Maker
The position a trader is in when they place an order that does not fill immediately.
Malware
A software program or code that is created to infiltrate a computer system or network to cause damage.
Margin Trading
The action of trading using borrowed funds.
Market Capitalization
The total trading value of a coin which is determined by the multiplying the supply of the coin and its current price.
Market Momentum
The ability of a market to maintain a continuous increase or decrease in price within a particular timeframe.
Market Order
When a trader picks the best available bid or ask for a cryptocurrency and takes the price and quantity available on the order book.
Marketcap (Market Capitalisation)
In blockchain, marketcap refers to the market value of the token price multiplied by the number of tokens in circulation.
Masternode
Full nodes on a network that verify new blocks of transactions and perform some roles in the governance of the blockchain.
Maximum Supply
The maximum number of tokens or coins that will ever be created for a given cryptocurrency.
Mempool
The mempool (memory pool) is a smaller database of unconfirmed or pending transactions which every node keeps. When a transaction is confirmed by being included in a block, it is removed from the mempool.
Merged Mining
The act of mining two or more cryptocurrencies at the same time without sacrificing overall mining performance.
Merkle Root
The top-most node in a Merkle tree that represents a single hash that can verify all data assigned to that tree. In blockchain usage, the hash of a Merkle root can be used to verify the integrity of all transactions assigned to the respective block.
Merkle Tree
(Commonly referred to as a hash tree) — a data structure found in each block of a blockchain used to quickly verify the integrity of all transactions in a block by some hash function. Each datum (generally, a transaction) is represented as a leaf in the tree, where it is then hashed and the resulting hash placed in the parent node of that leaf (note that here, “node” is not the same as a “blockchain node” and instead refers to the repetitive data structure used to encapsulate data within the tree itself). Then, every n hashes are hashed, and their respective hashes are identified as parent nodes of those n hashes such that, if n = 2 and the process is repeated with the parent nodes until only one hash remains, all nodes (save for the original leaves containing the real data) represent a binary tree. Merkle trees are computed in such a way that they’re idempotent for the purposes of verification.
Metadata
Data that includes information about other data.
Metamask
MetaMask is a software cryptocurrency wallet used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to access their Ethereum wallet through a browser extension or mobile app, which can then be used to interact with decentralized applications.
Mining
The process by which blocks are created and added (generally by miners) to the blockchain in accordance with an implementation of the PoW consensus mechanism.
Mining Farm
The collection of a large array of miners that are devoted to mining cryptocurrencies.
Minting
The process by which blocks are created and added (generally by validators) to the blockchain in accordance with an implementation of the PoS consensus mechanism (or its variants).
Monetary Policy
A policy created by an authority to control the money supply and interest rates of a country.
Moon
Popular expression in cryptocurrency lingo used to describe when an asset is experiencing a strong upward market trend.
Multisignature
A cryptocurrency wallet which requires another party to authorize a transaction before it is broadcasted to the network.
Node
A participant on a blockchain network that communicates with other participants on the network to ensure the security and integrity of the system.
Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
A non-fungible token is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, a form of digital ledger, that can be sold and traded. Types of NFT data units may be associated with digital files such as photos, videos, and audio. A type of cryptocurrency asset that represents a unique digital or real-world asset and is not interchangeable with any other asset.
Nonce
A random or semi-random number that is generated for verification purposes to prevent replaying past transactions.
Off-chain
Transactions that take place off of a blockchain network and may later be reported or batched together before being submitted to the main chain.
