Faucet
A website or application that distributes small amounts of cryptocurrency for free, typically used for testing or introducing newcomers to crypto.
Mike Starr
Founder, CryptoWizardTools · M.S. Organizational Management
Last reviewed: August 2026
Related Terms
Cold Storage
Keeping cryptocurrency private keys entirely offline to protect them from online hacks. Cold storage methods include hardware wallets and paper wallets, and are recommended for long-term holders of large amounts.
Gwei
A unit of ether equal to 0.000000001 ETH (one billionth of an ETH). Gas prices on Ethereum are commonly quoted in gwei. A gas price of 20 gwei means 0.00000002 ETH per gas unit.
Fiat Currency
Money issued by a government that is not backed by a physical commodity like gold. Examples include the US Dollar, Euro, and British Pound. In crypto, fiat is often used as the starting point to buy digital assets.
Hash Function
A mathematical algorithm that converts any input data into a fixed-length output string called a hash. Hash functions are one-way — you can't reverse-engineer the input from the output. They are fundamental to blockchain security and data integrity.
Sidechain
A separate blockchain that runs in parallel to a main blockchain and is connected to it by a two-way bridge. Sidechains can have their own consensus rules and are used to offload transactions and enable features not possible on the main chain.