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Identity and Wallets

Embedded wallet – A non-custodial wallet built into an app, often invisible to users. Enables users to control assets without managing keys or apps.

Passkey – A device-native authentication method (based on WebAuthn) used as a more secure and user-friendly alternative to passwords and private keys.

Private key – Cryptographic secret that grants control over a wallet. In MPC setups, it’s never reconstructed or stored in full; access is managed through secure, distributed shares.

Recovery (or Key Recovery) – The process for regaining access to a wallet, typically complex and manual in crypto. Solutions like social recovery and embedded wallet recovery with Para simplify this for mainstream users.

Seed phrase – A series of words that encode a wallet’s private keys. Often used for wallet backup, but vulnerable to phishing and user error. (Increasingly replaced by passkeys or MPC.)

Session key – A short-lived key used to sign actions during an app session without requiring full wallet access.

Signer – An entity (user, server, agent) that can authorize transactions for a wallet.

Wallet address – A unique identifier for a wallet, similar to a bank account number users can share to receive funds.

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App Infrastructure

EVM / Solana / Cosmos – refer to different blockchains, each with its own ecosystem of developer tools, standards, and communities.

Gas – The fee paid to execute transactions on a blockchain (like network fees in fintech). In modern apps, gas can be abstracted away from users for smoother UX.

Onchain / Offchain – Indicates whether an action occurs on the blockchain or off of it. Onchain means the operation is happening directly on the blockchain, while offchain references to actions that take place on traditional servers or outside the blockchain.

RPC (Remote Procedure Call) – The bridge between an app and the blockchain, used to read/write onchain data.

Rollup – A type of scaling solution (e.g., Optimism, Arbitrum) that processes transactions off the main chain and posts a summary onchain. Speeds things up and reduces gas costs.

Smart contract – Self-executing code on a blockchain that defines how an app behaves.

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Security and Privacy

Custody – Defines who controls the private keys, and therefore access to the funds in a wallet setup. In crypto, custody determines who has actual control. Wallets can either be custodial or non-custodial.

Custodial – A third party holds wallet keys or crypto assets on behalf of a user.

Distributed MPC (Multi-Party Computation) – A cryptographic method where multiple parties collaboratively compute a result, like signing a transaction, without ever revealing or reconstructing the full private key. It’s typically used alongside Distributed Key Generation (DKG) for securely creating the key shares, and then applied during key signing. Enables secure, non-custodial access.

Hardware wallet – A physical device for storing crypto private keys offline.

Non-custodial – A setup where users retain full control of their wallet and assets. No third party can access their funds or sign on their behalf.

Shamir Secret Sharing – A cryptographic technique for splitting a secret (like a private key) into multiple pieces. A minimum number of these pieces must be recombined to form the original private key to sign transactins and messages. Less dynamic than MPC.

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Ecosystems & Fintech

Liquidity – How easily assets can be bought or sold without affecting price. Critical for user experience in swaps or trading.

Stablecoin – A token designed to maintain a stable value (often pegged to the US dollar). Widely used in fintech apps for payments.

Token – A digital asset, which can represent anything from currency to ownership in a protocol.

USDC (USD Coin) – A dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, backed 1:1 by cash and short-term U.S. government bonds. Widely used in crypto apps and exchanges.

USDT (Tether) – Another popular dollar-pegged stablecoin. Issued by Tether, but with less transparency than USDC around its reserves.