Fair launch refers to the equitable and transparent initial distribution of coins in a blockchain project. Fair launches stand in contrast to a token distribution in which a small group of founders and early investors receive special or early access to the tokens. They are seen as an effective way to promote decentralization and engagement in the crypto community.

The Fair Sequencing Service (FSS) is a mechanism developed by the Chainlink data oracle platform that allows decentralized finance (DeFi) systems to reduce transaction ordering problems and costs. FSS streamlines the use of smart contracts on Layer-1 blockchains by allowing the Chainlink oracle network to order transactions — by using several oracle nodes to carry out the process instead of one — to a specific smart contract made up of user transactions and oracle reports. Chainlink's FSS stands to potentially further decentralize mining and transaction ordering in blockchain networks.

A Fan Token is a specialized token that runs on the Chiliz protocol that represents specific sports teams. Fan Tokens were created in unison with Chiliz' all-in-one rewards-based mobile application, Socios. Fan Tokens give Socios users the ability to vote on the proposals involving particular sports teams, such as design changes to uniforms, team matchups, and more. Socios voting is enabled via smart contracts that execute on the Chiliz blockchain. To obtain Fan Tokens, users must first purchase Chiliz (CHZ) tokens which can be exchanged to and from different Fan Tokens.

A Fan Token Offering (FTO) is a public sale of an organization’s Fan Tokens on Chiliz’ Socios platform. Prior to an FTO, the issuing organization — typically a popular sports team — decides the total fixed supply of their Fan Tokens and the token’s initial token sale price, denominated in Chiliz Tokens (CHZ). Prior to launching an FTO, Socios will publicly disclose all the essential information relevant to the token release, including the FTO’s start and end dates, the Fan Token’s opening price, and the fully diluted market cap. This helps users on the platform to make more informed investment decisions.

The Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM) is the Virtual Machine (VM) designed and built by the Fantom network that makes use of the Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerant (aBFT) consensus mechanism and the Fantom Opera chain to connect with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This is possible as a result of its capability to create smart contracts through Ethereum’s Solidity programming language.

Fast Byzantine Fault Tolerance (FBFT) is a consensus mechanism used on some Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains. A variation of Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (pBFT), FBFT has the block leader collect votes from validators using a multi-signature signing process in lieu of asking all validators to broadcast their vote (as done on pBFT chains). This allows FBFT to be “faster” and more scalable than pBFT consensus-based chains. While pBFT works well with distributed networks, many consider FBFT more robust for decentralized networks like blockchains as it allows nodes to sync using a local clock and the last block’s timestamp.

The fast exit problem is an issue that banking, blockchain, and other computing networks may encounter when users attempt to withdraw their funds, resulting in a multi-day waiting period for funds to exit. This issue can result in substantial loss of time, capital, and business efficiency for governments, large enterprises, and other constituents. Retail investors and institutional investment firms also face numerous financial and investment challenges related to the same issue. At this time, there are several blockchain systems and other types of computing infrastructure building new frameworks to attempt to eliminate this problem.

These web-based services generally supply testnet coins or devnet coins from people or organizations who own surpluses that they’re willing to part with — usually for free. Some faucets may even release coins from a main blockchain protocol that have real-world monetary value.

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), in the context of blockchain or general finance, is an acronym that refers to the feeling of regret or apprehension for missing out on a specific investment opportunity after the price of a stock, cryptocurrency, or other asset substantially rises in price during a short time period. FOMO can also have a general meaning that stems from a person’s belief that they may miss out on an activity they really wanted to participate in while their friends or loved ones are enjoying themselves without them being present.

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a term commonly used in the context of blockchain or general finance. It signifies that overall market sentiment is fearful, uncertain, and doubtful. FUD generally increases among market participants when a large drop in a number of stocks or an entire stock market takes place. In relation to blockchain, FUD is typically very high when the price of bitcoin (BTC) drops significantly during a very short period of time, which typically brings the rest of the cryptocurrency market down in price with it.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent federal agency in the US that insures deposits in financial institutions, acting as a guarantor in the event of an institution failing. The FDIC was created in the 1933 Banking Act to restore faith in banks during the Great Depression. Its ongoing purpose is to foster confidence in financial institutions.

A federated blockchain, commonly known as a consortium blockchain, is a private blockchain network managed by multiple entities wherein each participant retains special privileges. Controlling entities typically participate in the consensus process as a transaction validator (by hosting a node or several nodes) and have permissions to view certain types of data, often via specialized authentication systems. Consortium blockchains are a less decentralized digital ledger technology (DLT) that maintains some benefits of distributed systems for use cases like enterprise and government.

Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) is a consensus method developed and deployed by the Stellar blockchain protocol. It operates through a system of federated voting wherein nodes deem other nodes trustworthy until a quorum is achieved, and network consensus is solidified.

Fiat-backed stablecoins are digital assets pegged to the value of an underlying fiat currency at a 1:1 ratio, and are built to reduce the volatility commonly associated with digital assets. Stablecoins not only serve as a store of value and an investment hedge, but simplify engagement in on-chain endeavors like decentralized finance. The fiat currency which serves as collateral to a stablecoin — the most common being USD — is held off-chain, which requires users to trust that the fiat reserves are properly managed and audited.

A fiat off-ramp is an exchange or similar service that allows for digital assets like securities and cryptocurrencies to be exchanged for fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. Off-ramps are a software-based service built by a financial service provider, usually with a banking license to legally operate in their specific jurisdiction. A fiat off-ramp enables users who have purchased cryptocurrencies to convert their digital assets back into fiat currencies.

A fiat on-ramp is an exchange or similar service that allows for digital assets like securities and cryptocurrencies to be exchanged for fiat currency like the US dollar. On-ramps are a software-based service built by a financial service provider, usually with a banking license to legally operate in their specific jurisdiction. A fiat on-ramp is the first step in exchanging or trading cryptocurrencies for many users who first purchase digital assets with fiat currency.

The Fibonacci ratio (also called the “golden ratio”) describes predictable balancing patterns in elements found throughout nature, including atoms. It is named after Leonardo Fibonacci who lived around 1200 AD and is credited with discovering the ratio. In the Fibonacci sequence, each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.). Four main techniques are used to apply the Fibonacci sequence to finance: retracements, arcs, fans, and time zones.

A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) miner is a crypto miner that uses an FPGA to mine cryptocurrency. It’s “field-programmable” in the sense that it can be customized by the customer upon delivery by setting up its gate array (a set of logic gates) and installing or designing bespoke software. Once configured, FPGA miners tend to be more powerful and efficient than graphics processor unit (GPU) miners — and are more flexible than the mining algorithm-specific and unalterable application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners. However, FPGA miners tend to require more technical know-how than other mining rig options.

The Filecoin (FIL) base of 2,000,000,000 FIL coins is the maximum number that will ever exist and is known as FIL_BASE. 55% of the FIL_BASE is allocated to storage mining, 15% is allocated to a mining reserve, and the remaining 30% is allocated to various other developmental projects. Filecoin’s coin allocation methodology intends to ensure the growth of both long-term and short-term network participation, while applying counter-pressure to mitigate FIL supply shocks.

Filecoin is an open-source, cloud-based Decentralized Storage Network (DSN) built to maximize data storage and retrieval. The Filecoin network leverages a mining, storage, and retrieval mechanism that connects storage miners (providers) and retrieval miners (servers) with clients who pay to store and retrieve data. Network participants receive and send tokenized rewards in the form of Filecoin coins (FIL) for providing services on the network.

Finality is a blockchain state (or status) that occurs after a blockchain transaction has been confirmed and can no longer be canceled, reversed, or altered by any of the network participants. The finality rate is the amount of time it takes to reach a finality state after a transaction is executed. This rate can be measured in seconds or blocks, depending on the blockchain in question, as well as on the context in which this term is applied.

Settlement finality is the process whereby a transaction is absolute and confirmed by a blockchain network protocol. Before settlement finality is achieved, the transaction remains pending and may not be considered completed. Rapid and broad settlement finality is necessary to achieve high throughput scalability on a blockchain, the achievement of which remains pivotal to the widespread applicability of decentralized tech for global enterprise use.

Financial inclusion refers to the accessibility and equality of financial services like banking, loans, equity, and insurance services. Successful financial inclusion is measured by the availability of affordable and timely access to these types of services.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization. It is responsible for writing rules governing brokers and broker-dealer firms in the US. Although it has regulatory powers, it is not officially part of the US government, and exists as an independent NGO. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversees FINRA.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Rule 3310 established minimum standards for broker-dealers' Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance programs. It requires firms to develop and implement a written AML compliance program which must then be approved by FINRA. Firms must also provide annual (on a calendar-year basis) independent testing for compliance that is conducted by member personnel or by a qualified outside party.

The Financial Information eXchange (FIX) is a communication protocol for the real-time exchange of securities transaction information that provides direct market access (DMA) data to financial service entities. The FIX serves approximately 300 financial institutions, including all major investment banks. It has become the de-facto standard for pre-trade, trade, and post-trade communications.

A financial instrument is any type of financial asset or contract that can be traded and exchanged between different types of network participants. Normally, financial instruments include derivatives (such as futures and options contracts), securities (stocks and equities), cryptocurrencies, commodities (such as gold and silver), fiat currencies (via forex trading), and debt instruments such as bonds or loans, among other asset types. Financial instruments are typically traded on a stock exchange, through a stock broker, or via an asset exchange.

A security is a fungible investment instrument that is offered with some kind of financial value. A security can be a physical or digital asset, while examples include stocks, bonds, and options. The definition and subsequent regulation of some cryptocurrencies as a security is an emerging legislative factor in many jurisdictions.

Financial technology (FinTech) is an emerging industry that improves the existing structure of conventional financial services by leveraging new technological developments. FinTech generally aims to lower costs, improve transaction times, remove minimum thresholds, bolster financial inclusion, and offer more flexible terms on financial products among other initiatives. Blockchain and cryptocurrency can be considered a category within the FinTech sphere.

Art began to be distinguished as “fine” or “high” during the Italian Renaissance. The adjective “fine” has nothing to do with the quality of an art object, but rather reflects the aesthetics of the Renaissance. Fine art exists for the sake of itself and its beauty, not its utility. Prior to this period, art was generally decorative, and applied to household objects.

A finite-state machine is a computational system that can only exist in exactly one state — out of a finite number of states — at any given time. Finite-state machines operate by reading a series of inputs and then switching to a new state, one that corresponds with a function of its most recent input and current state. All conventional computing devices are physical representations of finite-state machines.

A Finney attack is an attack where a miner pre-mines a transaction into a block from one wallet to another. Then, they use the first wallet to make a second transaction and broadcast the pre-mined block which has the first transaction. This requires a very specific sequence to work. This is only possible if the receiver of the transaction accepts an unconfirmed transaction.

A firewall is a computer-based network security system that filters and monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security parameters. A firewall is a security mechanism that establishes a barrier between a trusted network and an untrusted network like the Internet. Firewalls can be very elementary, or very complex and expensive to construct, depending on the needs of the use case in question.

First-mover advantage (FMA) is a classification given to a company that provides a product or service prior to any of its future competitors. Being a first-mover generally allows a company to establish and maintain a strong brand, customer loyalty, and large market share before other potential competitors. First-movers tend to benefit from additional time to perfect their business model, product and service offerings, and much more. Amazon and eBay are examples of large enterprises that benefited greatly from becoming first-movers in their respective industries.

A fiscal crisis results when a state or government experiences a deficit between its expenditures and revenues. Fiscal crises tend to entail an economic dimension as well as a political dimension. They are often referred to as a budget deficit.

A fiscal policy is a financial policy implemented by a government to adjust its spending and tax rates to monitor and influence a nation’s economy. Fiscal policies usually work hand-in-hand with monetary policies and a central bank to adjust a nation’s money supply. Both of these strategies work together to provide the necessary means to shape a nation's economy in the short, medium, and long term.

Fishermen is a technical term used within the Polkadot blockchain protocol to refer to full nodes that are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the network and nodes. The job of fishermen is to monitor the Relay Chain and other parts of the protocol to pinpoint and report unwanted behavior to validator nodes. Rather than packaging state transitions and producing the next parachain blocks like Polkadot collators, fishermen monitor the process to make sure that no invalid state transactions are included. Fishermen typically stake a small amount of DOT initially, and are rewarded upon identifying unwanted behavior on the network.

Fixed supply means that the supply, or total quantity of an asset, is constant and does not change. When an asset has a fixed supply — like the fixed supply of 21 million bitcoin (BTC), for example — then the only factor involved in fluctuating its price is demand. The supply of an asset is related to the price elasticity of an asset, or the responsiveness of the amount of goods or services needed to change its price. When an asset has a fixed supply, then the elasticity of an asset is said to be zero.

In technical analysis, a flag pattern is a formation that is defined by a strong countertrend (the flag) following the short-lived price trend (the flag pole). Flags typically move in the opposite direction of the prevailing price trend, meaning that if the chart is bullish, a bear flag may occur. In contrast, if the chart initially is bearish, a bull flag formation can occur. Flags generally signify a trend reversal or breakout after a period of sideways price consolidation, and are often accompanied by price action and related volume indicators.

A Flash Loan is a type of DeFi loan that is rapidly executed — borrowed and paid back in quick succession — without the need for collateral. An experimental technology offered by the Aave platform, Flash Loans are made possible because of how data is recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. If the principal and interest are not repaid within one Ethereum transaction, the Flash Loan is effectively reversed.

Flexa is a New York City-based company that manages a blockchain-based payment network, the Flex Network Protocol, which allows users to spend crypto at brick and mortar retailers through its Spedn app. The app generates a QR code at checkout, which retailers scan to instantly receive their preferred fiat for the transaction, while the equivalent amount of crypto is deducted from users' wallets within the app. Instant payments are made possible through the use of the network’s native token AMP.

A payment network that allows users to spend crypto at brick-and-mortar retail stores. Flexacoin (FXC) is the digital asset token used to collateralize payments on the Flexa Network, helping to enhance transaction speed and security.

The flippening refers to the hypothetical moment in time when the total market cap of Ethereum might surpass the total market cap of Bitcoin. The flippening has been hypothesized for many years, and may or may not come to fruition, however, many experts believe the flippening could occur in the mid 2020s because of Ethereum's far-reaching smart contract, decentralized finance (DeFi), and yield farming applications.

Flipping is an investment strategy that denotes buying an investment product like an asset, stock, or cryptocurrency that is then sold shortly afterwards to generate a quick profit. The general term “flipping” can be used in many contexts, such as buying and selling a home to make a substantial profit in a short amount of time. As it relates to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), flipping typically refers to the strategy of buying tokens prior to an exchange listing and selling them shortly after they are first listed for a substantial profit.

Built by Dapper Labs — the company behind non-fungible-token-based digital consumer collectible phenomena such as CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot — Flow is a blockchain designed to support consumer collectible ecosystems for collectibles, games, and related consumer applications.

Forex is a portmanteau that combines the terms “foreign currency” and “exchange' that is used to define the entire foreign currency exchange market. The Forex currency trading market is a global and largely over-the-counter (OTC) market that determines currency foreign exchange rates and facilitates all aspects of buying, selling, and exchanging currencies at spot or agreed upon prices.

Forging refers to the creation or minting of new blocks in blockchain protocols using the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. When a new block is forged, there is an opportunity to receive a reward from the fees associated with each transaction included in the block. Blocks are forged after the transactions are validated and the block is signed. Different PoS networks have varying rules regarding their respective requirements to take part in the validation and forging process.

A fork occurs when one blockchain is divided into two blockchains. This type of split in a blockchain network happens when an update is made to the blockchain protocol, but not all of the network participant nodes agree to adopt it. Blockchains can experience two main types of forks: a soft fork or a hard fork. Soft forks result in an update that is “backwards compatible.” This means that nodes which accept the update are still capable of interacting with nodes which do not. In a hard fork, the update significantly alters the original blockchain protocol such that the two versions are no longer compatible with one another. The result of a hard fork is two unique blockchains that diverge after the hard fork event.

Form 10-K is a financial report that publicly traded companies are required to file annually by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The report provides a comprehensive summary of a company's financial performance over the course of the past year.

Form 10-Q is a financial report that publicly traded companies are required to file quarterly by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It contains similar information to the annual 10-K form, although generally less detailed and unaudited. Information regarding the prior fiscal quarter is included in the end-of-year 10-K form, so only three 10-Q forms are generally required to be submitted for the year.

Formal verification refers to mathematically proving and verifying a smart contract to ensure that it will function as intended. The use of mathematical functions to build the software allows for the mathematical verification of new code before it is added. Formal verification is a cornerstone of cryptography.

The fractional ownership of assets refers to owning a portion of an asset represented through the process of tokenization. Tokens are fully divisible, meaning they can be multiplied or divided into very large or small amounts. This characteristic allows a user to potentially purchase a very large or very small amount of a specific asset like bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH). For example, it is possible for an investor to purchase a few cents' worth of a tokenized asset (such as a house, car, or painting), or millions of dollars worth of the same asset. The value of tokenized assets can be classified in several ways, most commonly in the equivalent value of the asset in a fiat currency.

Framework for Runtime Aggregation of Modularized Entities (FRAME) is a runtime framework used by the Substrate application and blockchain development paradigm, which was created and designed by Polkadot. FRAME is a set of modules and software libraries that simplify runtime development. Within Substrate, these modules are called pallets and they host the domain-specific logic needed to allow a blockchain’s runtime system to operate.

A fraud proof is a technical mechanism that operates as a bond when employed in decentralized application (dApp) ecosystems that make use of Optimistic Rollups (ORs), which are sidechains that seek to decrease the fees and latency dApps might experience on a blockchain platform. A sequencer, which is responsible for processing ORs, must include a fraud proof along with their work to incentivize good performance. Sequencers are financially rewarded for processing rollups according to consensus rules, and financially punished by forfeiting their fraud proof when they break them.

The front-end of a computer system or network refers to the portion of the system that is displayed on the user’s screen or graphical user interface (GUI). Front-end developers normally make use of various programming languages like Java, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS along with other tools to create the front-end, or application layer of a computer system. In contrast, the back-end is the portion of the website or system that facilitates the operational efficiency of the system and is considered the opposite of the front-end.

Front-end software development is the process of creating computerized systems that are displayed on the screen, or graphical user interface (GUI), of a website or application to allow users to interact with it. Front-end developers normally make use of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), JavaScript, and other mediums to create a website’s front-end. They might also create systems for other layers including application programming interfaces (APIs) and various servers and databases.

Frontier was the name given to the first version of the Ethereum mainnet, which launched in July of 2015 and made use of a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. Frontier was a fairly bare-bones structure that got the network off the ground. It provided a command line interface to mine ether (ETH), and upload and execute smart contracts — nothing more. The initial launch of Frontier and the Ethereum network took place between the initial founding of Ethereum in 2013 and its subsequent mainnet launch in 2015.

A process prohibited by many platforms and jurisdictions, frontrunning is when an investor enters into an equity trade, derivative, option, futures contract, or security-based swap in order to profit in advance of the trade by obtaining non-public knowledge of a large pending order to in turn purchase a substantial amount of an asset — dramatically impacting the asset’s price. Frontrunning, also known as tailgating, is usually considered a form of insider trading or market manipulation that is illegal in many jurisdictions.

FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2017 by CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and CTO Gary Wang. FTX is designed for both retail and institutional investors, and offers many unique derivatives trading and investment opportunities.

A full domain hash (FDH) signature is a cryptographic signature mechanism that makes use of the hash-and-sign paradigm. FDH signatures leverage Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) public key cryptography and are provably secure using the random oracle model. FDH signatures are part of a group of standardized signatures that are widely used in public key cryptography.

Full stack software engineer is a term used to describe the capabilities and skill set of a software developer. A full stack developer is a computer scientist who is able to program all of the different components of a software implementation (e.g., database, server, operating system, application, and middleware). Full stack developers are able to build both the back-end (the innermost working components of the system) and front-end (the components that make up what the user sees on their screen) of a computer or software system using different programming languages and other tools.

Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) is a form of encryption used in computer science that allows users to perform computations on data without first decrypting it. Decrypting sensitive data makes it susceptible to potential privacy and confidentiality breaches that could result in data theft and misuse by malicious third-party actors. FHE mitigates this problem and can be used for many purposes in the blockchain ecosystem, including the preservation of sensitive healthcare data, privacy-preserving outsourced storage and computation via cloud computing environments, and related technology. FHE often works in unison with Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMC) and other privacy-preserving cryptographic primitives.

A functional programming language is a programming language that employs mathematical functions to determine the behavior of a program. They stand in contrast to imperative programming languages, in which software coding is executed as a set of stepwise instructions. Some advantages of functional programming languages include the mathematical precision and verifiability of the code, as well as the resulting security and speed.

A fund is a pool of money that is set aside for a specific purpose and usually invested. Funds are often managed by professional financiers. Common funds include pension funds, insurance funds, foundations, and endowments.

Fundamental analysis (FA) is an investment analysis method employed by traders and investors to evaluate the intrinsic value of an asset — and then determine if it is currently undervalued or overvalued. FA can include the examination of microeconomic factors such as current economic conditions, market trends, or industry comparison, as well as analysis of the team behind a company or asset itself. Fundamental analysis contrasts with the other major method of market analysis, technical analysis (TA), which examines price, volume, and other technical indicators.

A Fund of Funds (FOF) – or multi-manager investment — is a pooled investment fund (made up of several mutual funds, hedge funds, private equities, and investment trusts) that is used to achieve wide diversification and proper asset allocation of investments in numerous fund categories within a single portfolio. These holdings can replace direct investing in stocks, bonds, or other security or investment types. FOF are generally classified as either “fettered,” meaning that they can invest only in funds managed by the same investment firm, or “unfettered,” meaning that they are able to invest in external funds run by other asset management firms.

Fungibility is the attribute of being mutually interchangeable. Fungibility occurs when a good, asset, or units of an asset are indistinguishable from each other, and so can be interchanged with each other. For instance, one US dollar is equivalent to any other US dollar, and is therefore fungible. Fungibility makes an asset useful as a currency or payment method.

Futures are derivative contracts for the purchase or sale of a security or commodity at a future date and at a pre-set price. The buyer has the obligation to buy the underlying asset at the expiration date, while the seller has the obligation to sell the underlying at the expiration date. The value of the contract is based on an agreed upon underlying trait of assets like commodities, currencies, indexes, or stocks. Futures contracts are traded on exchanges, and they serve a variety of purposes, from income generation to hedging to speculation. There are a variety of cryptocurrency applications, including bitcoin futures, which represent agreements to trade bitcoin at a future date at a predetermined price.