Cryptocurrency glossary of terms – Letters “H” and “I”

Hal Finney: Hal Finney was a cryptographer and programmer who pioneered Bitcoin’s development and worked with Satoshi Nakamoto. Sadly Hal Finney died in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 28th, 2014, as a result of complications of ALS and was cryopreserved by the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. He was the recipient of the first bitcoin transaction when Satoshi Nakamoto sent him ten coins as a test, the amount at the time was worth next to nothing.

Halving: A bitcoin halving event is when the reward for mining bitcoin transactions is cut in half. This event also cuts in half bitcoin’s inflation rate and the rate at which new bitcoins enter circulation. Halving happens roughly ever 4 years or more accurately every 210,000 blocks.

Hard Cap: A hard cap is the absolute maximum supply of a digital asset. e.g. The hard cap for bitoin is 21,000,000 bitcoin.

Hardware Wallet: A hardware wallet is a wallet for cryptocurrencies that usually resemble a USB stick. Both Trezor and Ledger are examples of hardware wallets.

Hash Rate: The hash rate is the measuring unit of the processing power of the Bitcoin network. The Bitcoin network must make intensive mathematical operations for security purposes. When the network reached a hash rate of 10 Th/s, it meant it could make 10 trillion calculations per second.

HD Wallet: An HD Wallet, or Hierarchical Deterministic wallet, is a new-age digital wallet that automatically generates a hierarchical tree-like structure of private/public addresses (or keys) At creation HD wallets also create a 12 or 24 word seed phrase that can be used to recreate the wallet.

HODL: “Hodl” is meant to encourage people to not impulsively sell when a cryptocurrency drops dramatically or rises to become highly profitable to sell. “HODL” also acts as an acronym for “Hold on for dear life.” You will often see the term in various cryptocurrency forums and social media circles. The term originated in 2013 with a spelling mistake for HOLD on the bitcointalk forum.

Hosted Wallet: A wallet managed by a third-party service.

Hot Storage: The online storage of private keys allowing for quicker access to cryptocurrencies. It is never advisable to store large amounts of cryptocurrency on hot storage.

Hot Wallet: A cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the internet for hot storage of cryptoassets, as opposed to an offline, cold wallet with cold storage.

Howey Test: The Howey Test refers to the U.S. Supreme Court case for determining whether a transaction qualifies as an “investment contract,” and therefore would be considered a security and subject to disclosure and registration requirements under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Hyperbitcoinization: The inflection point at which bitcoin becomes the world’s preferred medium of exchange.

ICO: An event in which a company (usually a start-up) tried to raise capital by selling a new cryptocurrency, which investors may purchase in the hope that the value of the cryptocurrency will increase, or to later exchange for services offered by that company. Be aware there are many scam ICO’s i.e. ones without road maps, no white papers or one that disproportionately favour the development team.

Initial Dex Offering: An initial dex offering (IDX) is an alternative to an initial coin offering (ICO).

Initial Exchange Offering: A type of crowdfunding where crypto start-ups generate capital by listing through an exchange.

Initial Public Offering (IPO): An initial public offering (IPO) is the process of a company offering shares for purchase on the stock market for the first time.

Initial Token Offering (ITO): ITOs are similar to initial coin offerings — but have more of a focus on offering tokens with intrinsic utility in the form of software or usage in an ecosystem.

Insider Trading: Insider trading happens when someone purchases or sells stocks while possessing private, material information about that stock.

Instamine: When a large portion of a coin’s total supply is distributed to investors shortly after launch.

Insurance Fund: An exchange insurance fund is used to cover any unexpected losses from leveraged trading. This fund is used to prevent traders from bankruptcy in the event of liquidations.

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS): The InterPlatery File System is a peer-to-peer, distributed system for storing and accessing files, as well as websites and applications, which relies on content addressing rather than location.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is an American company founded in 2000 to purchase and operate global exchanges and clearing houses.

Interest Rates: A time-dependent charge or return made in proportion to the amount of money deposited, borrowed or lent.

Intermediary/Middleman: A person or entity that acts as the go-between different parties to bring about agreements or carry out directives.

Internet of Things: Internet of Things (IoT) is a global interconnected network of devices, sensors and software that can collect and exchange data with each other in real-time over the Internet.

Intrinsic Value: The intrinsic value of an asset depicts the asset’s actual worth based on a complex financial calculation rather than its current price.

Invest: Investing is when you put money in a financial scheme with the intent of making a gain.

By Stephen Whitelaw (https://bringbackmycrypto.com)