AI and blockchain, explained from the ground up.
Every term in a few sentences, with an example from the familiar world of finance and everyday life and one sentence to pass on. No tech jargon, no hype. Just search or browse.
- DeFiAdvanced
Bridge (blockchain bridge)
A bridge connects two blockchains and allows tokens to be moved from one to the other.
Read explanation → - DeFiBasics
CeFi / crypto exchange
CeFi refers to centralised providers such as crypto exchanges that operate trading and custody as companies, in contrast to DeFi programs.
Read explanation → - DeFiIntermediate
DAO
A DAO is an organisation whose rules are written in smart contracts and whose members vote on decisions using tokens.
Read explanation → - DeFiBasics
DeFi (decentralised finance)
DeFi is the umbrella term for financial services such as trading, lending or earning interest that run as programs on the blockchain, with no bank or exchange as operator.
Read explanation → - DeFiIntermediate
DEX (decentralised exchange)
A DEX is a trading venue for tokens that runs as a smart contract: buyers and sellers trade directly from their wallets, with no operator in between.
Read explanation → - DeFiIntermediate
Lending protocol (crypto loans)
A lending protocol is a smart contract through which users lend tokens and borrow against deposited collateral, with no bank.
Read explanation → - DeFiAdvanced
Liquidity pool
A liquidity pool is a smart contract into which users deposit two tokens so others can swap against them; depositors receive trading fees in return.
Read explanation → - DeFiAdvanced
Oracle
An oracle delivers real-world information (prices, weather, delivery status) to smart contracts, which cannot see anything outside the blockchain by themselves.
Read explanation → - DeFiAdvanced
Perpetual futures
A perpetual future is a futures contract without an expiry date, used to bet on the price of an asset without owning it.
Read explanation → - DeFiAdvanced
TVL (total value locked)
TVL measures how much capital is deposited in a DeFi protocol or an entire blockchain; it is the key size metric for DeFi.
Read explanation →
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21 Oaks Capital GmbH acts as a tied agent exclusively for the account and under the liability of AHP Capital Management GmbH, Weißfrauenstraße 12-16, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. This wiki is a general information service provided by 21 Oaks Capital GmbH. Its content does not constitute individual investment advice and is not a recommendation by AHP Capital Management GmbH. 21 Oaks Capital GmbH, its affiliated companies, the funds it advises or its employees may hold positions in assets explained in this wiki. The explanations are independent of this; the disclosure is made for reasons of transparency.
