Glossary
The following terms can help any novice understand the words that get thrown around in the Blockchain world.
Cryptocurrency - "A digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank."
Market Cap - "The value of a company that is traded on the stock market (coin exchange), calculated by multiplying the total number of shares (coins) by the present share (coin) price."
Mining Based Offering - The process by which a user or a pool of users coordinate their computer hardware (normally graphics cards) to solve a series of algorithms or "puzzles" to unlock a block or portion of a "coin." This provides inherent value as resources, labor were utilized in the discovery. (E.g. Bitcoin, Litecoin)
ICO - Initial Crypto Offering - "A means by which funds are raised [typically crowd-funding] for a new cryptocurrency venture. In an ICO campaign, a percentage of the cryptocurrency is sold to early backers of the project in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies." This type of offering has a pre-determined price-point, volume of coins, and is traditionally not based on mining or labor intensity. (E.g. Ethereum, NXT)
Hard Fork - "A hard fork is a software upgrade that introduces a new rule to the network that isn't compatible with the older software."
Soft Fork - "A soft fork, by contrast, is any change that's backward compatible. Say, instead of 1MB blocks, a new rule might only allow 500K blocks."
Lightning Network - "Lightning Network is a protocol for scaling and speeding up blockchains. It was designed to solve some of the technical limitations of the Bitcoin blockchain, but could be implemented on top of any blockchain."
Segregated Witness - "SegWit" - "The process by which the block size limit on a blockchain is increased by removing signature data from Bitcoin transactions. When certain parts of a transaction are removed, this frees up space or capacity to add more transactions to the chain."
Atomic Swap - "Allows users to cross-trade different cryptocurrencies without relying on centralized parties. If user A has bitcoin, and user B wants Ethereum Classic, for example, they can agree to a fixed trading price and complete the transaction immediately."
FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt - "Usually evoked intentionally in order to put a competitor at a disadvantage."
FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out - "Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by [word of mouth]."
HODL - "An enthusiastic misspelling of "Hold," prompting bitcoin users to avoid the temptation of selling off their coins once price starts rising."
Moon - A Derivative of "To the Moon" which implies an accelerated, optimistic forecast for a coin's upward trajectory in value
Coin Arbitrage - "Taking advantage of a price difference in Crypto Currency between markets"
txn - Transaction
Additional Resources:
Lightning Network - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpfvhiqFw7A
Segregated Witness - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzBAG2Jp4bg
/u/Jaw709 r/Litecoin
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