Knowledge base

Crypto & Blockchain Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the terms you need to know for token creation, liquidity management, and building on-chain.

SPL Token

An SPL token is the standard fungible token format on the Solana blockchain, equivalent to ERC-20 on Ethereum.

ERC-20 Token

ERC-20 is the most widely used token standard on Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains, defining how fungible tokens are created and transferred.

Liquidity Pool

A liquidity pool is a pair of tokens locked in a smart contract that enables decentralized trading on automated market makers (AMMs) like Raydium and Uniswap.

Mint Authority

The mint authority is the wallet address authorized to create new tokens for an SPL token on Solana. Revoking it permanently locks the token supply.

Freeze Authority

The freeze authority is the wallet address that can freeze (prevent transfers of) any token account for an SPL token on Solana.

Metaplex Token Metadata

Metaplex Token Metadata is a Solana program that stores human-readable information (name, symbol, image, description) for SPL tokens.

Smart Contract

A smart contract is a self-executing program stored on a blockchain that automatically enforces the rules of an agreement when predefined conditions are met.

Renounce Ownership

Renouncing ownership permanently removes the admin (owner) role from an ERC-20 smart contract, making it fully decentralized and immutable.

LP Tokens (Liquidity Provider Tokens)

LP tokens represent your share of a liquidity pool. They can be redeemed to withdraw your deposited assets or burned to permanently lock the liquidity.

Raydium

Raydium is the largest automated market maker (AMM) and liquidity protocol on Solana, supporting both CPMM and legacy AmmV4 pool types.

OpenBook Market

OpenBook (formerly Serum v2) is an on-chain order book protocol on Solana. Creating an OpenBook market is required for Raydium AmmV4 liquidity pools.

Token Burn

Token burning is the permanent, irreversible destruction of cryptocurrency tokens — reducing the circulating supply and making remaining tokens scarcer.

Impermanent Loss

Impermanent loss is the difference in value between holding tokens in a liquidity pool versus simply holding them in your wallet, caused by price divergence between the paired assets.

Gas Fees

Gas fees are the transaction costs paid to blockchain validators for processing and confirming transactions. They vary by chain — near-zero on Solana, variable on Ethereum.

Token-2022 (Token Extensions)

Token-2022 is Solana's next-generation token program that adds extensions like transfer fees, interest-bearing tokens, non-transferable tokens, and confidential transfers to SPL tokens.

DEX (Decentralized Exchange)

A DEX is a peer-to-peer exchange that enables cryptocurrency trading directly from your wallet without intermediaries, using smart contracts to match trades.

Crypto Wallet

A crypto wallet is software that stores your private keys and lets you sign blockchain transactions — the gateway to interacting with DeFi protocols, DEXes, and token creation tools.

Airdrop

An airdrop is a distribution of cryptocurrency tokens to multiple wallet addresses, typically used to reward early supporters, build community, or achieve decentralized token distribution.