# Glossary ## Dapps A dapp is a Decentralized App. This is the term used for apps that are operated on blockchains. ## Decentralized For something to be decentralized is to not be dependent on a single company or entity, but to be powered and ran by the community. ## **DeFi** DeFi stands for Decentralized Finance. This term is used to categorize dapps that are focus on some finance fundamental. ## **ETH** ETH stands for Ether. Ether is the native cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain ## **EVM** EVM stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine. EVM is the system that runs the Ethereum blockchain and other chains such as Polygon. ## **Fiat Currency** Fiat currencies are government-backed currencies ## **Gas fees** Gas fees are the fees you pay when you make a transaction on a blockchain. The gas fees are used to pay the people who spend their time and energy to keeping the blockchain up and running. Gas fees vary with each chain so it is important to find a blockchain that doesn’t have too high of gas fees. ## **MATIC** MATIC is the native currency on the Polygon blockchain. ## **NFTs** NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. These tokens are similar to other coins and tokens, except each NFT is unique. If I have 2 ETH, they would be identical and interchangeable. If I have to NFTs, they would not be indentical and therefore, are not interchangeable. Although NFTs are commonly used for ownership of art and virtual land and objects, there are countless of uses for NFTs in the future. The most popular marketplaces for NFT art are [openSea](https://opensea.io/) and [Magic Eden](https://magiceden.io/). ## **Protocol** A term to describe the structure of something that is on a blockchain. ## **Public address and private key** On the blockchain, you have two important pieces of information: your *public address*and your *private key*. Your public address is like your username. People will use your address in order to send their cryptocurrency to you. The second and more crucial piece of information if your private key. Your private key is like your password and is used to send cryptocurrency out of your account. Since your address is public to everyone, anyone with your private key will be able to access and transfer your assets. There is also no way to access your assets if you were to forget or lose your key. Thus, it is very important to ***never show anyone your private key*** and to keep a hard copy of it written down in a safe, secure space. Finding your private key is the only way for someone to steal your on-chain assets. Private keys are usually represented as 12 word sequence AKA your *recovery phrase*. It is represented this way since it is easier to remember or store 12 words instead of a 256 long combination of 1’s and 0’s. ## **Smart contracts** Smart contracts are programs that can be deployed on the blockchain. Smart contracts can receive, send, and hold cryptocurrencies. Smart contracts provide the backbone for blockchain dapps. ## **SOL** SOL is the native currency on the Solana blockchain ## **Stable coins** Stable coins are cryptocurrencies that are tied to the value of a fiat currency. There are many methods used to keep the value of a cryptocurrency pegged at the value of a fiat currency and it is important to research the different methods and choose a stable coin that uses the method that you think is the safest. Some of the most popular stable coins are: [USDT](https://tether.to/en/), [DAI](https://makerdao.com/en/), and [USDC](https://www.centre.io/usdc). ## **Token** Another term for a cryptocurrency ## **WETH** WETH stands for wrapped Ether. It isn’t possible to hold ETH on the Polygon blockchain so we use WETH which is tied to the value of ETH to present owning ETH on Polygon. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://dantheman8300.gitbook.io/beginners-guide-joining-the-world-of-blockchain/glossary.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.