Glossary
Terms, slang and memes from crypto and the TON ecosystem
Address
termThe unique identifier of an account or contract on a blockchain.
ADNL
termAbstract Datagram Network Layer — TON's low-level peer-to-peer protocol.
AMM
termAutomated Market Maker — algorithmic pricing through a liquidity pool.
Block
termA group of transactions finalized by validators and chained to the previous block.
BoC
termBag of Cells — the binary serialization format for structured data and smart contracts in TON.
CEX
termCentralized exchange — custodial exchange (Binance, OKX, Bybit).
DAO
termDecentralized Autonomous Organization — on-chain governance via token-holder voting.
DeFi
termDecentralized Finance — financial services (exchanges, loans, derivatives) without intermediaries.
DEX
termDecentralized exchange — token swaps via smart contracts, no intermediary.
Finality
termThe guarantee that a transaction cannot be reverted.
Gas fee
termThe cost of computation and storage paid by the transaction sender.
Hash
termA one-way function that maps data of any size into a fixed-length code.
Jetton
termThe fungible token standard on TON (the equivalent of ERC-20 on Ethereum).
Mainnet
termThe production network of a blockchain with real assets.
Masterchain
termTON's coordinating chain: stores network config and finalizes all workchains.
Nominator
termA delegator who stakes TON via a nominator pool without running a validator node.
Private key
termThe secret key that signs transactions; whoever holds it owns the funds.
SBT
termSoulbound Token — an NFT that cannot be transferred, permanently tied to its wallet.
Shardchain
termA subchain of a workchain serving a slice of accounts; scales via automatic split/merge.
Smart contract
termA program that lives and executes inside a blockchain.
Stablecoin
termA token pegged to a fiat currency — most often USD (USDT, USDC, DAI).
Telegram Mini App
termA web app that runs inside the Telegram client via WebView with TG-native UI.
Telegram Stars
termTelegram's internal currency for paying for digital goods in Mini Apps and subscriptions.
TEP
termTON Enhancement Proposal — the formal specification for a TON-ecosystem standard.
Testnet
termA blockchain's test network for developers; tokens have no real value.
TVL
termTotal Value Locked — total USD value of assets in a DeFi protocol.
TVM
termTON Virtual Machine — the stack machine that executes smart contracts on the TON network.
Workchain
termA logical child network inside TON with its own rules and validator set.