Accidental Fork
An accidental Fork may occur when two or more miners find a block almost simultaneously. One chain then becomes longer than the other and the network eventually ignores the blocks that are not in the longer chain. These blocks are then classified as ‘orphaned blocks’.

Address
Addresses (Cryptocurrency addresses) are used to send and receive transactions on the network. A wallet address or public key is a string of alphanumeric characters that can be shared publicly and even represented as a QR code.

Airdrop
To send someone free crypto things such as NFTs or tokens.

Alpha
This is another term for “insider information.”

AMA
Short for “Ask me Anything”. Popular in web3 communities.

Anon
Short for “Anonymous”. Unkown person.

Altcoin
Altcoin is simply any digital currency other than Bitcoin. Many alt-coins are forks of Bitcoin with minor changes (e.g. Lite-coin).

Ape in
To invest a lot of money into a new cryptocurrency or NFT project without doing the proper research first. It comes from the “apes together strong” meme.

API
Is an acronym for Application Programming Interface, a software intermediary that helps two separate applications to communicate with each other. They define methods of communication between various components.

ASIC
Is an acronym for “Application Specific Integrated Circuit”. ASICs are silicon chips specifically designed to perform a single task. In the case of bitcoin, they are designed to process SHA-256 hashing algorithms to mine new bitcoins. They are specifically designed to perform hashes as fast as possible as to increase mining revenue.

Authentication
Authentication is the basis of the security of any system, which consists of verifying the authenticity of user data by the server. It is not the same as identification and authorization. Two-factor authentication (also known as 2FA, or two-step verification) is a very important layer of protection that you can apply to keep your data safe. Even strong passwords can be cracked or declassified by a remote attacker. However, if you have 2FA, the person who receives your password will not be able to access your data because they will also need your 2FA code. Unlike a password, the 2FA code changes every time you try to log in and can only be obtained from your mobile device. 2FA activation serves as an incredibly useful deterrent to network attacks, which means your data will no longer be an easy target for unauthorized access.