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Onchain Economics
Infrastructure

Private Key

A secret cryptographic key that proves ownership and enables signing transactions for a blockchain address.

In-Depth Explanation

Your private key is your identity on-chain—whoever controls it controls your assets. Private keys generate public keys, which generate addresses. Never share your private key; anyone with it can drain your wallet. Seed phrases encode private keys in human-readable form. Secure key management is the foundation of self-custody.

Related Terms

Seed Phrase

A sequence of 12-24 words that encodes a wallet's private keys, enabling backup and recovery.

Wallet

Software or hardware that stores private keys and enables users to send, receive, and manage cryptocurrency.

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Gas Fees

Transaction fees paid to validators/miners for executing operations on a blockchain.

Gwei

A denomination of Ether equal to one billionth of an ETH, commonly used to express gas prices.

Layer 2

L2

Scaling solutions built on top of a base blockchain (L1) that process transactions off-chain while inheriting L1 security.

Layer 1

L1

The base blockchain that provides security and consensus, such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Solana.

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