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Bitcoin glossary

457 terms, defined in plain English by people who spend their days comparing exchanges and wallets rather than writing consensus code.

The starting point was the Bitcoin Core developer glossary, which covers 148 terms and has barely moved since 2021. Every one of those is here, rewritten from scratch, and the ones that went stale are corrected rather than repeated: BIP70 is dead, blocks are not capped at 1 MB, and replace-by-fee is no longer opt-in. On top of that sit the words that glossary never had, the ones people actually type into a search box before their first purchase. Seed phrase. sat/vB. Spot ETF. Travel Rule. Cold storage.

Each entry opens with a one sentence definition, explains the mechanism, and, where it changes a real decision, says what it means for your money. Figures are sourced and dated. Nothing here is investment advice.

Last reviewed 2026-09-24.

457 results shown

The 20 terms most people need first

Grouped the way you meet them: what bitcoin is, buying it, holding it, then moving it.

Start here

Buying your first bitcoin

Holding it yourself

Sending it, and what that costs

Browse by subject

Fourteen sections, each with its own page and every definition on it.

Every term, A to Z

Including the synonyms. A term you know by another name is listed under that name too, pointing at the entry that defines it.

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Frequently asked questions

How many terms does the glossary cover?

457 terms, from the basics through mining, privacy and self-custody. Each entry opens with a one sentence definition, then explains what it means in practice for someone buying or holding bitcoin. Terms that go by more than one name list their aliases.

What is the difference between a wallet and an exchange?

An exchange is a company that sells you bitcoin and holds it until you move it. A wallet holds the keys that control coins you already own. Leaving coins on an exchange means trusting the company; moving them to a wallet means trusting yourself.

Do I need to understand all this before buying bitcoin?

No. Buying needs an exchange that serves your country and a way to pay. These terms matter later, when you decide where to keep what you bought, and that is the decision that has cost people the most money.

Why do some terms have more than one name?

Because the vocabulary grew in code and in forums at the same time. The same idea often carries a technical name and a common one, seed phrase and recovery phrase for example. Each entry lists its aliases so a search for either lands in the right place.