Glossary

FinTech Glossary of Terms

Cryptocurrency

The native asset of a decentralized network that can be traded, utilized as a medium of exchange, and used as a store of value. A cryptocurrency is issued directly by the decentralized protocol on which it runs. Examples include Bitcoin and Ether.

Bitcoin

The original digital asset that can be sent peer-to-peer without intermediaries.

Bitcoin mining

The process by which some digital assets, such as Bitcoin, are entered into circulation. The process validates and adds transactions to the blockchain to bring new Bitcoin or other digital asset into circulation.

Blockchain

A type of distributed ledger that requires entries to be confirmed and encrypted via an advanced encryption technique called cryptography, which makes the entries very difficult to change or hack. Blockchain is the technology that underpins Bitcoin, but other digital assets have their own blockchain and distributed ledger systems.

DeFi or Decentralized Finance

A form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as exchanges, or banks. DeFi platforms are generally built on top of smart contract-enriched blockchains to fulfill specific financial functioned determined by the smart contracts’ underlying code.

Digital Asset

Non-tangible asset that is created, traded, and stored in a digital format. In the context of blockchain, digital assets include cryptocurrency and tokens.

Fiat Currency (or “real money”)

Government-issued currency that is not backed by a commodity, such as gold.

Non-Fungible Token (NFT)

A certificate of authenticity for digital artifacts. Each NFT is stored on an open blockchain (often Ethereum’s) and anyone interested can track them as they’re created, sold, and resold.

Pre-Seed Funding

The earliest stage of funding a new company comes so early in the process that it is not generally included among the rounds of funding at all.

Seed Funding

The first official equity funding stage. It typically represents the first official money that a business venture or enterprise raises.

Series A Funding

It is a type of equity-based financing that is considered after the first major round of external funding ( Seed Funding ) startups can raise. In this round, it’s important to have a plan for developing a business model that will generate long-term profit. Often times, seed startups have great ideas that generate a substantial amount of enthusiastic users, but the company doesn’t know how it will monetize the business.

Series B Funding

It is all about taking businesses to the next level, past the development stage. Investors help startups get there by expanding market reach. Companies that have gone through seed and Series A funding rounds have already developed substantial user bases and have proven to investors that they are prepared for success on a larger scale.

Series C Funding

Businesses that raise a Series C funding are already quite successful. These companies look for additional funding in order to help them develop new products, expand into new markets, or even to acquire other companies. In Series C rounds, investors inject capital into the meat of successful businesses, in an effort to receive more than double that amount back.