Reference
Glossary
The language of markets, defined plainly — the terms our coverage uses and what they actually mean.
B
- Bear Market
- A prolonged period of falling prices, conventionally a decline of 20% or more from a recent high. Like a bull market, it is a descriptive label rather than a precise measurement.
- Bitcoin
- The first cryptocurrency, launched in 2009, running on a proof-of-work blockchain with a supply capped at 21 million coins and issuance that halves roughly every four years.
- Blockchain
- A shared record of transactions maintained by many independent computers, where each block of entries is cryptographically linked to the one before it. Rewriting history therefore requires redoing everything after the change.
- Bond
- A loan to a government or company that pays interest and returns the principal at maturity. Bondholders rank ahead of shareholders if the issuer fails.
- Bridge
- A system for moving value between blockchains, typically locking an asset on one chain and issuing a representation on another.