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All terms
A
- a0AdvancedThe protocol parameter that controls how much a stake pool operator's pledge boosts that pool's rewards.Consensus & Staking
- Active Slot CoefficientAdvancedThe protocol parameter that controls the probability a slot is assigned an elected block-producer. On mainnet it is currently 0.05.Consensus & Staking
- adaBeginnerThe native cryptocurrency of the Cardano blockchain, used to pay transaction fees, stake to a pool, and represent voting power in governance.Tokens & Assets
- Adaptive CorruptionAdvancedAn adversary that picks which validators to attack on the fly, after seeing who has been elected to produce upcoming blocks.Consensus & Staking
- AikenA modern smart contract language for Cardano, designed to be beginner-friendly while producing efficient on-chain code.Smart Contracts
- AllegraThe hard fork on December 16, 2020 that added token locking capabilities, a prerequisite for smart contract functionality.Network & Protocol
- AlonzoThe hard fork on September 12, 2021 that brought smart contract functionality to Cardano through Plutus.Network & Protocol
- AMABeginnerA live Q&A format where community members ask questions directly to project teams, developers, or other notable figures in the Cardano ecosystem.General Blockchain
- AmaruA Rust implementation of the Cardano node, maintained by PRAGMA as an alternative to the canonical Haskell node. It runs as a relay on mainnet today, block production is the next milestone.Network & Protocol
- AmbassadorA community member who promotes Cardano education and adoption.General Blockchain
- APIA set of endpoints that lets software talk to other software; in Cardano, APIs let applications query the chain, submit transactions, and read on-chain state.General Blockchain
B
- Babel FeesA proposed mechanism that would let users pay transaction fees using native tokens instead of ada (not yet live on mainnet).Tokens & Assets
- BashoThe fourth era of Cardano development, focused on scaling and performance optimization.Network & Protocol
- Bech32An address encoding format used for Cardano addresses since the Shelley hard fork.Wallets & Keys
- BlockBeginnerA unit of data containing a batch of transactions that is added to the blockchain.Network & Protocol
- BlockperfAn open-source tool stake pool operators use to measure how quickly their nodes receive and forward newly produced blocks.Consensus & Staking
- Bribery AttackAdvancedAn external attacker pays validators to deviate from the protocol, for example by signing conflicting blocks or handing over dormant keys.Consensus & Staking
- BridgeBeginnerA protocol that connects Cardano to another blockchain so assets or messages can move between them; typically a pair of contracts that lock value on one chain and mint a representation on the other.Network & Protocol
- ByronThe first era of Cardano development, establishing the foundation of the network.Network & Protocol
C
- CardanoA public, permissionless Layer 1 blockchain built on peer-reviewed research.General Blockchain
- CBDCA digital form of fiat currency issued and controlled by a central bank; unlike permissionless cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are centrally administered and their rules can be changed by the issuer.General Blockchain
- CEXBeginnerA trading platform where a company holds custody of your assets and runs the order book internally; unlike a DEX, you only fully own your ada once you withdraw it to your own wallet.General Blockchain
- ChangThe hard fork on September 1, 2024 that activated the Conway era and brought CIP-1694 governance live on Cardano.Governance
- CIPA formal proposal that describes a change, standard, or feature for Cardano; CIPs are the canonical way ecosystem rules and conventions are debated, refined, and adopted.Governance
- CIP-1694The Cardano Improvement Proposal that defines Cardano's on-chain governance system, introducing DReps, the Constitutional Committee, and formal governance actions.Governance
- CIP-19The specification for how a Cardano address is structured in binary: which network it belongs to, the payment credential, and the optional staking credential.Wallets & Keys
- CIP-20A standard place to attach a short human-readable message to a transaction, so a memo, note, or comment travels with the payment on-chain.General Blockchain
- CIP-25The convention that tells wallets and marketplaces how to read an NFT's name, image, and attributes from the metadata attached when the token was minted.Tokens & Assets
- CIP-30The standard that lets a website talk to a browser-extension wallet, so dApps can request addresses, ask the wallet to sign a transaction, and submit it, all without handling the user's keys.Wallets & Keys
- CIP-68AdvancedA token metadata standard that stores an asset's metadata in an on-chain datum a smart contract can read and update, rather than in the frozen transaction metadata used by CIP-25.Tokens & Assets
- CIP-8The standard for signing arbitrary data with a wallet key, used to prove control of an address without sending a transaction or paying a fee.Wallets & Keys
- CIP-99A standard claim flow that lets newcomers receive ada or tokens at a real-world event by scanning a QR code with their wallet, replacing paper wallets.Wallets & Keys
- CollateralAn ada amount a wallet locks aside when submitting a Plutus transaction, forfeited only if the script's on-chain validation fails.Smart Contracts
- Collateral PercentageAdvancedThe protocol parameter that sets how much collateral must be put up relative to a Plutus transaction's fee, currently 150 (i.e. 150% of the fee) on mainnet.Smart Contracts
- Committee Minimum SizeAdvancedThe protocol parameter that sets the minimum number of seated Constitutional Committee members required for the committee to be operational; below this floor, any governance action that needs committee approval stalls until the seats are refilled.Governance
- Computation LayerAn early architectural concept from Cardano's original roadmap describing smart contract execution as a layer separate from settlement.General Blockchain
- ConstitutionThe document that defines Cardano's governance principles, rules and guardrails. Ratified on-chain in February 2025 and amended through constitution-update governance actions since.Governance
- Constitutional CommitteeThe elected body of seven members that checks governance actions against the Cardano Constitution, serving as a check alongside DReps and stake pool operators.Governance
- Controlled StakeThe total ada associated with a stake pool, combining operator pledge and all delegations.Consensus & Staking
- Conway EraThe Cardano ledger era that brought on-chain governance under CIP-1694 to mainnet.Governance
D
- d parameterAdvancedThe Shelley-era protocol parameter that controlled the share of blocks produced by federated genesis nodes versus community stake pools.Consensus & Staking
- DAppBeginnerAn application whose core logic runs as on-chain code rather than on a single company's servers, so its rules keep working even if any one operator walks away.Smart Contracts
- DatumA piece of data attached to a UTxO that a smart contract can read when deciding whether the UTxO can be spent.Smart Contracts
- DelegationBeginnerThe process of assigning your stake to a stake pool without transferring your ada.Consensus & Staking
- DeterminismThe property that given the same inputs, a computation always produces the same outputs.Smart Contracts
- DEXBeginnerA trading venue where swaps execute as on-chain code rather than through a central operator, so you trade directly from your wallet and never hand over custody of your funds.General Blockchain
- DIDAn identifier you create and control yourself, with no central registrar; the record that resolves it lives on a blockchain or other decentralized system rather than in a single company's database.General Blockchain
- DijkstraThe next Cardano ledger era and hard fork, named after Edsger Dijkstra. Its first phase, targeted for late 2026, brings Linear Leios and nested transactions, a second phase adds Peras.Network & Protocol
- DjedA crypto-backed, overcollateralized stablecoin protocol on Cardano whose US-dollar peg is maintained algorithmically against an ada reserve (with SHEN as the reserve coin), rather than by fiat reserves.Tokens & Assets
- DRepA representative that ada holders delegate their on-chain voting power to, so the DRep votes on governance actions on their behalf; like choosing someone to represent your interests in parliament.Governance
- DRep Activity PeriodThe protocol parameter that sets how many epochs a DRep can go without voting or updating their registration before they are marked inactive and their delegated voting power stops counting until they are active again.Governance
- DYORBeginnerCommunity shorthand reminding people to investigate a project, team, or claim themselves before investing or acting, rather than trusting anyone else's pitch.General Blockchain
E
- Eclipse AttackAdvancedA network attack where a node is isolated from honest peers and connected only to attacker-controlled nodes.Network & Protocol
- Edinburgh Decentralisation Index (EDI)A research framework developed by Input Output and the University of Edinburgh to measure and compare decentralization across blockchain systems.General Blockchain
- EpochBeginnerA period of five days in the Cardano network during which stake distribution is fixed and rewards are calculated.Consensus & Staking
- eUTXOCardano's extension of the UTXO accounting model; each output can carry datum and script logic, so smart contracts express rules without the shared mutable state used by account-based chains.General Blockchain
G
- Genesis BlockThe very first block of a blockchain, kickstarting the ledger that every subsequent block extends.General Blockchain
- Genesis KeysThe seven cryptographic keys created at Cardano's launch that signed every block during the federated Byron era and gradually yielded block production through Shelley.Consensus & Staking
- GoguenThe third era of Cardano development, bringing smart contracts (Alonzo) and native tokens (Mary).Network & Protocol
- Governance ActionA formal proposal submitted on-chain for the Cardano community to vote on.Governance
- Governance Action LifetimeThe protocol parameter that caps how many epochs a governance action can stay open for votes before it expires unresolved.Governance
- Governance ToolsApplications that turn CIP-1694 governance from a protocol specification into something a community can actually use, registering as a DRep, delegating voting power, browsing live proposals, and casting votes.Governance
- Grinding AttackAdvancedAn attack on the randomness used to pick proof-of-stake block leaders, where the adversary tries to bias the lottery in its own favour.Consensus & Staking
H
- Hard ForkBeginnerA network upgrade that changes the blockchain's rules in a way older software versions no longer understand; every node has to update before the change takes effect.Network & Protocol
- Hard Fork CombinatorCardano's mechanism for stitching protocol era transitions onto a single live chain without splitting it.Network & Protocol
- Hard Fork InitiationA CIP-1694 governance action type that schedules and triggers a Cardano hard fork by on-chain vote.Governance
- HaskellA pure, strongly typed functional programming language. Cardano's node and Plutus toolchain are written in Haskell.Smart Contracts
- HydraCardano's Layer 2 protocol built on state channels (Hydra Heads) for fast, low-cost transactions off the main chain. Production-ready since version 1.0 in October 2025.Network & Protocol
- Hydra HeadAn off-chain micro-ledger between a small group of participants in the Hydra Layer 2 protocol.Network & Protocol
I
- IcarusA reference implementation for a lightweight Cardano wallet, developed by Input Output.Wallets & Keys
- Info ActionA CIP-1694 governance action type that records a community vote on a piece of information without enforcing any on-chain change.Governance
- ISPOA fundraising method where supporters delegate ada to a designated stake pool and receive the project's tokens in lieu of staking rewards; participants keep custody of their ada throughout.Consensus & Staking
K
L
- Layer 1BeginnerThe base blockchain protocol itself, where transactions are finalized and the consensus rules are enforced; Cardano is a Layer 1.Network & Protocol
- Layer 2BeginnerProtocols built on top of a Layer 1 blockchain to improve scalability or add functionality.Network & Protocol
- LeiosAn Ouroboros extension that raises Cardano throughput by letting block producers publish larger endorser blocks next to regular Praos blocks. Linear Leios is the variant headed for mainnet with the Dijkstra hard fork.Consensus & Staking
- Live StakeThe total ada currently delegated to a stake pool right now, before any epoch boundary snapshot.Consensus & Staking
- Long-Range AttackAdvancedAn attack that tries to rewrite long stretches of blockchain history by building a competing chain from far back in the past.Consensus & Staking
- LovelaceBeginnerThe smallest divisible unit of ada. One ada equals 1,000,000 lovelaces.Tokens & Assets
Learning paths
Curated guides to help you understand Cardano step by step.
M
- MainnetBeginnerThe production Cardano network where real ada transactions occur, as opposed to testnets used for development and testing.Network & Protocol
- MaryThe hard fork on March 1, 2021 that introduced native tokens, allowing users to create and transact with custom tokens directly on Cardano.Tokens & Assets
- Maximal Extractable Value (MEV)AdvancedValue that block producers can capture by reordering, inserting, or excluding transactions within the blocks they mint.General Blockchain
- MempoolThe pool of pending transactions a Cardano node holds locally before they are included in a block.Network & Protocol
- Minimum Pool CostThe protocol parameter that sets the floor on the fixed cost a stake pool can declare per epoch, currently 170 ada on mainnet.Consensus & Staking
- MithrilA stake-based threshold multi-signature protocol that lets Cardano nodes trust a blockchain snapshot without re-validating the whole chain.Network & Protocol
- Monetary Expansion RateThe protocol parameter (often called ρ) that controls what fraction of the remaining ada reserve is released into the reward pot each epoch.Consensus & Staking
N
- Nakamoto CoefficientAdvancedA measure of how decentralized a blockchain is, expressed as the smallest number of entities that could collude to compromise it.General Blockchain
- Native TokenA token created and managed directly on the Cardano blockchain using its built-in token functionality, without requiring smart contracts.Tokens & Assets
- Net Change LimitA constitutional guardrail that caps the net amount of ada the treasury can pay out over a defined period. DReps agree each limit through an info action.Governance
- NFTBeginnerA token that represents ownership of a specific unique item, recorded on-chain; anyone can copy the picture, but only one wallet holds the original record.Tokens & Assets
- Nothing-at-StakeAdvancedThe risk that proof-of-stake validators sign every competing fork at once because doing so costs them nothing.Consensus & Staking
O
- Operational CertificateThe certificate a stake pool operator signs to authorise a KES key to produce blocks on the pool's behalf.Consensus & Staking
- OracleA trusted feed that brings off-chain information onto the blockchain so smart contracts can react to it.Smart Contracts
- OuroborosThe family of proof-of-stake consensus protocols that power Cardano, designed with formal security proofs against the known attack catalogue against PoS chains. Mainnet runs Ouroboros Praos today.Consensus & Staking
P
- PipeliningAdvancedA protocol optimization that lets a newly produced block start propagating across the network before validation completes.Consensus & Staking
- PledgeThe amount of ada a stake pool operator personally commits to their own pool.Consensus & Staking
- PlinthThe high-level Haskell-embedded language Cardano developers use to write on-chain validators that compile to Plutus Core.Smart Contracts
- PlominThe Conway-era hard fork on January 29, 2025 that turned on the remaining CIP-1694 governance actions.Governance
- PlutusCardano's smart contract platform. The name covers the Plutus Core language that runs on-chain and the tooling that compiles higher-level languages down to it.Smart Contracts
- Plutus CoreAdvancedCardano's on-chain smart-contract runtime. Higher-level languages (Plinth, Aiken) compile down to Plutus Core for execution.Smart Contracts
- Plutus Cost ModelsAdvancedThe protocol parameter that holds the per-operation CPU and memory cost tables Plutus scripts are billed against; updated through ordinary protocol parameter governance actions.Smart Contracts
- Policy IDThe unique on-chain identifier of a native token's minting policy.Tokens & Assets
- Pool SaturationThe threshold past which extra delegation to a stake pool stops increasing rewards; a built-in incentive to spread stake across many pools rather than concentrate it in a few.Consensus & Staking
- Posterior CorruptionAdvancedAn attack where the adversary buys or steals signing keys from people who held large stake in the past but no longer do.Consensus & Staking
- Programmable TokenA native token that can only change owner when a script approves the transfer, so the issuer can enforce rules like allowlists, transfer limits, or freezes on the token's transfers. CIP-113 is the proposed standard for them on Cardano.Tokens & Assets
- Project CatalystCardano's community grant program, launched in 2020 to fund ecosystem projects from the treasury and stewarded by the Cardano Foundation since 2026.Governance
- Proof of StakeBeginnerA consensus mechanism where validators are selected to create blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they hold and stake (commit) to the network.Consensus & Staking
- Proof of WorkA consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve computational puzzles to create blocks.Consensus & Staking
- Proof-of-Stake AttacksAdvancedThe set of known attack categories against proof-of-stake blockchains and how Cardano's Ouroboros family defends against each.Consensus & Staking
R
- RedeemerData supplied by the spending transaction that tells a smart contract what action is being attempted.Smart Contracts
- Reference InputAn input a transaction reads without consuming, letting a smart contract look at on-chain state without locking it out of other transactions.Smart Contracts
- Reference ScriptA Plutus script attached once to a UTxO and then referenced (not re-included) by later transactions that need it, whether to spend a script-locked output, run a minting policy, or validate a withdrawal or certificate.Smart Contracts
- RewardsBeginnerAda earned by delegators and stake pool operators for participating in the network.Consensus & Staking
- RollbackWhen a Cardano node reverts the most recent blocks because the network has converged on a different fork.Network & Protocol
S
- SanchoNetThe Cardano testnet dedicated to CIP-1694 governance, where new governance features and tooling are tried out before they reach mainnet.Governance
- ScamBeginnerA fraudulent scheme designed to steal funds or personal information, often exploiting trust or lack of knowledge.General Blockchain
- Seed PhraseBeginnerA sequence of words, typically 15 or 24 on Cardano (and sometimes 12 or 27), that lets any compatible wallet recover access to your accounts on the blockchain.Wallets & Keys
- ShelleyThe second era of Cardano development, introducing decentralization and stake pools.Network & Protocol
- SidechainsIndependent blockchains wired to Cardano through a bridge, so projects can experiment with their own rules (different VM, faster finality, custom tokenomics) while settling back to Cardano when they need its security.Network & Protocol
- SlotBeginnerEach slot represents an opportunity for a block to be produced by an elected slot leader.Consensus & Staking
- Slot LeaderThe stake pool selected by Ouroboros to produce a block in a given time slot.Consensus & Staking
- Smart ContractSelf-executing code stored on a blockchain that automatically enforces and executes agreement terms when predefined conditions are met.Smart Contracts
- SMASHAn off-chain service that aggregates stake pool metadata (name, ticker, homepage) for wallets and explorers to display; delisting from a SMASH only changes how a pool appears in apps, not its ability to produce blocks.Consensus & Staking
- Soft ForkBeginnerA protocol upgrade that is backward-compatible, so nodes running older software can still follow the chain; they just don't see the new feature.Network & Protocol
- Spending PasswordBeginnerA password used by wallets to encrypt the private key, adding a layer of security.Wallets & Keys
- StablecoinBeginnerA cryptocurrency designed to track the value of a reference asset, typically a fiat currency like the US dollar, so balances stay predictable rather than swinging with the crypto market.Tokens & Assets
- Stake AddressThe bech32 address (`stake1...`) that owns delegation rights and receives staking rewards, separate from your payment address.Wallets & Keys
- Stake Address DepositThe refundable amount of ada locked when a wallet registers a stake address so it can delegate or earn rewards, currently 2 ada on mainnet.Wallets & Keys
- Stake Majority AttackAdvancedAn attack where a single party controlling more than half of the staked ada can rewrite recent history, censor transactions, or double-spend.Consensus & Staking
- Stake PoolBeginnerA server node that participates in the Cardano network by validating transactions and producing blocks.Consensus & Staking
- Stake Pool DepositThe refundable amount of ada locked when registering a new stake pool, currently 500 ada on mainnet; returned in full when the pool retires.Consensus & Staking
- Stake SnapshotA frozen capture of every account's delegation taken at an epoch boundary; what the protocol actually uses to elect block leaders and pay rewards.Consensus & Staking
- Stake-Bleeding AttackAdvancedA long-range attack in which a minority adversary slowly drains stake from the honest chain onto its private chain by copying transactions and collecting their fees.Consensus & Staking
- StakingBeginnerA general term for committing tokens to a proof-of-stake network. On Cardano the everyday equivalent is delegation, which is technically distinct: your ada never leaves your wallet, and there is no slashing.Consensus & Staking
- Style GuideThe Editorial Style Guide defines writing conventions, spelling standards, and terminology usage for Cardano.org.General Blockchain
- Sybil AttackAdvancedAn attack in which one entity creates many fake identities to gain disproportionate influence over a network.Consensus & Staking
T
- TestnetBeginnerA test network for developers to experiment without using real ada.Network & Protocol
- TPSTransactions per second, a popular but limited metric for blockchain throughput that ignores transaction complexity, finality, and parallel execution.Network & Protocol
- Transaction FeeBeginnerThe lovelace charged to submit a transaction, calculated from the transaction's serialized size in bytes using two public protocol parameters.General Blockchain
- TreasuryAn on-chain fund that accumulates a portion of transaction fees and monetary expansion.Governance
- Treasury CutThe protocol parameter (often called τ) that decides what fraction of each epoch's reward pot is moved to the on-chain treasury before the remainder is paid to stake pools and delegators.Consensus & Staking
- Treasury DonationA transaction that sends ada directly into the Cardano treasury, increasing the funds the community can later allocate.Governance
- Treasury WithdrawalA CIP-1694 governance action that proposes taking funds out of the on-chain treasury and paying them to a specified stake address.Governance
U
- Untyped Plutus Core (UPLC)AdvancedThe low-level “machine language” that is executed on-chain by Cardano nodes during transaction validation.Smart Contracts
- USDMA US-dollar-pegged stablecoin on Cardano issued by Moneta (formerly Mehen Finance) and backed by US-dollar reserves held off-chain rather than by an on-chain crypto collateral pool.Tokens & Assets
- Use CaseA specific application or scenario where Cardano technology solves a problem.General Blockchain
- UTXOUnspent Transaction Output, the accounting model Cardano shares with Bitcoin where transactions consume whole earlier outputs and create new ones, similar to spending banknotes and getting change back.General Blockchain
- UTxO Cost per ByteThe protocol parameter that prices each byte of on-chain storage a UTxO occupies, used to derive the minimum ada that must accompany any new output.General Blockchain
V
- ValidatorThe on-chain script that decides whether a transaction may spend a UTXO, mint a token or perform another scripted action. On Cardano, a smart contract is a validator.Smart Contracts
- van RossemThe Conway-era hard fork on July 18, 2026 (protocol version 11) that added new Plutus builtins and was the first Cardano upgrade ratified entirely through on-chain governance.Network & Protocol
- VasilThe hard fork on September 22, 2022 that improved smart contract efficiency and network performance.Network & Protocol
- VoltaireThe fifth roadmap phase of Cardano development, focused on governance and treasury management.Governance
- Voting ThresholdsAdvancedThe set of protocol parameters that define what percentage of votes is required from each governance body (DReps, SPOs) to ratify each governance action type.Governance
- VRFAdvancedA cryptographic function that produces a verifiably random output; Cardano uses it inside Ouroboros as a private per-slot lottery, letting each pool check whether it won the right to produce a block, fairly and unpredictably.Consensus & Staking