GLOSSARY
ADDRESS
A Bitcoin address is similar to a physical address or an email. It is the only information you need to provide for someone to pay you with Bitcoin. An important difference, however, is that each address should only be used for a single transaction.
ANTICOPY PATTERN
An image constructed of parallel and multidirectional fine lines or raster units. The pattern parameters (direction, width of strokes and the distance among them) impedes reproduction of the images by copying equipment which can be seen as moire or a darker (lighter) text compared with the background.
BIT
Bit is a common unit used to designate a sub-unit of a bitcoin - 1,000,000 bits is equal to 1 bitcoin (BTC). This unit is usually more convenient for pricing tips, goods and services.
BITCOIN
Bitcoin - with capitalization, is used when describing the concept of Bitcoin, or the entire network itself. e.g. "I was learning about the Bitcoin protocol today." bitcoin - without capitalization, is used to describe bitcoins as a unit of account. e.g. "I sent ten bitcoins today."; it is also often abbreviated BTC or XBT.
BLIND EMBOSSING
A colourless relief image applied on a coloured or unstamped area of the banknote by pressure or heating which deform the substrate. It is a palpable image used both in paper and polymer banknotes (fig. 1); is visible under oblique light. A coloured image gradually transforming into blind embossing is a more intricate security feature.
BLOCKCHAIN
The block chain is a public record of Bitcoin transactions in chronological order. The block chain is shared between all Bitcoin users. It is used to verify the permanence of Bitcoin transactions and to prevent double spending.
BLOCK
A block is a record in the block chain that contains and confirms many waiting transactions. Roughly every 10 minutes, on average, a new block including transactions is appended to the block chain through mining.
BTC
BTC is a common unit used to designate one bitcoin.
CONFIRMATION
Confirmation means that a transaction has been processed by the network and is highly unlikely to be reversed. Transactions receive a confirmation when they are included in a block and for each subsequent block. Even a single confirmation can be considered secure for low value transactions, although for larger amounts like $1000 USD, it makes sense to wait for 6 confirmations or more. Each confirmation exponentially decreases the risk of a reversed transaction.
CRYPTOGRAPHY
Cryptography is the branch of mathematics that lets us create mathematical proofs that provide high levels of security. Online commerce and banking already uses cryptography. In the case of Bitcoin, cryptography is used to make it impossible for anybody to spend funds from another user's wallet or to corrupt the block chain. It can also be used to encrypt a wallet, so that it cannot be used without a password.
DOUBLE SPEND
If a malicious user tries to spend their bitcoins to two different recipients at the same time, this is double spending. Bitcoin mining and the block chain are there to create a consensus on the network about which of the two transactions will confirm and be considered valid.
GUILLOCHE
An intricate geometrical pattern formed by superposition of several relatively simple fine curved lines, constructed according to certain mathematical laws. A similar guilloche cannot be constructed without these mathematical laws. Guilloche designs form rosettes, frames, borders, vignettes and other images, as well as the elements of background patterns. A pattern can consist of either negative or positive lines.
HASH RATE
The hash rate is the measuring unit of the processing power of the Bitcoin network. The Bitcoin network must make intensive mathematical operations for security purposes. When the network reached a hash rate of 10 Th/s, it meant it could make 10 trillion calculations per second.
HOLOGRAM / KINEGRAM
A diffractive optically variable device. The holographic image is formed by diffraction and refraction of light on gratings and changes at different angles of illumination and observation.
INTAGLIO
A printing technique from a plate, where printing elements are incised into the surface. Spacing elements are above the printing ones. A viscous ink fills in the recessed areas of the printing plate and is transferred to the substrate under high pressure (80–100 kg/cm2). The pressure forces the substrate into the recessed areas.
Characteristic features of the prints:
- a thick ink layer which produces relief;
- a wide range of tone transfers due to different
depth and width of strokes;
- substrate deformation (inward bulging from reverse side);
ink creeping between paper fibers at strokes edges.
Polymer banknotes may not have ink creeping.
IRIDESCENT INK
A semi-transparent ink with a nacreous glitter. It contains transparent pigments consisting of tiny mica scales covered with a thin film. The pigments cause interference of incident light and produces the colour changing effect, when changing the angle of view or entrance. The iridescent element is not seen at right angles.
LATENT IMAGE
An image formed by the parallel lines printed at an angle to the lines of the background. Usually printed by offset. The printing technique and colours of the image and the background are integral and the image in indistinguishable by the naked eye.
LETTERPRESS
A printing technique, in which the ink is printed on the substrate from a printing plate with printing elements raised above spacing elements.
Since printing is carried out under high pressure (15 kg/cm2), the prints have the following characteristic features:
-uneven ink distribution in the strokes: less in the middle than along the edges;
-a rim formed by the ink along the edges of a stroke (“beaded edges”)
-substrate deformation (protuberance on the back side of the print; inward bulging on the front side of the print).
Letterpress printing is often used for printing serial numbers and bar-codes on the banknotes.
LITHOGRAPHY
A printing technique, in which printing and spacing elements are located almost in the same plane. The inks are transferred to the substrate directly from the printing plate. Printing and spacing elements are separated due to different physicochemical properties: the printing element of the plate takes the form of the ink but repels water, while spacing elements receive water, get moistened and repel water.
The characteristic features of the prints:
-absence of relief;
-even saturation and density of the ink along the surface;
-slightly blurred contours, thin strokes are broken.
MICROPRINTING
A printed image (usually repeated words, numbers of texts) 0,15–0,3 mm high. It is visible only with magnifying devices; can be perceived with the naked eye as a thin continuous line.
Classification:
-positive microprinting consists of dark letters on a light background;
-negative microprinting consists of light letters on a dark background;
-reversed (turned out) microprinting changes gradually from negative to positive and vise versa.
MINING
Bitcoin mining is the process of making computer hardware do mathematical calculations for the Bitcoin network to confirm transactions and increase security. As a reward for their services, Bitcoin miners can collect transaction fees for the transactions they confirm, along with newly created bitcoins. Mining is a specialized and competitive market where the rewards are divided up according to how much calculation is done. Not all Bitcoin users do Bitcoin mining, and it is not an easy way to make money.
OPTICALLY VARIABLE INK (OVI)
OVI – Optically Variable Ink.
An ink, containing optically variable pigments which change colour depending on the angle of light incidence and view. Applied by intaglio or screen printing.
It is important for colours to be contrasting and easily distinguishable.
ORLOV EFFECT
A method of multi-color printing, in which:
1.the composition form picks up the ink from multiple line block plates;
2.the colours are transferred to the banknote substrate in one rotation.
The print is characterized by perfect registration of colours without breaking and shifting
P2P
Peer-to-peer refers to systems that work like an organized collective by allowing each individual to interact directly with the others. In the case of Bitcoin, the network is built in such a way that each user is broadcasting the transactions of other users. And, crucially, no bank is required as a third party.
PRIVATE KEY
A private key is a secret piece of data that proves your right to spend bitcoins from a specific wallet through a cryptographic signature. Your private key(s) are stored in your computer if you use a software wallet; they are stored on some remote servers if you use a web wallet. Private keys must never be revealed as they allow you to spend bitcoins for their respective Bitcoin wallet.
RAINBOW PRINTING
A printing technique, in which two or more inks are applied on one printing plate. During the printing process, the inks are mixed, which results in the formation of intervening tints with smooth colour transitions among the main colours of the image, avoiding breaks and displacements.
SCREEN PRINTING
A printing technique, which enables to obtain an image by pushing the ink through the printing plate. The printing form is a frame with a stretched silk or nylon gauze on it. The image is transferred to the gauze by means of a photographic process. A wiping blade, called a squeegee, pushes the thick ink through the gauze and creates a printed image. The spacing elements are covered with a layer, which does not let the ink. The printing elements are open.
Characteristics of a print:
-the subsrate is not deformed;
-a thick ink layer;
-zigzag edges of the image;
-the mesh structure of the image;
-absence of thin strokes.
SEE-THROUGH REGISTER
An image, a part of which is printed on one side of a banknote and the other part on the other side of a banknote. When the banknote is viewed against light, both parts match up and create a complete image. This can only be carried out on a simultaneous press and cannot be done on printing equipment used in usual polygraphy.
The image should not have any gaps or shifts and can only be seen in transmitted light.
SIGNATURE
A cryptographic signature is a mathematical mechanism that allows someone to prove ownership. In the case of Bitcoin, a Bitcoin wallet and its private key(s) are linked by some mathematical magic. When your Bitcoin software signs a transaction with the appropriate private key, the whole network can see that the signature matches the bitcoins being spent. However, there is no way for the world to guess your private key to steal your hard-earned bitcoins.
WALLET
A Bitcoin wallet is loosely the equivalent of a physical wallet on the Bitcoin network. The wallet actually contains your private key(s) which allow you to spend the bitcoins allocated to it in the block chain. Each Bitcoin wallet can show you the total balance of all bitcoins it controls and lets you pay a specific amount to a specific person, just like a real wallet. This is different to credit cards where you are charged by the merchant.