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A valuation metric specifically for companies holding large amounts of Bitcoin. It is calculated by dividing the company's market capitalization by the fair market value of its digital asset holdings. An mNAV of 1.0 means the stock is trading exactly at the value of its Bitcoin.

A misspelling of 'hold' that became a meme and a core philosophy in the crypto community. It refers to a long-term investment strategy of not selling digital assets regardless of market volatility.

The smallest unit of a Bitcoin. 1 Satoshi = 0.00000001 BTC. As the price of a full Bitcoin rises, 'stacking sats' has become the primary unit of accumulation for retail investors.

A cryptographic audit performed by an exchange or custodian to prove that they hold the assets they claim to have on behalf of their users. This increases transparency and reduces the risk of fractional reserve lending.

The national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers and mutual fund dealers in Canada. In 2026, all major crypto exchanges in Canada must be CIRO-registered.

The total computational power being used to mine and process transactions on a Proof-of-Work blockchain like Bitcoin. Higher hash rate indicates greater network security.

A secondary framework or protocol built on top of an existing blockchain (Layer-1) to improve scalability and reduce transaction costs. Examples include Arbitrum, Optimism, and the Lightning Network.

A consensus mechanism where block validators are chosen based on the number of coins they 'stake' as collateral. It is significantly more energy-efficient than Proof of Work.

An on-chain metric used to identify periods of extreme overvaluation or undervaluation. It compares Bitcoin's market cap to its realized cap to see if the price is 'fair' based on past transaction history.

A term popularized by MicroStrategy, referring to the percentage change in the ratio of Bitcoin holdings to diluted shares outstanding. It measures how effectively a company is accumulating BTC for its shareholders.

A security feature on hardware wallets that allows the user to read the full details of a smart contract transaction in human-readable text before approving it. This prevents 'blind signing' attacks.

A specialized microprocessor chip designed specifically to store sensitive data like private keys. It is resistant to physical tampering and side-channel attacks.

A blockchain designed to serve only a single application or specialized use-case, often built as a Layer-3 onto an existing Layer-2 for maximum performance.

The practice of staking or lending crypto assets in a DeFi protocol to generate high returns or additional tokens as rewards.

Storing cryptocurrency private keys offline, completely disconnected from the internet, to prevent remote hacking. Hardware wallets are the most common form of cold storage.

Traditional government-issued money (like CAD or USD) that is not backed by a physical commodity like gold but rather by the trust in the issuing government.

A mechanism that allows users to stake their tokens (e.g., ETH) and receive a 'liquid' representation (e.g., stETH) that can be used in other DeFi applications while still earning staking rewards.

A wallet where a third party (like an exchange) controls the private keys. The user has an account, but does not have direct control over the underlying coins.

A wallet where the user has full and exclusive control over their private keys. If the seed phrase is lost, the assets are gone forever, as there is no 'Reset Password' button.

A pre-programmed event in the Bitcoin protocol that occurs every 210,000 blocks (roughly every 4 years), cutting the block reward for miners in half. This controls inflation and limits the total supply to 21 million BTC.

A measure of the total amount of money in circulation, including cash, checking deposits, and easily convertible 'near money.' Crypto often acts as a hedge against M2 expansion.

An asset held by a nation-state as part of its official reserves. In 2026, the debate over Bitcoin becoming a sovereign asset is a major driver of institutional demand.

A period of rising asset prices characterized by investor optimism and high confidence. In crypto, these are often triggered by post-halving supply shocks.

A period of falling asset prices, typically defined by a 20% or greater decline from recent highs, accompanied by negative sentiment and fear.

A financial system built on public blockchains (primarily Ethereum) that removes intermediaries like banks by using self-executing smart contracts.

A self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement directly written into lines of code. It automatically executes when predefined conditions are met.

The transaction fees paid to miners or validators on a blockchain to process a transaction. On Ethereum, these are paid in ETH and fluctuate based on network demand.

A peer-to-peer marketplace where users trade cryptocurrencies directly with each other via smart contracts, without a central authority or custodian.

The first block ever mined on a blockchain. Bitcoin's Genesis Block was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on January 3, 2009.

An individual or organization that holds a significantly large amount of a specific cryptocurrency, large enough to potentially influence market prices with their trades.