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Glossary

Use this glossary to learn about terms used in Hedge and the Cosmos ecosystem.

Active set​

The validators that participate in consensus, receive rewards, and secure the blockchain.

Air drops​

A transfer of free cryptocurrency from a crypto project into user's wallets in order to increase interest and incentivize the use of a new token.

Arbitrage​

To profit from price differences across different markets. Arbitrageurs buy coins in one market and sell them on another market for a higher price.

Blockchain​

An unchangeable ledger of transactions copied among a network of independent computer systems.

Blocks​

Groups of information stored on a blockchain. Each block contains transactions that are grouped, verified, and signed by validators.

Bonded validator​

A validator in the active set participating in consensus. Bonded validators earn rewards.

Bonding​

When a user delegates HDE tokens to a validator to receive staking rewards and in turn obtain voting power. Validators never have ownership of a delegator's HDE tokens. Delegating, bonding, and staking generally refer to the same process.

Burn​

The permanent destruction of coins from the total supply.

Commission​

The percentage of staking rewards a validator keeps before distributing the rest of the rewards to delegators. Commission is a validator’s income. Validators set their own commission rates.

Community pool​

A special fund designated for funding community projects. Any community member can create a governance proposal to spend the tokens in the community pool. If the proposal passes, the funds are spent as specified in the proposal.

Consensus​

A system used by validators or miners to agree that each block of transactions in a blockchain is correct. The Hedge blockchain uses the Tendermint consensus. Validators earn rewards for participating in consensus. Visit the Tendermint official documentation site for more information.

Cosmos-SDK​

The open-source framework the Hedge blockchain is built on. For more information, check out the Cosmos SDK Documentation.

dApp​

An application built on a decentralized platform (short for decentralized application).

DDoS​

Distributed Denial of Service attack. When an attacker floods a network with traffic or requests in order to disrupt service.

DeFi​

Decentralized finance. A movement away from traditional finance and toward systems that do not require financial intermediaries.

Delegate​

When users or delegators add their HDE tokens to a validator's stake in exchange for rewards. Delegated HDE tokens is bonded to a validator. Validators never have ownership of a delegator's HDE tokens. Delegating, bonding, and staking generally refer to the same process.

Delegator​

A user who delegates, bonds, or stakes HDE tokens to a validator to earn rewards. Delegating, bonding, and staking generally refer to the same process.

Fees​

Gas: Computed fees added on to all transactions to avoid spamming. Validators set minimum gas prices and reject transactions that have implied gas prices below this threshold.

Full node​

A computer connected to the Hedge mainnet that is able to validate transactions and interact with the Hedge blockchain. All active validators run full nodes.

Governance​

Governance is the democratic process that allows users and validators to make changes to the Hedge protocol. Community members submit, vote, and implement proposals.

Governance proposal​

A written submission for a change or addition to the Hedge protocol. Topics of proposals can vary from community pool spending, software changes, parameter changes, or any idea pertaining to the Hedge protocol.

Hedge​

The official source code for the Hedge protocol.

Hedgevaloper address​

A validator's public address beginning with hedgevaloper followed by a string of characters.

Hedged​

A command line interface for connecting to a Hedge node.

Hedge mainnet​

The Hedge protocol's blockchain network where all transactions take place.

IBC​

The inter-blockchain communication protocol (IBC) creates communication between independent blockchains. IBC achieves this by specifying a set of structures that can be implemented by any distributed ledger that satisfies a small number of requirements. IBC facilitates cross-chain applications for token transfers, swaps, multi-chain contracts, and data sharding.

Inactive set​

Validators that are not in the active set. These validators do not participate in consensus and do not earn rewards.

Jailed​

Validators who misbehave are jailed or excluded from the validator set for a period amount of time.

Miss​

When a vote fails to be included in consensus.

Module​

A section of the Hedge Core that represents a particular function of the Hedge protocol.

Pools​

Groups of tokens. Supply pools represent the total supply of tokens in a market.

Proof of Stake​

A blockchain consensus mechanism where validators are chosen to confirm blocks at a rate proportional to their stake.

Redelegate​

When a delegator wants to transfer their bonded HDE tokens to a different validator. Redelegating HDE tokens is instant and does not require a 21-day unbonding period.

Rewards​

Revenue generated from fees given to validators and delegators.

Self-delegation​

The amount of HDE tokens a validator bonds to themselves. Also referred to as self-bonding. Also referred to as self-bond.

Slashing​

Punishment for validators that misbehave.

Slippage​

The difference in a coin's price between the start and end of a transaction.

Stake​

The amount of HDE tokens bonded to a validator.

Staking​

When a user or delegator delegates and bonds HDE tokens to an active validator in order to receive rewards. Bonded HDE tokens adds to a validator's stake. Validators provide their stakes as collateral to participate in the consensus process. Validators with larger stakes are chosen to participate more often. Validators receive staking rewards for their participation. A validator's stake can be slashed if the validator misbehaves. Validators never have ownership of a delegator's HDE tokens, even when staking.

Tendermint consensus​

The proof-of-stake consensus procedure used by the Hedge protocol. When a validator proposes a new block, the remaining validators then vote on the block in two voting rounds. If a block receives a two-thirds or greater majority of yes votes in both rounds, it gets added to the blockchain. All validators get rewarded with the block's transaction fees, however, the initial proposer of the block will receive a slightly higher reward. For each new block, a validator is selected to propose based on their weight. Check out the Tendermint official documentation for more information.

Testnet​

A copy of the mainnet network used for testing. The testnet does not use real tokens. You can use the testnet to get familiar with carrying out transactions on Hedge. The current testnet for Hedge is berberis-1.

The Hedge ecosystem​

A quickly expanding network of decentralized applications built on the Hedge protocol.

Tombstone​

A tombstoned validator is blocked from participating in consensus and cannot rejoin the active set.

Total stake​

The total amount of Hedge bonded to a delegator, including self-bonded Hedge.

Unbonded validator​

A validator that is not in the active set and does not participate in consensus or receive rewards. Some unbonded validators may be jailed.

Unbonded Hedge​

Hedge that can be freely traded and is not staked to a validator.

Unbonding​

When a delegator decides to undelegate their HDE tokens from a validator. This process takes 21 days. No rewards accrue during this period. This action cannot be stopped once executed.

Unbonding validator​

A validator transitioning from the active set to the inactive set. An unbonding validator does not participate in consensus or earn rewards. The unbonding process takes 21 days.

Unbonding Hedge​

Hedge that is transitioning from bonded to unbonded. Hedge that is unbonding cannot be traded freely. The unbonding process takes 21 days. No rewards accrue during this period. This action cannot be stopped once executed.

Undelegate​

When a delegator no longer wants to have their HDE tokens bonded to a validator. This process takes 21 days. No rewards accrue during this period. This action cannot be stopped once executed.

Uptime​

The amount of time a validator is active in a given timeframe. Validators with low uptime may be slashed.

Validator​

A Hedge blockchain miner responsible for verifying transactions on the blockchain. Validators run programs called full nodes that allow them to participate in consensus, verify blocks, participate in governance, and receive rewards. The top 130 validators with the highest total stake can participate in consensus.

Weight​

The measure of a validator's total stake. Validators with higher weights get selected more often to propose blocks. A validator's weight is also a measure of their voting power in governance.