Glossary
A comprehensive glossary of terms used throughout Unit Network.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| AMM | Automated Market Maker — algorithm that enables decentralized trading without order books |
| APY | Annual Percentage Yield — the annualized return rate for staking |
| Bank | The operating account for a token that holds and manages supply |
| Block | A batch of transactions processed and added to the blockchain |
| Block Explorer | A tool for viewing blockchain data — blocks, transactions, and accounts |
| Bond Staking | Locking tokens for a fixed period to earn APY rewards |
| Bridge | A mechanism for transferring assets between different blockchains |
| Burn | Permanently removing tokens from circulation, reducing total supply |
| City Token | A token representing a specific city's decentralized economy (e.g., LONDON, TOKYO) |
| Collateral | Assets locked to back a token's value or secure a position |
| Constant Product | The AMM formula (x × y = k) used by Unit Network's exchange |
| Core Token | One of the 18 foundational tokens on Unit Network |
| Custodian | An entity responsible for securely holding assets on behalf of others |
| DAO | Decentralized Autonomous Organization — community-governed entity |
| DEX | Decentralized Exchange — peer-to-peer trading without intermediaries |
| Extrinsic | A Substrate transaction — any external input that triggers state changes |
| Floor Price | Minimum token value = Total Treasury Value ÷ Total Supply |
| Gas | Transaction fee on blockchains like Ethereum (Unit Network uses percentage fees instead) |
| Governance | The process by which token holders make decisions about a project's direction |
| Impermanent Loss | Potential value reduction when providing liquidity due to price changes |
| Industry Token | A token representing a specific industry sector (e.g., MUSIC, TECH) |
| KYC | Know Your Customer — identity verification process |
| Liquidity | The ease with which a token can be bought or sold without significant price impact |
| Liquidity Pool | A pool of token pairs that enables AMM trading |
| LP | Liquidity Provider — a user who contributes tokens to a liquidity pool |
| Mainnet | The live, production blockchain network (as opposed to testnet) |
| Mint | Creating new tokens and adding them to circulation |
| Multi-sig | A wallet requiring multiple signatures to authorize transactions |
| Node | A computer running the blockchain software, validating and relaying transactions |
| Oracle | System that provides real-time external price data to the blockchain |
| Pallet | A Substrate runtime module — Unit Network's building blocks |
| Pool Staking | Providing liquidity to earn a share of trading fees |
| Private Key | A secret cryptographic key that proves ownership and authorizes transactions |
| Redemption | Burning tokens to receive proportional treasury assets |
| Reserve Asset | External cryptocurrency bridged to Unit Network (BTC, ETH, DOT, etc.) |
| Runtime | The business logic of a Substrate blockchain, composed of pallets |
| Slippage | Price difference between expected and actual trade execution |
| Smart Contract | Self-executing code on a blockchain (Unit Network uses pallets instead) |
| Stable Token | A fiat-pegged token (e.g., USDU = US Dollar) |
| Staking Worker | Off-chain agent that verifies transactions and provides price data |
| Substrate | Blockchain framework by Parity Technologies, used to build Unit Network |
| Token ID | Unique on-chain identifier for each token (UNITCOIN = 0) |
| Token Sale | A structured fundraising event where tokens are sold at set prices in rounds |
| Tranche | A tier in the vault system based on locked UNITCOIN value |
| Treasury | Immutable reserve of assets backing a token's floor price |
| TVL | Total Value Locked — the total assets deposited in DeFi protocols or staking |
| Unbonding Period | Wait time between unstaking and receiving tokens (0–28 days) |
| UNITCOIN | The native utility token of Unit Network (Token ID 0) |
| USDU | The primary USD-pegged stablecoin and quote currency for all DEX pairs |
| Validator | A node operator who participates in consensus and block production |
| Vault | A collateralized custody mechanism for cross-chain deposits |
| Wallet | Software for managing blockchain accounts, viewing balances, and signing transactions |
| Wrapped Token | An on-chain representation of an external cryptocurrency (e.g., BTCU = wrapped BTC) |
| Yield | The return earned on staked or deposited assets, expressed as APY |