If you clicked on this article, there’s a good chance this is your first time on Rarible. It might even be your first time on anything NFT-related!
Here's a list of terms commonly used in the wild world of Web3 that I recommend familiarizing yourself with before you get started:
- Blockchain – A blockchain is a decentralized network of computers that track transactions in their network and generate a giant ledger of who owns what (and how much of it).
- Collection – A collection is an assortment of digital assets released by an artist (or group of artists) containing a limited number of individual NFTs.
- Crypto wallet – A crypto wallet is something you perform cryptocurrency transactions with. There are custodial and noncustodial crypto wallets, depending on whether you control their private keys and seed phrase. Noncustodial wallets can be both hardware and software.
- Decentralized Application (dApp) - A decentralized application is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a blockchain. A dApp can be a crypto wallet, a blockchain game, a cryptocurrency exchange, and more.
- Gas fees – Gas fees are the payments required to complete a transaction on a blockchain. They are typically paid in the blockchain’s native currency and go directly to the miners or stakers validating the blockchain transaction. Gas fees are not fixed fees and largely depend on the network’s availability/consensus model.
- Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) – Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are unique, digital items that live on a blockchain. They authenticate ownership of digital assets like art, collectibles, music, videos, in-game assets, and more.
- Seed phrase – Your seed phrase is a series of words that can be used to recover your wallet if you lose access to your wallet. Never give this phrase to anyone. Anyone who knows your seed phrase has full access to your wallet and can buy, sell or transfer any funds or assets.
- Smart contract - Smart contracts are programs stored on a blockchain that run when predetermined conditions are met. They typically are used to automate the execution of an agreement so that all participants can be immediately certain of the outcome, without any intermediary’s involvement or time loss.
- Wallet address – Your wallet address is a long string of numbers and letters that is unique to you. It’s the address people will use when they are sending cryptocurrency or NFTs to your crypto wallet.
- Web3 - Web3 is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web where users are given back power and ownership of their content via decentralization, dApps, NFTs and cryptocurrencies.
