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Altcoin

An altcoin is a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, an "alternative" to Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency. Many altcoins were released via ICOs in 2016 / 2017, often based on the Ethereum network. On top of that, a large number of "alts" have been created, issued and distributed via decentralised exchanges (DEX'es) such as Bitshares. As a result, literally thousands differnet types of altcoins exist today. Some are simple forks of Bitcoin or other well-known cryptocurrencies, and include minor changes (if any changes at all) as compared to the original cryptocurrencies they were forked from. Other altcoins and blockchains were coded from scratch and later on further developed, leading to serious technological innovations.

The price / value and market cap of altcoins are in a constant state of flux, yet often correlated to Bitcoin price volatility, due to most of them being traded in pairs with Bitcoin as the "quote" asset, or using another large-cap quote asset which in turn itself is mostly paired to Bitcoin (thus creating a tight correlation with Bitcoin price).

API, Application Programming Interface

An API, short for "Application Programming Interface", functions as a software intermediary to facilitate communication between separate applications by defining multiple methods.

In a blockchain context, APIs allow for decentralized and trustless mechanisms to verify and prove transactions. A decentralised network of blockchain nodes running the same blockchain software code together forms a "federated network of trust"without the need for a centralized authentication authority.

Bitcoin

The first / original, most well-known and currently by far the most valuable cryptocurrency and blockchain, as well as the collection of interrelated cryptographical methodologies and protocols. Bitcoin was originally created in 2009 by the mysterious pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, either an individual or group, who is (or are) to date not publicly identified.

Block

In a blockchain context, a "block" is one "package" of cryptographically signed data, that - depending on the type of blockchain the block exists on - holds immutable information which can be read and reviewed by anybody - but not altered or deleted! -, without the need of a trusted single party to verify the integrity of said data.

Even with today's computing power, a cryptographically signed block is (almost) impossible to hack. If that became possible, which isn't the case currently, not only could funds be taken from a wallet as private keys could be computed matching their public key counterparts, but also previously stored transactions could be altered; like robbing a bank's funds and the entire bank itself. Regarding ongoing developments on quantum computing, at the same time cryptographical innovations are being developed to make blockchains and therefore cryptocurrencies "quantum resistant", thus solving this potential future computing blockchain security problem.

Blockchain

A "blockchain" can best be described as a "ledger", in its purest form "distributed" / "decentralized", which consists of "immutable" (= cannot be changed) data, which is grouped into an interconnected chain of digital "blocks" (packages). The individual blocks together form a "chain" using cryptographic signatures, which are validated - depending on the various blockchain protocols -, by block producers, witnesses and miners. Because the data stored into each blockchain block is cryptographically secured, in case a blockchain is publicly accessible (which most well-known blockchains are, like for example Bitcoin, Ethereum, Steem, Bitshares, et cetera) then anybody is able to access and validate that the specific data they're interested in, is indeed valid.

This fundamental characteristic, of cryptographically signing and validating data which is, once confirmed on the blockchain, preserved in an immutable state, allows for the storing and transferring of data and value without the need for a centralized trusted entity, like for example a bank in the traditional world of finance.

And therefore a specific goal of blockchain technology is to allow the recording of and adding to of new information to the blockchain, as well as the ability to read said information from the blockchain, but NOT to edit or delete information which was recorded before. A blockchain can be compared to a database, but a "normal database" has so-called "CRUD" operations (CREATE, READ, UPDATE, DELETE) where a blockchain CANNOT update nor delete.

Block Rewards

A block reward is the (financial) compensation given to a miner / block producer / witness in exchange for successfully producing or hashing a blockchain block. Depending on the specific blockchain and cryptocurrency, block rewards consist of newly created tokens and/or transaction fees. Also dependent on the consensus protocol used per blockchain, the amount of block rewards a miner / block producer / witness varies among different block producers on the same blockchain. On the Bitcoin blockchain for example, the daily block rewards for a given miner largely depend on the miner's computing / hashing power. On the Steem blockchain for example, where blocks are produced by witnesses, the amount of daily (block) producer rewards one witness receives, depends almost entirely on how much stake-weighed votes from Steem Power holders said witness receives as compared to other witnesses. The top 20 most voted-on "consensus" witnesses are able to produce the most blocks every day, and hence they earn many more tokens daily than a non-consensus witness earns per day.