DeReticular Glossary
Accounts: (digital) representation of an end user’s set of claims, real or financial.
Application programming interface (API): a set of rules and specifications followed by software programs to communicate with each other, and an interface between different software programs that facilitates their interaction.
Atomic settlement: instant exchange of assets, such that the transfer of each occurs only upon transfer of the others.
Central bank public goods: goods and services provided by the central bank that serve the public interest, including payment infrastructures and trust in the currency.
Composability: the capacity to combine different components on a programmable platform.
Decentralized finance (DeFi): a set of activities across financial services built on permissionless DLT such as blockchains.
Digital wallet: an interface that allows users to make transfers or otherwise transact in digital money and assets. These interfaces are built on non-programmable platforms. Not to be confused with a token wallet.
Distributed ledger technology (DLT): a means of saving information through a distributed ledger, ie a repeated digital copy of data available at multiple locations.
Delivery versus payment (DvP): A settlement mechanism that links an asset transfer and a funds transfer in such a way as to ensure that delivery occurs if and only if the corresponding payment occurs.
End users: individuals, households, and firms that are not participants in a platform
Homomorphic encryption (HE): a technique that allows data to be encrypted in such a way that they can be processed by third parties without being decrypted.
Internet of Things: software, sensors, and network connectivity embedded in physical devices, buildings, and other items that enable those objects to: (i) collect and exchange data; and (ii) send, receive, and execute commands, including payments.
Market integrity: the prevention of illicit activities in the monetary system, such as money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as market manipulation.
Monetary system: the set of institutions and arrangements around monetary exchange. This consists of two components: money and payment systems.
Oracle: a service that provides outside (“off-chain”) information for use by smart contracts in a DLT system.
Programmability: a feature of programmable platforms and other technologies whereby actions can be programmed or automated.
Programmable platform: a technology-agnostic platform that includes a Turing machine with an execution environment and a ledger and governance rules.
Payment versus payment (PvP): a settlement mechanism that ensures that the final transfer of a payment in one currency occurs if and only if the final transfer of a payment in another currency or currency takes place.
Ramps: protocols that connect non-programmable platforms to programmable platforms. Ramps lock assets in their platform of origin as collateral for the tokens that are issued on the programmable platform.
Secure multi-party computation (SMPC): a cryptographic technique that allows multiple parties to jointly compute a function on their private data without revealing the data to each other.
Smart contract: self-executing applications of programmable platforms that can trigger an action if some pre-specified conditions are met.
Stablecoin: a cryptocurrency that aims to maintain a stable value relative to a specified asset, or a pool or basket of assets.
Token: a digital representation of value in a programmable platform. Tokens can be tokenized, ie derived from claims in traditional ledgers, or can be issued natively in the platform, ie “native” tokens.
Tokenization: the process of recording claims on real or financial assets that exist on a traditional ledger onto a programmable platform.
Tokenized asset: a digital representation of a claim of an asset in a programmable platform.
Tokenized deposit: a digital representation of a bank deposit in a programmable platform. A tokenized deposit represents a claim on a commercial bank, just like a regular deposit.