Glossary

Address

An Earthbit address is similar to a physical address or an email. It is the only information you need to provide for someone to pay you with Earthbit. An important difference, however, is that each address should only be used for a single transaction.

Bit

Bit is a common unit used to designate a sub-unit of a Earthbit - 1,000,000 bits is equal to 1 earthbit. This unit is usually more convenient for pricing tips, goods and services.

Block Chain

The block chain is a public record of Earthbit transactions in chronological order. The block chain is shared between all Earthbit users. It is used to verify the permanence of Earthbit transactions and to prevent double spending.

Block

A block is a record in the block chain that contains and confirms many waiting transactions. Roughly every 6 minutes, on average, a new block including transactions is appended to the block chain through mining.

Confirmation

Confirmation means that a transaction has been processed by the network and is highly unlikely to be reversed. Transactions receive a confirmation when they are included in a block and for each subsequent block. Even a single confirmation can be considered secure for low value transactions, although for larger amounts like $1000 USD, it makes sense to wait for 6 confirmations or more. Each confirmation exponentially decreases the risk of a reversed transaction.

Cryptography

Cryptography is the branch of mathematics that lets us create mathematical proofs that provide high levels of security. Online commerce and banking already uses cryptography. In the case of Earthbit, cryptography is used to make it impossible for anybody to spend funds from another user's wallet or to corrupt the block chain. It can also be used to encrypt a wallet, so that it cannot be used without a password.

Double Spend

If a malicious user tries to spend their earthbit to two different recipients at the same time, this is double spending. Earthbit mining and the block chain are there to create a consensus on the network about which of the two transactions will confirm and be considered valid.

Earthbit

Earthbit - with capitalization, is used when describing the concept of Earthbit, or the entire network itself. e.g. "I was learning about the Earthbit protocol today."
earthbit - without capitalization, is used to describe earthbit as a unit of account. e.g. "I sent ten earthbit today."

Hash Rate

The hash rate is the measuring unit of the processing power of the Earthbit network. The Earthbit 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.

Mining

Earthbit mining is the process of making computer hardware do mathematical calculations for the Earthbit network to confirm transactions and increase security. As a reward for their services, Earthbit miners can collect transaction fees for the transactions they confirm, along with newly created earthbit. Mining is a specialized and competitive market where the rewards are divided up according to how much calculation is done. Not all Earthbit users do Earthbit mining, and it is not an easy way to make money.

P2P

Peer-to-peer refers to systems that work like an organized collective by allowing each individual to interact directly with the others. In the case of Earthbit, the network is built in such a way that each user is broadcasting the transactions of other users. And, crucially, no bank is required as a third party.

Private Key

A private key is a secret piece of data that proves your right to spend earthbit from a specific wallet through a cryptographic signature. Your private key(s) are stored in your computer if you use a software wallet; they are stored on some remote servers if you use a web wallet. Private keys must never be revealed as they allow you to spend earthbit for their respective Earthbit wallet.

Signature

A cryptographic signature is a mathematical mechanism that allows someone to prove ownership. In the case of Earthbit, a Earthbit wallet and its private key(s) are linked by some mathematical magic. When your Earthbit software signs a transaction with the appropriate private key, the whole network can see that the signature matches the earthbit being spent. However, there is no way for the world to guess your private key to steal your hard-earned earthbit.

Staking

Crypto staking is a way to contribute to the block chain network and its security through the locking up crypto holdings for a limited but set period of time in order to obtain rewards or earn interest. Cryptocurrencies such as Earthbit are built with blockchain technology, in which crypto transactions are verified, and the resulting data is stored on the blockchain. Staking is another way to describe validating those transactions on a blockchain and is the basis for PoS (Proof of Stake) which requires much less energy than PoW (what Bitcoin is based off of). Earthbit uses both Proof of Work and Proof of Stake to both distribute its cryptocurrency and validate and secure transactions.

Wallet

A Earthbit wallet is loosely the equivalent of a physical wallet on the Earthbit network. The wallet actually contains your private key(s) which allow you to spend the earthbit allocated to it in the block chain. Each Earthbit wallet can show you the total balance of all earthbit it controls and lets you pay a specific amount to a specific person, just like a real wallet. This is different to credit cards where you are charged by the merchant.