Glossary
Quick reference guide for Namada terminology.
Core Concepts
MASP Multi-Asset Shielded Pool. The unified pool where all shielded assets share anonymity.
NAM Native token of Namada used for staking, governance, and transaction fees.
Shielded Private transactions where amounts, senders, and recipients are hidden.
Transparent Public transactions where all details are visible on the blockchain.
zk-SNARK Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge. Cryptographic proof system for privacy.
Transactions
Shielding Moving assets from transparent to shielded state within MASP.
Unshielding Moving assets from shielded pool back to transparent state.
Gas Computational cost unit for executing transactions.
IBC Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol for cross-chain transfers.
Staking & Validation
Validator Node operator who proposes and validates blocks.
Delegation Assigning staking power to a validator without transferring tokens.
Epoch Time period for staking rewards distribution.
Slashing Penalty for validator misbehavior reducing staked tokens.
Cubic Slashing Namada mechanism where penalties increase cubically with misbehaving stake.
Unbonding Process of withdrawing staked tokens with a waiting period.
Governance
Proposal On-chain request submitted for community voting.
PGF Public Goods Funding mechanism for community projects.
Governance System for protocol decisions through voting.
Network & Infrastructure
Block Collection of transactions added to the blockchain.
CometBFT Consensus engine used by Namada for fast finality.
Node Computer running Namada software participating in the network.
Mainnet Production blockchain with real value transactions.
Testnet Test network for development without real assets.
BFT Byzantine Fault Tolerance allowing operation despite node failures.
Privacy
Privacy Set Group of participants whose transactions mix together.
Zero-Knowledge Proof Proof of knowledge without revealing the information itself.
Asset Any token held or transferred on Namada.
Wallets
Wallet Software storing cryptographic keys for asset management.
Keplr Popular browser wallet supporting Cosmos chains.
Block Explorer Web application for viewing blockchain data.