SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent federal government regulatory agency created in 1934 by Congress. It’s responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of the securities markets, and facilitating capital formation. Since 2017 the SEC has kept an eye on cryptocurrencies and “initial coin offerings” (ICOs).

Related Words

Stablecoin

A type of crypto that is fixed to a government currency like the U.S. dollar (USD) or commodity’s price like gold, silver, or oil.

Staking

A way of investing your crypto by actively participating in transaction validation on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain and being rewarded for that.

Satoshi

Satoshi is the smallest unit of bitcoin (BTC). It’s equivalent to 100 millionth of a bitcoin, or less than half a cent. Named after a person (or a team) who founded bitcoin known as Satoshi Nakamoto.

Shill

Shill is a process when someone advertises an NFT project on social media as a marketing strategy. There are often “shilling” channels on Discord for the members in the community to post links to their own NFTs or other NFT projects they personally think will succeed soon.

Swap

Swap is a quick and direct process of exchanging one currency you have for the comparable value of another currency.

Seed Phrase

A seed phrase, also known as a recovery phrase, is a sequence of typically 12 to 24 words used to generate the private keys for a crypto wallet. It serves as a backup mechanism, allowing users to recover their wallets and access their funds in case they lose their private key or experience hardware failures.

Scalability

Scalability in crypto is a blockchain network's ability to handle an increasing number of transactions and users while maintaining performance and efficiency. It's a critical factor in ensuring that a cryptocurrency system can accommodate growth without experiencing congestion or high transaction fees.

Sybil Attack

A Sybil attack is a malicious activity where a single adversary creates multiple fake identities or nodes to gain disproportionate control or influence over a network. These fake identities are used to manipulate network behavior, compromise the system's security, and potentially disrupt consensus mechanisms, such as PoW or PoS, by undermining the trust and integrity of the network.

Soulbound NFT

A Soulbound NFT is a type of non-fungible token that is permanently linked or bound to a specific in-game item, character, or virtual asset. This connection ensures that the NFT cannot be separated from its associated digital entity, making it unique and valuable within the context of a particular blockchain-based game or virtual world.

Slippage

Slippage is the difference between the expected price of a digital asset at the time a trade is initiated and the actual price at which the trade is executed. It often occurs in volatile markets or when placing large orders and can result in traders receiving a different, and potentially less favorable, price than initially anticipated.

Smart contract

A smart contract is a self-executing and self-enforcing digital contract that automates, verifies, or enforces the negotiation or performance of an agreement on a blockchain, ensuring trust and transparency without intermediaries.