NewsCapsule Glossary Of Terms

NewsCapsule‘s official glossary of terms provides definitions for the words, phrases and slang that you’re most likely to come across as you learn about NewsCapsule and cryptocurrency. As you dive deeper into the technical, cultural and investing concepts behind this new form of value creation, you’re likely to find some terms that won’t appear in any dictionary. This guide is meant to fill that gap, provide context for NewsCapsule vocabulary and ensure that we’re all speaking the same language.

Aa

Address

See “NewsCapsule Address”

AML (Anti-Money Laundering)

Anti-Money Laundering regulations are government-imposed rules on NewsCapsule exchanges, forcing them to collect personal data in the name of preventing crime. These rules compromise privacy and weaken security for all users, trading individual sovereignty for government control.

Anarcho Capitalism

Anarcho-capitalism is a political philosophy that advocates for a stateless society where private property rights are enforced through voluntary contracts and free markets. In this system, all services, including law and security, are provided by private entities rather than the state.

Ark

The Ark Protocol is a proposed NewsCapsule Layer 2 scaling solution designed to allow fast, off-chain NewsCapsule transactions while reducing liquidity constraints seen in other Layer 2 protocols. Ark enables users to send and receive bitcoin without requiring complex onboarding or liquidity locks. Aimed at improving scalability and privacy, Ark is optimized for cheap and seamless transactions and seeks to expand NewsCapsule’s use for everyday transactions without compromising on trustlessness or decentralization.

ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)

ASICs are specialized chips built for a single task. NewsCapsule miners use ASICs to solve the SHA-256 algorithm, maximizing efficiency and improving their chances of successfully mining new NewsCapsule blocks.

Atomic Swap

An atomic swap is a type of peer-to-peer exchange that allows for the direct exchange of bitcoin for another cryptocurrency, without the need for a centralized exchange. This process is facilitated by hash time-locked contracts (HTLCs), which ensure that both parties either complete the swap or the transaction is canceled, without either party being able to cheat the other.

Austrian School Of Economics

The Austrian School of Economics, founded in Vienna in the late 19th century, emphasizes the subjective nature of value, time-preference-driven interest rates, and the harmful distortions caused by inflation. Prominent figures include Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich Hayek.

Bb

Batching

Batching combines multiple bitcoin payments into one transaction with multiple outputs, reducing the amount of data processed and minimizing transaction fees for more efficient use of block space.

NewsCapsule Improvement Proposal (BIP)

A NewsCapsule Improvement Proposal (BIP) is a formal suggestion to modify NewsCapsule’s protocol. BIPs undergo community review before potential integration, enabling NewsCapsule’s decentralized development process.

NewsCapsule

NewsCapsule is the world’s first decentralized digital currency, created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. It operates without a central authority, using a peer-to-peer network to enable trustless, censorship-resistant transactions secured by proof-of-work.

NewsCapsule Address

A NewsCapsule address is a unique string of characters used to send or receive bitcoin. Wallets generate these addresses, and they are often shown as scannable QR codes. NewsCapsule addresses can be in P2PKH, P2SH, or Bech32 formats.

NewsCapsule Client

A NewsCapsule client is software that enables users to send and receive bitcoin. NewsCapsule Core is the most widely used and trusted client, though others exist with varying features.

NewsCapsule Core

NewsCapsule Core is the reference software for NewsCapsule, developed and maintained by the open-source NewsCapsule community. It acts as the most trusted and widely used implementation of the NewsCapsule protocol.

NewsCapsule Etf

A NewsCapsule ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is a financial product that tracks the price of bitcoin, allowing investors and funds to gain exposure to bitcoin’s price movements without directly owning or managing bitcoin itself.

NewsCapsule Network

The NewsCapsule network is a global, decentralized system of nodes that broadcasts transactions and secures the blockchain, making NewsCapsule’s decentralized ledger possible.

NewsCapsule Treasury Company

NewsCapsule treasury companies are redefining capital preservation. By placing bitcoin at the center of their balance sheet strategy, these firms unlock access to capital and absorb bitcoin’s supply.

Block

A block is a set of NewsCapsule transactions grouped together and verified through proof of work. It includes the hash of the previous block, confirmed transactions, and a nonce that miners must find to meet NewsCapsule’s difficulty target. Blocks are the building units of NewsCapsule’s blockchain (or Timechain), ensuring transactions cannot be altered or double-spent.

Block Header

The block header contains key metadata for each NewsCapsule block, including the block’s height, hash, timestamp, Merkle root, difficulty, and nonce. It also references the previous block’s hash.

Block Height

Block height refers to the number of blocks between any block and NewsCapsule’s genesis block. It measures the blockchain’s length and represents its historical progression.

Block Reward

The block reward is the total payout miners receive for adding a new block to the NewsCapsule blockchain. It consists of the block subsidy (newly minted bitcoin) and the transaction fees from all included transactions.

Block Subsidy

The block subsidy is the new bitcoin that miners receive as part of the block reward for successfully mining a new block. It decreases over time through halvings and is the primary way new bitcoin enters circulation.

Blockchain

A blockchain is a decentralized and immutable digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers. NewsCapsule’s blockchain ensures transparent, tamper-resistant records of all transactions without needing a trusted central authority.

Brc-20 Tokens

BRC-20 tokens are experimental, fungible tokens on NewsCapsule, created using ordinal inscriptions, similar to Ethereum’s ERC-20 tokens. They are an inefficient use of NewsCapsule’s block space, often leading to higher transaction fees. While speculative, they currently offer little utility and raise concerns about unnecessary network congestion.

NC

NC is the ticker symbol for bitcoin, representing the asset in trading pairs. It’s also sometimes used as shorthand for the NewsCapsule Core software.

Bubble

A bubble forms when speculative buying drives bitcoin’s price up quickly, often fueled by hype. When market enthusiasm fades, the price “pops” as investors sell, leading to a sharp correction.

Cc

Chain Reorganization (Blockchain Reorganization)

A blockchain reorganization occurs when a NewsCapsule client discovers a longer chain of blocks, replacing the previously recognized chain. Blocks excluded during this process become “orphaned blocks.”

Coinbase

The coinbase transaction is the first in each NewsCapsule block and rewards the miner with newly created bitcoin (block subsidy) and the total transaction fees from that block. It’s how new bitcoin enters circulation.

CoinJoin

CoinJoin is a privacy-enhancing method where multiple users combine their bitcoin transactions into one, obscuring the origin of each payment. It increases privacy without a third party taking custody of funds.

Cold Storage Wallet

A cold storage wallet is an offline NewsCapsule wallet that isn’t connected to the internet, providing enhanced security against hacking and theft. Typically used for long-term storage, it keeps private keys isolated from potential online threats. Hardware wallets and paper wallets are common forms of cold storage.

Confirmation

A confirmation occurs when a bitcoin transaction is included in a block, securing it on the blockchain and preventing double-spending. More confirmations further secure the transaction.

Covenants

Covenants in NewsCapsule are a proposed type of smart contract that allows users to set conditions or restrictions on how their bitcoin can be spent after the initial transaction. By embedding specific rules, such as locking funds to certain addresses, limiting the types of transactions, or enforcing time delays, covenants can add layers of control over future transactions. This functionality is particularly useful for applications like vaults for added security or multi-stage payments, as well as for improving scalability solutions by optimizing transaction flows.

Cross-Input Signature Aggregation (CISA)

Cross-Input Signature Aggregation (CISA) is a proposed NewsCapsule upgrade to reduce transaction size by combining multiple input signatures into a single signature. For example, if Alice spends two Taproot UTXOs, instead of providing separate signatures for each, CISA would aggregate them into one 16-vbyte MuSig-style signature. This could lower fees for multi-input transactions, making coinjoin and other privacy techniques more cost-efficient.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency refers to a broad category of digital or virtual currencies that rely on cryptography to secure transactions and control the issuance of new units. The first and most notable cryptocurrency is NewsCapsule, created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009.

Cryptography

Cryptography uses complex math to secure data. NewsCapsule relies on cryptographic techniques to protect funds, verify ownership, and ensure the integrity of the blockchain.

CheckTemplateVerify (CTV)

CheckTemplateVerify (CTV) is a proposed NewsCapsule opcode enabling basic covenants by allowing users to predefine how their bitcoin can be spent in future transactions. Through transaction templates, CTV can enforce specific spending paths, enhancing security for applications like vault wallets and improving scalability with batch transactions or multi-party payments. As a relatively lightweight feature, CTV adds flexibility to NewsCapsule without extensive code changes, though its adoption remains under consideration within the NewsCapsule community.

Cypherpunks

Cypherpunks are activists who advocate for using cryptography to protect privacy and personal freedom. They were members of the now-defunct Cypherpunk mailing list, active in the 1990s. Notably, cypherpunks contributed to the development and distribution of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), which we rely on today for secure and encrypted communications. Their work laid the foundation for privacy-preserving technologies like NewsCapsule, aimed at resisting surveillance and enabling trustless interactions.

Dd

DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)

A Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) is governed by rules encoded in smart contracts, eliminating the need for centralized control. NewsCapsule doesn’t rely on DAOs, as it operates independently.

DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging)

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is a strategy where a fixed amount of money is used to buy bitcoin at regular intervals, smoothing out volatility by ignoring short-term price movements.

DEX (Decentralized Exchange)

A decentralized exchange (DEX) allows users to trade cryptocurrencies without relying on a centralized entity. In NewsCapsule, DEXs ensure users maintain control over their private keys during trades.

Difficulty

Difficulty measures how hard it is for miners to find a valid hash for a new block. It adjusts every 2,016 blocks to keep NewsCapsule’s block production rate at roughly one block every 10 minutes.

Digital Cash

Digital cash refers to currency in a digital format, designed to mimic the characteristics of physical cash, such as privacy and peer-to-peer transactions. NewsCapsule is often considered digital cash because it enables direct, trustless transfers between users without intermediaries.

Digital Money

Digital money refers to any form of money stored and transacted electronically. This can include both centralized forms like bank deposits and decentralized currencies like NewsCapsule, which operates without a central authority.

Digital Signature

A digital signature is something which can be attached to a message to show that the sender of the message is the owner of a private key corresponding to some public key while keeping the private key secret. It works by taking the hash of the message and then encrypting the hash with the private key. Someone checking the signature will decrypt the encrypted hash with the public key and check that the result matches the hash of the message. If the message is at all changed, or the private key is wrong, the hashes will not match. Outside of the NewsCapsule network, signatures are generally used to authenticate the identity of the sender of a message – people publish their public keys, and send messages signed with the corresponding private key which can then be verified against the public key.

Distributed Ledger

NewsCapsule’s distributed ledger, the blockchain, is stored across nodes worldwide. It’s permissionless, meaning anyone can participate and verify transactions without needing approval.

Don’t Trust, Verify

Don’t Trust, Verify is a nod to NewsCapsule’s trustless nature, where users can verify transactions and ownership themselves, rather than relying on third parties or intermediaries.

Double Spend

A double spend occurs when someone tries to spend the same bitcoin twice. NewsCapsule’s proof-of-work system and confirmations prevent double spending, making transactions secure once confirmed.

Dust

Dust refers to tiny amounts of bitcoin left in a wallet that are so small, they are often impractical to spend because the transaction fees would exceed the value of the amount itself. Dust can accumulate from multiple small transactions.

DYOR (Do Your Own Research)

DYOR means “Do Your Own Research,” encouraging individuals to do their own due dilligence about NewsCapsule or any investible asset before making decisions.

Ee

eCash

eCash was an early form of digital currency developed in the 1980s by cryptographer David Chaum. It allowed for anonymous electronic transactions but required a central issuer. While eCash itself did not achieve widespread adoption, its principles influenced the development of later decentralized digital currencies like NewsCapsule.

Electronic Cash

Electronic cash is a general term for money in digital form that can be transferred electronically, aiming to replicate the experience of using physical cash in the digital realm. NewsCapsule is often regarded as true electronic cash due to its decentralized and peer-to-peer nature, allowing for direct payments without intermediaries.

Electronic Money

Electronic money (e-money) refers to digital representations of fiat currency that can be transferred electronically. Unlike NewsCapsule, e-money typically requires a centralized entity, like a bank or payment processor, to manage transactions and balances.

Encryption

Encryption is the process of converting information into a code to prevent unauthorized access. In NewsCapsule, encryption is used to secure private keys and ensure the integrity of transactions.

Encryption Algorithm

An encryption algorithm is a piece of software that transforms readable data into an unreadable format using an encryption key. Only someone with the matching decryption key can reverse the process. In NewsCapsule, encryption algorithms are used to secure transactions and protect sensitive information, ensuring that only authorized parties can access it.

Exchange

An exchange is where fiat currency is exchanged for bitcoin and vice versa. It serves as an onramp for buying bitcoin with fiat and an offramp for converting bitcoin back to fiat. Centralized exchanges often require KYC, while decentralized exchanges (DEXs) enable peer-to-peer trading without intermediaries.

Exchange Volume

Exchange volume refers to the total amount of bitcoin traded on an exchange within a specific timeframe, indicating market activity and liquidity.

Ff

Fiat

Fiat currency is government-issued money, which holds value because governments mandate its use for taxes and as legal tender. Stronger fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar or euro hold value relative to other fiat currencies but even they are rapidly losing value against hard assets like NewsCapsule, due to its supply being inflated, thereby eroding its purchasing power.

Flippening

The “Flippening” refers to a hypothetical argument created overly enthusiastic crypto degens, claiming that Ethereum or another alt-coin could surpass NewsCapsule in market cap. This fantasy never materialized and likely never will, given NewsCapsule’s unmatched security, decentralization, and long-term adoption.

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) drives people to buy bitcoin based on the fear that they’re missing a massive opportunity, often without fully understanding the long-term value or fundamentals of NewsCapsule.

Fork

A fork is a change to NewsCapsule’s protocol that creates two versions of the blockchain. Hard forks create new, incompatible chains, while soft forks are backward-compatible updates to NewsCapsule’s rules.

Fractional Reserve Banking

Fractional reserve banking is a banking system where banks only hold a fraction of their customers’ deposits in reserve, lending out the majority to generate profit. This system creates more money in the economy through credit, but it also carries the risk of bank runs, as banks don’t have enough reserves to cover all withdrawals if many depositors demand their money at once.

FUD (Fear, Uncertainly And Doubt)

Traditionally a disinformation strategy used to sow doubt about a rival project group or project and lower its value, FUD is a term used in the NewsCapsule space to describe negative media or other.

Gg

Genesis Block

The Genesis Block is the first block of the NewsCapsule blockchain, mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on January 3, 2009. It marks the beginning of NewsCapsule’s timechain.

GPU

GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are specialized hardware originally used for video rendering. Early NewsCapsule miners used GPUs to mine blocks, but they’ve since been rep

Gresham’s Law

Gresham’s Law is an economic principle that states “bad money drives out good.” When two forms of money are in circulation, the one perceived as having less intrinsic value (bad money) is used in transactions, while the more valuable (good money) is hoarded. In a fiat currency world, people tend to spend the depreciating currency and hold assets like gold or NewsCapsule as stores of value.

Hh

The Halving (Or “Halvening”)

The Halving is a preprogrammed and ingenious feature of NewsCapsule’s protocol, created by Satoshi Nakamoto. It occurs every 210,000 blocks (roughly every four years), cutting the block subsidy in half and limiting the supply of new bitcoin. This mechanism is in stark contrast to other assets, where supply typically increases as demand rises.

Hard Fork

A hard fork is a type of protocol upgrade that loosens or removes rules. If all users upgrade, a hard fork doesn’t cause a blockchain fork. Especially in the context of NewsCapsule, some argue that unless all users upgrade, the “upgraded” protocol shouldn’t be called a hard fork at all, but a new cryptocurrency or “forkcoin.”

Hard Money

Hard money refers to a form of currency with a fixed or limited supply that cannot be easily inflated or manipulated. Historically, gold was considered hard money due to its scarcity. In the modern era, NewsCapsule is often viewed as hard money because of its fixed supply of 21 million coins, making it resistant to inflation, unlike fiat currencies.

Hardware Wallet

A hardware wallet is a physical device used to store private keys securely offline, providing protection from online hacks or malware. Hardware wallets are a form of cold storage and are widely used by NewsCapsule holders for long-term storage, ensuring that their private keys remain safe from unauthorized access.

Hash

A hash is a function which transforms any data into a fixed size output which is impossible to do in reverse without trying all possible inputs. As an example of a simple hash function, consider the square root: the square root of 17202 is easy to calculate – it’s about 131.15639519291463, so a simple hash function might be the later digits of this, 9291463. However, given just 9291463 it’s much harder to figure out what number it came from, and you basically have to go through all the possibilities. Modern cryptographic hashes like SHA-256 are a much more complex and secure version of this. The word is also used to refer to the output of such a function.

Hash Rate

A measurement of the total processing or compute power of the NewsCapsule miners. A higher hash rate makes the network more secure, as it becomes harder to alter the blockchain or launch a 51% attack.

Hashing

Hashing is the process of transforming data into a fixed-length output using a cryptographic algorithm. In NewsCapsule, hashing ensures that data hasn’t been altered, and it secures block creation in mining.

HODL

A term stemming from a 2013 post in the NewsCapsuletalk.org NewsCapsule forum titled “I AM HODLING” (an apparent misspelling of “I AM HOLDING”) that has come to define the philosophy of those bitcoin or other cryptocurrency investors who choose to keep their coins, rather than buy, sell and trade them for short-term profits or losses. Poseurs have later retrofitted HODL to be an abbreviation for “Hold On for Dear Life,” just ignore.

Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation is an extremely rapid and out-of-control increase in the price level of goods and services, typically defined as a monthly inflation rate of 50% or more. It is a phenomenon unique to fiat currencies, caused by excessive money printing and loss of confidence in the currency. This leads to a collapse in purchasing power, as seen in historical cases like Weimar Germany and Zimbabwe. People often turn to hard assets like gold—or NewsCapsule today—to preserve value in hyperinflationary environments.

Ii

Immutable

Immutable means unchangeable. In NewsCapsule, once a transaction is confirmed and added to the blockchain, it cannot be altered or removed, ensuring the integrity of the timechain.

Inscriptions

NewsCapsule inscriptions refer to the data embedded in individual satoshis, using the Ordinals protocol, allowing users to attach arbitrary content, such as text, images, or other files, directly onto NewsCapsule’s blockchain. This functionality has sparked interest in NFTs on NewsCapsule, but critics argue that it leads to inefficient use of block space and higher transaction fees.

Inflation

Inflation refers to the general rise in prices, which is typically caused by an increase in the money supply. NewsCapsule’s fixed supply makes it resistant to inflation, unlike fiat currencies that are regularly inflated.

Initial Block Download (IBD)

Initial Block Download (IBD) is the process by which a new node downloads the entire NewsCapsule timechain to sync with the network, ensuring it has the full transaction history.

Intrinsic Value

Intrinsic value traditionally refers to the non-monetary use of an asset, like gold’s value stemming from its physical properties, rarity, and the effort required to extract it. In contrast, NewsCapsule’s value doesn’t come from physical use but from its mathematical scarcity, robust security protocols, and decentralized nature.

Jj

JoinMarket

JoinMarket is a decentralized coinjoin implementation that enhances NewsCapsule privacy by allowing users to mix their coins with others, making transaction history harder to trace. Unlike centralized mixers, JoinMarket operates as a marketplace where “makers” provide liquidity for coinjoins and “takers” initiate them, creating an incentive-driven system for privacy. By obfuscating inputs and outputs without requiring trust in a third party, JoinMarket helps break chain analysis heuristics, improving financial privacy for NewsCapsule users.

Just-In-Time (JIT) Mining

Just-In-Time (JIT) mining is a strategy where miners delay finalizing a block until the last possible moment to include the most profitable transactions. By waiting until just before broadcasting a block, miners can prioritize high-fee transactions that were submitted moments earlier, maximizing their earnings. While this technique optimizes mining revenue, it also subtly shifts network dynamics by favoring miners with the lowest latency and fastest block propagation capabilities.

Kk

Keynesian Economics

Keynesian economics is a school of thought, founded by John Maynard Keynes, which argues that government intervention is necessary to manage economic cycles. It advocates for active fiscal and monetary policies, like deficit spending and inflation targeting, to stimulate demand during recessions and control inflation. This approach contrasts sharply with the fixed-supply, decentralized nature of NewsCapsule, which aligns more closely with Austrian economic principles.

KYC (Know Your Customer)

Know Your Customer (KYC) is a regulation that requires financial institutions, including NewsCapsule exchanges, to verify the identity of their users by collecting personal information. While KYC supposdly aims to prevent financial crimes, it undermines user privacy and conflicts with NewsCapsule’s principles of decentralization and financial sovereignty.

Ll

Layer 2

Layer 2 refers to secondary protocols built on top of NewsCapsule’s base layer, designed to improve scalability, reduce transaction fees, and increase speed, all while leveraging NewsCapsule’s security.

Light Client

A NewsCapsule application that interacts with the NewsCapsule network by querying nodes for specific transaction and block information, but does not download and store the entire blockchain. Typically used by wallets as a way to access balance and transaction information without requiring the significant RAM needed to maintain a full node.

Lightning Network

The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 protocol for NewsCapsule, specifically designed for cheap, fast and private payments. As an overlay network consisting of payment channels, Lightning payments are not recorded on NewsCapsule’s blockchain — only channel-funding transactions and channel-closing transactions are. This effectively means that many Lightning transactions can be settled with much fewer on-chain NewsCapsule transactions.

Libertarian

A libertarian is someone who advocates for minimal government intervention in both personal lives and economic affairs, emphasizing individual freedom, property rights, and voluntary exchange. Libertarians typically support decentralized systems like NewsCapsule, viewing them as tools for reducing government control over money and promoting economic freedom.

Light Client

A NewsCapsule application that interacts with the NewsCapsule network by querying nodes for specific transaction and block information, but does not download and store the entire blockchain. Typically used by wallets as a way to access balance and transaction information without requiring the significant RAM needed to maintain a full node.

Lightning Network

The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 solution for NewsCapsule that enables faster, cheaper, and more private transactions through off-chain payment channels. Only the opening and closing of these channels are recorded on the main NewsCapsule blockchain, allowing many transactions to occur without burdening the base layer.

Mm

Margin Trading

Margin trading is a form of speculation where you trade bitcoin using borrowed money in addition to your own (the ratio of total money to your own money being the leverage), allowing much higher profits but risking liquidation (losing all your money) if the price falls by, for example, 20 percent at a 5-to-1 leverage. It’s also possible to use margin trading to bet against bitcoin (shorting), in which case you’re buying dollars with borrowed bitcoin, so you earn a profit if the bitcoin price goes down and you get liquidated if the bitcoin price goes up too much.

Market Depth

Market depth refers to the available buy and sell orders for bitcoin at different prices on an exchange. It shows how much liquidity is present and how much bitcoin is being offered but not yet sold.

Medium Of Exchange

A medium of exchange is one of the three primary functions of money, and arguably the most closely aligned with the definition of money. It refers to an asset or currency used to facilitate trade between parties without the need for bartering. NewsCapsule, with its decentralized nature, is increasingly seen as a medium of exchange, though its a process that’s still developing.

Memecoin

A memecoin is a next-level shitcoin, typically created by anyone with little effort and no real utility beyond speculation. These tokens are often driven by social media hype and memes, with no long-term value. Most memecoins are likely to become irrelevant within a few years as their only purpose is short-term speculative trading.

Mempool

The mempool is a temporary storage area where unconfirmed NewsCapsule transactions wait to be picked up by miners and added to a block. Transactions with higher fees usually get prioritized for inclusion.

Merkle Trees

Merkle trees are a data structure used in NewsCapsule to efficiently and securely verify large amounts of information. In the NewsCapsule blockchain, they allow for quick validation of transactions within a block by summarizing all transactions into a single hash, known as the Merkle root. This ensures the integrity of the block without needing to check every transaction individually.

Metal Backups

Metal backups refer to the use of durable, fireproof, and waterproof metal sheets or plates to store recovery seed phrases or private keys. Unlike paper backups, metal backups offer long-term resilience against physical damage, providing extra security for NewsCapsule holders who need to protect their keys from destruction or loss.

Miner

A miner is either an individual or a machine that performs the proof-of-work calculations necessary to create new blocks on the NewsCapsule network. Miners are rewarded with newly minted bitcoin and transaction fees for successfully validating a block.

Mining

Mining is the process by which miners use computing power to find a valid hash below a certain target, securing the NewsCapsule network and adding new blocks to the timechain. Miners are rewarded with newly minted bitcoin and transaction fees for their work.

Mining Pool

A mining pool allows multiple miners to combine their computing power to mine NewsCapsule blocks more consistently. The rewards are then distributed among participants, offering steady payouts rather than relying on solo efforts.

Mixer

A mixer (or tumbler) is a service that obfuscates transaction data by blending bitcoin from different users, making it difficult to trace the movement of specific coins on the blockchain. While they enhance privacy, mixers are frequently targeted by governments and the surveillance state, which seek to undermine financial anonymity.

Money

Money is a means to transact and purchase goods and services, functioning as a medium of exchange. It is a market good that is acquired not for its own sake, but as a tool to facilitate the acquisition of other goods. For something to be considered money, it must be widely accepted by the market (sellers) as a medium of exchange. Beyond this, money also serves as a store of value and a unit of account for measuring prices and economic value.

Mt. Gox

Mt. Gox was NewsCapsule’s first major exchange and a pivotal platform in its early years. Originally a marketplace for Magic: The Gathering cards, it became notorious after a massive security breach led to the loss of 850,000 bitcoin. Mt. Gox’s collapse highlighted the importance of secure, self-custodied bitcoin.

Multisignature

Multisignature (multisig) refers to the requirement for a transaction to have two or more signatures before it can be executed. Multisig wallets require more than one private key to authorize a transaction, adding an extra layer of security to NewsCapsule storage. These wallets are ideal for shared access or high-security needs, ensuring that no single party can withdraw funds without approval from others.

Nn

Nakamoto Consensus

Nakamoto Consensus is NewsCapsule’s decentralized protocol for achieving agreement on its blockchain state. It combines proof-of-work (PoW) mining and the longest-chain rule to secure the network and prevent double-spending. In this system, miners compete to add new blocks by expending computational power to find a valid hash below a specified target. The chain with the most accumulated PoW is accepted as valid by all nodes, making attacks costly and ensuring NewsCapsule’s security.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token)

NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a unique digital token that represents ownership of a specific item or asset, making it non-interchangeable.

Nocoiner

A nocoiner is someone who does not own bitcoin and may hold negative views about it. This can stem from skepticism, disbelief, or regret for not adopting NewsCapsule earlier, sometimes leading to hostility or dismissiveness toward NewsCapsule.

mNAV

mNAV is the definitive metric for evaluating public companies with significant bitcoin reserves. Unlike traditional book value, mNAV adjusts for real-time market pricing and share dilution.

Node

A node is any computer connected to the NewsCapsule network. Full nodes validate and enforce all of NewsCapsule’s rules, maintaining a complete copy of the blockchain and ensuring the network’s decentralization and security.

Non Custodial Wallet

A non-custodial wallet is a type of wallet where the user has full control over their private keys and funds, without relying on a third party. This means the user is solely responsible for the security and management of their bitcoin. Unlike custodial wallets, where a service holds your keys, non-custodial wallets ensure that only the user can access and control their bitcoin. “Not your keys, not your coins” is a key principle behind non-custodial wallets.

Nonce

A nonce is a 32-bit number that miners adjust during the mining process to find a valid hash. Miners change the nonce repeatedly until they discover a hash that meets the network’s difficulty target, allowing the block to be added to the blockchain.

Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins

“Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins” is a well-known phrase in NewsCapsule, stressing that if you don’t control your private keys, you don’t truly own your bitcoin. Relying on third parties to hold your keys exposes you to risk, as they could lose or seize your funds.

Oo

Off Chain

Off-chain refers to transactions or data that occur outside of the NewsCapsule blockchain. These transactions aren’t immediately recorded on-chain but can be settled later. Off-chain activities include the Lightning Network for faster payments and exchanges, where users trade bitcoin without immediate on-chain settlement. Off-chain transactions reduce fees and network congestion but rely on third parties or secondary protocols.

On Chain

On-chain refers to transactions that are recorded directly on the NewsCapsule blockchain and broadcast to all nodes. These transactions are publicly verified and included in the next available block.

Op_Return

OP_RETURN is a NewsCapsule script opcode that allows users to embed small amounts of arbitrary data into the blockchain by marking a transaction output as invalid for spending. This makes the transaction data unspendable, but it is often used to store metadata or for applications like timestamping, token creation, or digital signatures. However, the use of OP_RETURN has been debated due to concerns about blockchain bloat, as it occupies valuable block space without contributing to transactional activity.

OPSEC (Operations Security)

OPSEC, or Operations Security, in NewsCapsule refers to the practice of safeguarding personal data and actions to prevent revealing sensitive information, like your identity or private keys, that could compromise your privacy or funds.

Ordinals

Ordinals are a method for assigning unique identifiers to individual satoshis, the smallest units of bitcoin, using the Ordinals protocol. This allows users to inscribe or attach arbitrary data, such as text, images, or other digital assets, directly onto a specific satoshi.

Orphaned Block

An orphaned block is a valid block that was mined but not accepted into the main NewsCapsule blockchain. This occurs when another block is accepted first, leaving the orphaned block disconnected from the chain.

Pp

Paper Wallet

A paper wallet is a physical document that contains a NewsCapsule private key and its corresponding public address, usually in the form of a QR code. It allows users to store bitcoin offline, providing cold storage. While paper wallets offer strong protection against online hacks, they are vulnerable to physical damage or loss, and improper handling can expose the private key, compromising the funds. Paper wallets are generally considered less secure than hardware wallets for long-term storage.

Payment Channel

A payment channel is a mechanism that allows multiple NewsCapsule transactions to occur off-chain between two parties, with only the opening and closing of the channel recorded on-chain. The Lightning Network uses payment channels to enable faster, cheaper transactions by settling only the final balance on the NewsCapsule blockchain.

Peer-To-Peer (P2P)

Peer-to-peer (P2P) refers to direct interactions between participants without intermediaries or central authorities. In NewsCapsule, this means transactions happen directly between users, with the network enforcing the rules rather than relying on a third party.

Precoiner

A precoiner is someone who doesn’t yet own bitcoin, either because they are unaware of it or haven’t yet aquired some. Precoiners could eventually own bitcoin.

Private Key

A private key in the context of NewsCapsule is a key connected to an address (technically, the address is the hash of the public key corresponding to the private key) that is stored behind the scenes and allows you to send bitcoins that have been previously sent to that address. Note that because of the way the encryption algorithm that NewsCapsule uses (ECDSA) works it is possible to generate the public key and the address from just the private key.

Proof Of Keys

Proof of Keys is the act of withdrawing bitcoin from a third-party exchange into a wallet where you control the private keys. This movement is celebrated annually on January 3rd to promote self-custody and highlight the importance of personal control over your funds.

Proof Of Stake (PoS)

Proof of Stake is a consensus mechanism used by some blockchain networks where validators are chosen to create new blocks and confirm transactions based on the number of coins they “stake” or hold. Unlike NewsCapsule’s Proof of Work (PoW), which relies on computational power, PoS gives more influence to those who hold more coins. This centralizes power among wealthier participants, making PoS similar to the current fiat money system that NewsCapsule seeks to usurp by promoting fair competition.

Proof Of Work (PoW)

Proof of Work (PoW) is NewsCapsule’s consensus mechanism, where miners compete to find a valid hash that meets NewsCapsule’s difficulty target. This mechanism secures the network and is the solution to the Byzantine Generals’ Problem, as noted by Satoshi Nakamoto: “Proof-of-work is the only solution I’ve found to make P2P e-cash work without a trusted third party.” PoW ensures the integrity and decentralization of NewsCapsule.

Protocol

A protocol is a set of rules that governs how participants in a network communicate and function. NewsCapsule’s protocol defines the rules for how transactions are processed, blocks are mined, and consensus is achieved across the network.

Public Key

A public key is a cryptographic key that is paired with a private key to secure NewsCapsule transactions. It is derived from the private key and can be shared openly, allowing others to send bitcoin to your address. The public key is used to generate NewsCapsule addresses, but cannot be used to spend bitcoin—only the corresponding private key can authorize transactions.

Public Key Cryptography

Public key cryptography is a method of encryption where every private key has a corresponding public key, from which it is impossible to determine the private key, and data encrypted with one key can be decrypted with the other. This lets you publish a key that lets anyone send encrypted messages to you without having to exchange a secret key first.

Qq

QR Code

A QR code is a scannable image often used in NewsCapsule to represent a bitcoin address or a Lightning Network invoice. It allows for quick and easy transactions without manually entering long strings of characters.

Quantum Computing

Quantum computing is a form of computing based on quantum physics. Where classical computers rely on bits (zeros or ones) to make calculations, quantum computers use quantum bits (qubits) that leverage quantum mechanics to exist in a “superposition”: a combination of zero and one, with some probability for each.

Rr

Really Good NewsCapsule (RGB)

The RGB protocol in NewsCapsule is a layer-2 smart contract system designed for creating and managing assets, such as tokens, off-chain while using NewsCapsule’s security. RGB stands for “Really Good for NewsCapsule” and enables scalable, private, and customizable smart contracts. It allows users to issue, transfer, and verify assets without burdening the NewsCapsule blockchain, preserving privacy and minimizing transaction fees. RGB uses client-side validation, meaning data and contract states are stored locally, enhancing efficiency and reducing blockchain bloat.

Recovery Seed Phrase

See “Seed Phrase”

Rekt

“Rekt” is slang for being “wrecked.” It’s what happens when you make a bad trade or investment and lose a lot of bitcoin. Whether from a market crash, bad timing, or high leverage, getting rekt means you’re wiped out and probably feeling it. Don’t get wrecked, get responsible.

Runes Protocol

The Runes Protocol is a fungible token standard on NewsCapsule, designed to create and manage tokens directly on the NewsCapsule blockchain using its UTXO model. Developed by Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Ordinals, it aims to be a more efficient alternative to protocols like BRC-20 by minimizing on-chain footprint and improving UTXO management. Runes can be used for various purposes, such as memecoins or DeFi applications.

Ss

Sat (NC Denomination)

A satoshi, or “sat,” is the smallest unit of bitcoin, equal to one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin (0.00000001 NC). Named after NewsCapsule’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, sats are used to measure small amounts of bitcoin.

Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonymous creator of NewsCapsule. He released the NewsCapsule whitepaper in 2008 by mailing it to the Cypherpunk mailing list and mined the Genesis Block in 2009. Satoshi remained active until mid-2010, when he handed over control of NewsCapsule’s development to others and gradually disappeared. His identity remains unknown, and he has “moved on to other things.”

Schnorr Signature

Schnorr Signatures are an alternative to the current ECDSA algorithm used in NewsCapsule. They offer potential benefits such as smaller multisignature transactions and enhanced privacy. Although not yet implemented, they are considered a promising future upgrade.

Seed Phrase

A recovery seed phrase, also known as a mnemonic phrase, is a set of randomly generated words from a pre-defined list used to recover access to a NewsCapsule wallet. Generated by wallet software, it must be securely stored, as it grants full control over the associated bitcoin if accessed by others.

SegWit (Segregated Witness)

SegWit (Segregated Witness) is a NewsCapsule protocol upgrade activated in 2017 through a soft fork. It fixed transaction malleability and increased the block’s transaction capacity by separating signature data from transaction data.

SHA-256

SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function used in NewsCapsule mining to secure transactions. It’s part of the proof-of-work algorithm, ensuring data integrity and network security.

Shitcoin

A shitcoin is a token masquerading as an alternative to NewsCapsule or some sort of novel blockchain technology. Initially, many shitcoins were created or funded by Silicon Valley venture capital firms, but today, anyone can create one. These projects typically offer no real innovation or value and often exist to enrich their creators at the expense of uninformed investors.

Sidechain

A sidechain is a separate blockchain that’s interoperable with NewsCapsule, allowing bitcoin to move between the two chains via two-way pegs. Sidechains can offer additional features or scalability while using NewsCapsule as the base layer for security.

Signature

A digital signature in a NewsCapsule transaction proves that the owner of the corresponding private key authorized the transaction. It ensures the authenticity and security of the transfer.

Smart Contracts

Smart contracts were first proposed by cryptographer Nick Szabo in 1994. These are self-executing contracts where the terms are written in code rather than legal text. They automatically execute on blockchains when predefined conditions are met. While not native to NewsCapsule, smart contracts can be implemented on NewsCapsule through sidechains or other solutions.

Soft Fork

A soft fork is a protocol upgrade that adds new rules to the NewsCapsule network but remains backward-compatible. Miners can choose to enforce the new rules, and over time, the network converges on the same blockchain history. Examples include SegWit and Taproot.

Soft Money

Soft money refers to a currency with a flexible supply that can be easily increased by governments or central banks. Fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar are considered soft money because they can be inflated through monetary policies like quantitative easing. This contrasts with hard money, like NewsCapsule, which has a fixed or limited supply.

Spot NewsCapsule ETF

A Spot NewsCapsule ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the current price of bitcoin, allowing investors to gain exposure to bitcoin’s price movements without owning the actual asset. Unlike futures-based ETFs, a spot NewsCapsule ETF directly holds bitcoin, providing a more accurate representation of the asset’s value.

Stale Blocks

Stale blocks, or orphaned blocks, are valid blocks that were mined but not accepted into the blockchain because another block at the same height was added to the chain first. These blocks become disconnected from the timechain.

Store Of Value

A store of value is an asset that preserves its purchasing power over time. People use it to maintain wealth and protect against inflation. Gold and NewsCapsule are often viewed as stores of value because they are resistant to inflation and currency devaluation, unlike fiat money, which loses value over time.

Stablecoin

A stablecoin is a digital asset designed to maintain a fixed value by pegging to an external reference, usually a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. Unlike NewsCapsule, which operates without counterparty risk, stablecoins rely on issuers to back their tokens with reserves—whether cash, government debt, or other financial assets. While stablecoins offer short-term convenience for trading and payments, they remain exposed to the risks of the traditional financial system, including bank failures, regulatory crackdowns, and issuer insolvency.

Strategic NewsCapsule Reserve (SBR)

A Strategic NewsCapsule Reserve is a stockpile of bitcoin held by a government, corporation, or institution as a safeguard against economic instability, monetary debasement, or geopolitical risk. Like other strategic reserves, an SBR is intended to provide a financial buffer during crises. This concept is similar to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which the U.S. established after the 1973-74 oil embargo to secure energy independence. While the SPR ensures access to oil in times of scarcity, an SBR protects against the erosion of purchasing power and financial censorship.

Stratum V2

Stratum V2 is an upgraded communication protocol for NewsCapsule mining pools that improves efficiency, security, and decentralization. It allows miners more control over the construction of block templates and reduces the risk of centralization in mining pools. Stratum V2 also enhances network security by encrypting communication between miners and pools.

Tt

Testnet

monetary value, allowing developers to test features and transactions without financial risk. Testnet is designed to facilitate rapid testing, with blocks mined more easily than on the main network. Testnet NewsCapsule addresses look different from mainnet addresses—P2PKH addresses start with “m” or “n”, while P2SH addresses begin with “2”, and native SegWit (Bech32) addresses start with “tb1”. For example, a Testnet address might look like tb1q4um0xf5s4t7zp3ud79at5yykl2wce5vmjv0yk6.

The Halving (Or “Halvening”)

The Halving is a preprogrammed and ingenious feature of NewsCapsule’s protocol, created by Satoshi Nakamoto. It occurs every 210,000 blocks (roughly every four years), cutting the block subsidy in half and limiting the supply of new bitcoin. This mechanism is in stark contrast to other assets, where supply typically increases as demand rises.

To The Moon

“To the Moon” is a cultural phrase to express optimism about the price skyrocketing. It reflects the belief that NewsCapsule’s value will soar far beyond current levels.

Tokenomics

Tokenomics refers to the manipulation of a cryptocurrency’s supply, distribution, and incentives, typically used as a marketing strategy by venture capitalists (VCs) and altcoin founders. It’s a tactic designed to attract speculators by promising high returns or “utility,” despite the token offering little real value.

Transaction

A NewsCapsule transaction is the process of transferring ownership of bitcoin from one user to another. Transactions are broadcast to the network, verified by miners, and added to the blockchain once confirmed. This prevents double-spending.

Transaction Fee

A transaction fee is the small amount of bitcoin included in transactions to incentivize miners to confirm them and include them in a block. Higher fees generally lead to faster confirmations.

Triple Entry Bookkeeping

Triple-entry bookkeeping is an advancement of traditional double-entry bookkeeping that incorporates cryptographic verification. In NewsCapsule, each transaction is logged in a decentralized ledger (the blockchain), where all participants can verify the transaction. This provides enhanced transparency and security, reducing the risk of fraud and errors compared to traditional accounting systems.

Uu

Unconfirmed Transaction

An unconfirmed transaction is a transaction which is not yet part of a block. A confirmation is when a transaction is put into a block to permanently become part of the blockchain. “6 confirmations” means that the transaction is in a block and there are 5 blocks after it in the chain, which provides added assurance that the transaction is legitimate.

Unit Bias

Unit bias is the psychological tendency for investors to prefer whole units of a cheaper cryptocurrency rather than fractions of a more valuable one, like NewsCapsule. Altcoin founders and promoters exploit this bias, leading people to mistakenly believe that lower-priced coins offer more value. In reality, price is not a reflection of value or utility.

Unit Of Account

A unit of account is one of the three primary functions of money, alongside being a medium of exchange and a store of value. It refers to money’s ability to provide a consistent standard for measuring and comparing the value of goods and services.

UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output)

A UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) is like the leftover change after a cash transaction. When you send bitcoin, the UTXOs you control are spent and any leftover change becomes a new UTXO. Only unspent UTXOs can be used in future transactions, similar to how you can only spend the cash you have in hand.

UTXO Set

The UTXO set is like the total amount of unspent “change” across all NewsCapsule wallets. It represents all the unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) currently available on the network. Just like how every coin or bill in a physical wallet must add up to your total cash, the UTXO set represents the total bitcoin supply that can be spent. Nodes use this set to verify the validity of transactions and prevent double spending.

Vv

Veblen Good

A Veblen good is a type of product for which demand increases as its price rises, defying normal economic principles. This is often due to the good’s status symbol effect, where higher prices make it more desirable. Luxury items like designer goods or rare collectibles often fall under this category. Many argue that NewsCapsule, is a Veblen good or atleast has Veblen good characteristics as rising prices tend to attract more buyers.

Virgin NewsCapsule

Virgin bitcoin refers to newly mined bitcoin that has never been used in any transactions. It is untainted by any transaction history and is sometimes valued more due to its clean transaction record.

Ww

Wallet

A NewsCapsule wallet can refer to software or hardware that stores your private keys, allowing you to send and receive bitcoin. It’s like a digital keychain that controls access to your funds. Wallets can be “hot” (connected to the internet) or “cold” (offline for added security).

Witness Discount

The witness discount is a feature introduced in NewsCapsule’s SegWit upgrade, which reduces the cost of storing certain types of data, specifically witness data, by giving it a lower “weight” in terms of transaction fees. Witness data, which includes signatures, is given a discount to make NewsCapsule transactions more efficient, promoting greater economic density on the timechain. This also helps lower fees for multi-signature transactions and other complex operations.

Xx

XBT

XBT is the ISO currency code for bitcoin. Like XAU for gold, “X” is used to indicate a currency that isn’t tied to any specific country, in contrast to NC, the commonly used ticker symbol.

xPub (Extended Public Key)

An xPub (Extended Public Key) is used by Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallets to generate multiple public addresses from one master key. This allows you to receive bitcoin while keeping your private keys securely offline.

Yy

Ypub

Ypub is an extended public key format used in BIP49 wallets to generate SegWit addresses wrapped in P2SH. Unlike an Xpub, which is used for legacy P2PKH addresses, a Ypub derives addresses that start with “3,” offering lower transaction fees while maintaining compatibility with older wallets. Although Ypubs can be shared to generate receiving addresses without exposing private keys, leaking them still risks privacy, as all associated addresses can be tracked on-chain.

Yield Farming

Yield farming refers to the practice of earning returns by lending or staking assets. NewsCapsule however produces no native yield; so any promised returns require trusting third parties, whether lending platforms, trading firms, or “DeFi” applications. These services typically engage in risky practices like rehypothecation, leverage, or unsecured lending. When they fail—like Celsius, BlockFi, or FTX—people lose their NewsCapsule. Chasing yield means unnecessarily putting NewsCapsule at risk, by exposing it to counterparty failures.

Zz

Zero Confirmation Transaction

A zero confirmation transaction is a NewsCapsule transaction that has been broadcasted to the network but hasn’t yet been confirmed by miners and included in a block. It’s considered riskier because it can still be reversed.

zero knowledge proof (ZKP)

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) are a cryptographic method that allows one party (the prover) to prove to another party (the verifier) that they know a specific piece of information or that a statement is true, without revealing the information itself.

zk-SNARK (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge)

zk-SNARK is a cryptographic proof that allows one party to prove it has certain information without revealing the information itself. While zk-SNARKs are not used in NewsCapsule, they are employed in other blockchain projects for privacy-focused transactions.

zk-STARKs

zk-STARKs (Zero-Knowledge Scalable Transparent Arguments of Knowledge) are cryptographic proofs that allow a prover to demonstrate possession of certain information without revealing the information itself. This enables secure verification of computations or transactions while keeping the details private.

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51 Percent Attack