Web3 Glossary

Bogged down by all of the crypto Jargon? Here are some helpful definitions to get started.

Blockchain: A digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network.

Branded Tokens: Tokenized assets customized for a specific brand that have unique features.

Bridge: A bridge allows tokens to move from one blockchain to another.

Centralized Ecosystem: A marketplace or hub for private actors to provide, purchase, and exchange data from various sources via the blockchain that is overseen and moderated by a central source.

Corrupt Data: An example of corrupting data would be a developer manually making malicious changes to a contract or diverting funds. They’d have to own two-thirds of the total nodes on the blockchain in order to make a harmful change. This will not be possible on the Gauss blockchain.

Cryptocurrency: A digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority. The four major types of crypto include utility, payment, security, and stablecoins. There also are DeFi tokens, NFTs, and asset-backed tokens. Of all cryptocurrencies, the most common are utility and payment tokens. Currently, these do not have their investments-backed or guaranteed by regulators.

Curated Blockchain: All projects on the blockchain are thoroughly vetted through a curation process.

DAO: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations

DeFi: Decentralized finance. DeFi eliminates the fees that banks and other financial companies charge for using their services. Individuals hold money in a secure digital wallet, can transfer funds in minutes, and anyone with an internet connection can use DeFi.

Doxed: Private information about an individual that confirms their legal identity.

EVM: Ethereum Virtual Machine. EVM compatibility reduces barriers to entry for application developers to deploy smart contracts on new layer-1 blockchains. EVM compatibility is essential for forming cross-chain bridges, allowing funds to easily be transferred from one network to another.

GANG: Our native asset which will be used to access Gauss and can then be traded for other tokens within the Gauss Ecosystem.

Gauss Ecosystem: Our platform and ecosystem where all our partners’ branded tokens will be exchanged.

KYB: Know Your Business

KYC: Know Your Customer

Layer 1 Blockchain: Refers to a base network, such as Gauss, Bitcoin, BNB Chain, or Ethereum, and its underlying infrastructure. Layer-1 blockchains can validate and finalize transactions without the need for another network.

Layer 2 Blockchain: New entities build third-party networks on top of the main layer-1 blockchain.

Metaverse: A virtual-reality space in which users can interact within a fully computer-generated environment.

Mint (Minting): The process of generating new coins by authenticating data, creating new blocks, and recording the information onto the blockchain through a “proof of stake” protocol. Both new units of a cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) can be minted this way.

Mixed Reality: A medium consisting of immersive computer-generated environments in which elements of a physical and virtual environment are combined.

NFT: A unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership (as of a specific digital asset and specific rights relating to it.

NFT Protocols: Base functionality of a NFT.

Noble Swap: The Gauss Swap where eligible tokenized assets within the ecosystem can be exchanged.

Off-Chain Custodian: Third-party entities that store crypto assets. They are often regulated financial services companies. Custodians play an important role in achieving widespread adoption of crypto and other Web3 assets. (Learn more).

Omnipool: Most current liquidity pools exist as networks of smaller paired-asset pools; XYK model, or x*y=k (as Vitalik Buterin initially proposed). Gauss will evolve to use a single multi-asset liquidity pool, or omnipool. An omnipool acts as a shared liquidity ocean – a galaxy of liquidity. This removes the need to have paired assets, so transactions can be made more easily.

Permissioned Blockchain: Partially decentralized, permissions to deploy contracts within the blockchain are controlled by a gatekeeper that ensures access is only given to certain entities that pass the requirements set by an organization’s goals or bylaws.

Rug Pull (Rugging): A fraud scheme where anonymous founders trick people into investing money for a cryptocurrency project which is then abandoned.

Smart Contract: Programs stored on a blockchain that run when predetermined conditions are met. For example, vending machines are a ubiquitous presence in everyday life. It's also a simple model of a smart contract: If someone inserts $2 and then presses B4, then the machine dispenses the package of cookies held in the B4 slot.

Strategic Partnerships: Those who work with us on curation and vetting processes, KYB, token economics review, legal review, etc. Also those who assist projects launching with Gauss by helping with marketing, legal, development, or shoring up areas a project may be weak to set them up for success.

Swap: A platform that allows users to conveniently exchange crypto assets for their equivalent value in another coin or token.

Token: A crypto token is a virtual currency token or a denomination of a cryptocurrency. It represents a tradable asset or utility that resides on its own blockchain and allows the holder to use it for investment, economic, or utility purposes.

Tokenomics: Also known as Token Economics, is the study of parameters that determine the characteristics of cryptocurrencies (cryptos) or cryptographic tokens to create economic value. Both cryptocurrency and tokens are the subclasses of digital assets that use the technology of cryptography.

Vetted Blockchain: All tokens are fully vetted for quality, authenticity, and creator reliability before their allowed into the ecosystem. Those that fail the curation process are not allowed into the vetted space.

Virtual Reality: Computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.

Wallet: A blockchain wallet allows users to store and manage their transfers in cryptocurrencies and gives users the ability to convert them back into a user's local fiat currency.

Web 3.0: The term "Web3" was coined by Polkadot founder and Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood in 2014, referring to a "decentralized online ecosystem based on blockchain."