Blockchain for grannies

Explaining blockchain buzzwords to my grandmother

Into 3 categories: basics, intermediate & advanced.

Cryptocurrency: A type of money for the internet. A new form of money, like how we progressed from using sea shells to clunky metal coins to paper notes.
Bitcoin: One of the most popular type of cryptocurrency. Just like how we have SGD, RMB, EURO, and USD being one of the most popular.
Ethereum: The second most popular cryptocurrency. Instead of using it to transact, it's commonly used to execute rules (eg. legal contracts)
Blockchain: A system to store and stack information together in blocks. Imagine building a large lego car. Each lego forms a part of the car, and many legos stacked together will form the full structure.
Cryptography: A way to protect information for its intended recipient. Like how anyone can send letters to your mailbox, but only you have the keys to open and read your mail.
Mining: Like mining physical gold, its a process to "produce" new cryptocurrency
Initial Coin Offering (ICO): IPO for blockchain

Smart contracts: Most commonly linked to Ethereum. A contract that can be coded on the computer, and executes without anyone involved. Eg. To send $10 from person A to person B on Monday 5pm, the contract automatically enforces it.
Hashing: A mathematical formula to protect (encrypt) your information
Consensus mechanism: A way to allow people to reach a majority decision. Often linked to the Byzantine Generals Problem.
Forks: Occurs when there are more than 1 decision on the blockchain.
Automated market makers (AMM): Think of it as a robot that keeps quoting you the price between 2 assets
Synthetic assets: The equivalent of derivatives in the crypto world, basing value off underlying assets like gold or USD.
Cross-chain technology: A way for different blockchains to transact & interact with each other. Like a Google translate for people of 2 different languages to communicate.
Farming: Locking up your crypto to earn rewards. Like how you receive interest from your savings account.

Decentralised finance (DeFi): A way to create banks, brokerages, exchanges without anyone in charge, enforceable by smart contracts.
Non-fungible tokens (NFT): A way to verify ownership over digital goods. Like how you would receive a receipt after buying an item, it's a digital proof that you own things on the internet, for example a digital photo.
Decentralised exchanges (DEX): An exchange (eg. Nasdaq, SGX) that is automated and not managed by anyone
Initial Exchange Offering (IEO): Listing tokens on crypto exchanges
Initial DEX Offering (IDO): Listing tokens on decentralised exchanges
Liquidity Pools: Collection of funds locked in a smart contract, often used for trading or lending
Wrapped token: Wrapping an original token so that its compatible across different chains

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