Blockchain glossary
Blocks, confirmations and consensus: the moving parts behind an on-chain transaction. Pick up the words and see how the network fits together.
Proof of stake
A consensus approach that uses committed assets to help select validators and hold them accountable.
Proof of work
A mechanism that requires computational work to qualify a candidate block for acceptance.
Slashing
A protocol penalty that removes stake for specified, provable validator misconduct.
Soft fork
A rule change that narrows what is valid while remaining compatible with the older rules.
Staking
Committing assets to support a proof-of-stake network under its validation and reward rules.
State
The current data a blockchain records as the result of its accepted transaction history.
Sysvar
A Solana system variable that exposes cluster information to programs.
Testnet
A separate blockchain network intended for testing software and applications.
Transaction
An authorized request to change a blockchain’s state, such as moving assets or calling a contract.
Transaction fee
The amount paid for transaction inclusion or resource use under a blockchain's rules.
Validator
A participant that performs consensus duties such as checking, proposing or voting on blocks.
Versioned transaction
A Solana transaction message marked with a format version so clients can interpret its structure correctly.
Page 2 of 2
Looking for an earlier definition? Explore the original collection
Concept entries explain ideas. Our separate asset registry identifies coins, tokens and networks by source metadata. Sources & standards