bringing with it the conveniences of digital assets.

It is an online platform and the most common way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with fiat or other cryptocurrencies. To be centralized means that there is a trusted middleman to handle whatever asset may be in a trade, like in a bank.

Cold storage is a way of storing digital assets without a connection to the internet.

A fiat currency is a currency whose value comes essentially from the fact that a government imposes its legal tender on a given territory through a central bank.

It is historically opposed to commodity currencies such as gold, and differs from crypto-currencies (BTC, ETH…) which derive their value from the trust in the crypto-economic systems supporting them.

The hardware wallet takes the form of a secure USB key. With it, it is possible to add, withdraw or store crypto-currency from a computer. The USB key is protected by various safeguards, including a PIN code (usually 8 digits). To regain access to their crypto-currencies, the user can use their recovery phrase (provided, of course, that they have not also lost it).

Know Your Customer, or KYC, compliance means collecting certain information from customers to confirm their identities and to comply with any regulatory requirements.

In finance, liquidity fundamentally refers to how simple it is to exchange an asset for another (or fiat currencies).

Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is a type of exchange method that allows traders to trade directly with one another without the need for a centralized third party to facilitate the transactions.

The premium is the difference between the price of the coin by weight of the gold it contains and the negotiated price of the coin.

For example: an ounce may contain 500€ of gold but be worth 660€.

The difference between these two values is the premium, expressed as a percentage.

A software wallet is a software program designed to store one or more cryptocurrencies. The software wallet comes in three forms: on a computer, in a mobile version or online. The first solution, called desktop wallet, is a software that will allow you to store a cryptocurrency directly on a computer or on a laptop.

Smart contracts are irrevocable computer programs, most often deployed on a blockchain, that execute a set of pre-defined instructions.

As with any computer program, the complexity varies from one smart contract to another.

The goals of smart contracts are to reduce the need for trusted intermediaries, arbitration costs, and fraud losses, as well as to reduce malicious and accidental exceptions.

The main idea behind the concept of smart contracts is to guarantee the binding force of contracts no longer by law, but directly by computer code: \\\”code is law\\\”, to quote Lawrence Lessig\\\’s famous phrase.

Digital asset with the objective of a 1:1 parity with an associated legal tender (Dollar, Euro..).

This stability is guaranteed by a centralized entity that is supposed to have the collateral in the bank.

Immobilizing a quantity of cryptocurrency to validate transactions on a proof-of-stake (PoS* / DPoS*) blockchain, and receiving rewards in return in the form of cryptocurrency.

* Proof of Stake (PoS) is one of the most common blockchain consensus mechanisms along with Proof of Work. Proof of Stake is positioned as an alternative to Proof of Work to avoid energy overconsumption and associated environmental issues, but also the risk of a progressive centralization of the network.

* Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) is a consensus algorithm developed to secure a blockchain by ensuring the representation of transactions within it. DPoS is designed as an implementation of technology-based democracy, using voting and the electoral process to protect the blockchain from centralization and malicious use.

A Token is a non-duplicable digital asset issued and exchangeable on a blockchain network. An asset refers to any good that has value.

More generically, the Token is called cryptocurrency, although this is a shortcut.

In reality, the token is not necessarily a cryptocurrency, with a financial value, usable to pay for transactions. The value can also be a property right.

Trading is the activity carried out by a trader, namely buying and selling of financial products in order to make a profit.

In finance, volatility is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time.

In the digital world, a wallet, sometimes called an e wallet, serves as a place in which people store cryptocurrencies. A cryptocurrency wallet typically comes in a number of forms, such as software and hardware wallets.

The white paper is a document that defines the technological basis, explains the consensus mechanism (algorithm, rewards) and possibly presents a business model and a business plan of a project. The white paper allows the investor to learn more about each project, its team, and to form a personal opinion on its viability before investing.