# Glossary

**Active Set**: Validators that are actively participating in consensus and earning rewards.

**Airdrops**: Extra rewards given to users via specific validators, separate from standard staking rewards.

**Arbitrage**: The practice of exploiting price differences between markets by buying low in one and selling high in another.

**Blockchain**: A distributed ledger technology that records transactions across many computers in a way that ensures the data cannot be altered retroactively.

**Blocks**: Data structures within a blockchain, containing a set of transactions that have been verified and signed by validators.

**Bonded Validator**: A validator that is currently part of the active set and participating in consensus, thus earning rewards.

**Bonding**: The act of delegating tokens to a validator to earn staking rewards.

**Burn**: The process of permanently removing tokens from circulation, often used to reduce supply.

**Burn Auction**: An event where participants bid using tokens to gain certain assets or privileges, with the tokens used in winning bids being burned.

**Commission**: The portion of staking rewards retained by a validator before distributing the remainder to delegators.

**Community Pool**: A fund used for community-driven projects, accessible through governance proposals.

**Consensus**: The method by which validators agree on the validity of transactions and the state of the blockchain. Validators are rewarded for their participation.

**Cosmos-SDK**: The development framework used to build the blockchain, providing various modules and tools.

**Credential Schema**: A structured format that defines the data model and validation rules for a verifiable credential.

**Credential Definition**: A specific instance of a credential schema issued by an issuer, containing specific data.

**dApp**: Decentralized application built on a blockchain network.

**DID (Decentralized Identifier)**: A globally unique identifier that enables verifiable, self-sovereign digital identities. DIDs are created and managed by individuals, independent of central authorities.

**DID Method:** A specific standard or specification used to create and manage DIDs.

**Delegator**: A user who delegates or bonds their tokens to a validator to earn rewards.

**Devnet**: A development network used for testing new features or products without impacting the main network.

**Digital Signature**: A cryptographic method used to verify the authenticity and integrity of digital messages or documents.\
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**Empe Verifiable Data Wallet:** A digital wallet used within the Empeiria ecosystem to store, manage, and present DIDs and VCs.

**Full Node**: A node that validates transactions and maintains a copy of the entire blockchain, typically operated by validators.

**Gas Fees**: Transaction fees paid to validators to process transactions and prevent spam on the network.

**Governance**: The process through which users and validators propose, vote on, and implement changes to the protocol.

**IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication)**: A protocol that allows different blockchains to communicate and interact with each other.

**Identity Wallet**: A digital wallet used to store, manage, and present decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials.

**Inactive Set**: Validators that are not currently participating in consensus and thus not earning rewards.

**Issuer**: An entity that creates and issues verifiable credentials.

**Jailed**: The status of validators that are temporarily excluded from the active set due to misbehavior.

**Node**: A computer participating in the network by maintaining a copy of the blockchain and validating transactions.

**Private Key**: A secret cryptographic key used to sign transactions and access sensitive information.

**Proof Presentation**: The act of a holder presenting verifiable credentials to a verifier for validation.

**Proof Request**: A request from a verifier to a holder to present specific verifiable credentials for validation.

**Public Key**: A cryptographic key that can be shared publicly to verify signatures made with the corresponding private key.

**Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)**: A system for the creation, management, and distribution of digital certificates and keys.

**Revocation**: The process of invalidating a verifiable credential, rendering it no longer valid.\
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**Selective Disclosure:** The ability for a holder to present only specific claims within a verifiable credential during verification, depending on the verifier's requirements.

**Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)**: A model of digital identity where individuals fully own and control their personal data without relying on a central authority.

**Service Endpoint**: A URL or other identifier in a DID document that provides access to services related to the DID.

**Slashing**: The penalty for validators that act against the network's rules, resulting in a loss of a portion of their staked tokens.

**Staking**: The process of delegating tokens to a validator to earn rewards and support the network's security and operations.

**Testnet**: A network used for testing new features, applications, and protocols before they are deployed on the main network.

**Validator**: An entity responsible for verifying transactions, maintaining the blockchain, and participating in consensus.

**Verifiable Credentials (VCs)**: Tamper-proof digital documents issued by an issuer, which can be cryptographically verified to prove certain attributes about the holder.

**Verifier**: An entity that receives and checks the validity of verifiable credentials.

**Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP)**: A cryptographic technique that allows one party to prove the truth of a statement without revealing any additional information.