Glossary

Welcome to the Zora Glossary!

An airdrop involves distributing an NFT to the digital wallets of numerous users, typically at no cost. This is commonly used for gifting to users who might be loyal followers of an artist or creator.

IMPORTANT: The airdrop process is also used maliciously by those who want to send out fake and scam collections. If you notice an unusual or suspicious token on your profile, this may be its origin.

A block explorer is a UI that allows people to easily navigate blockchain data transactions (e.g. Ethereum and Zora Network). It is a tool that allows users to search for transactions easily and provides information about wallets, contracts (collections), and transactions.

You can use these services by searching by wallet address or transaction ID (also known as a transaction hash).

A blockchain bridge is a tool that connects two separate blockchain networks to enable asset transfers between them. This includes bridges that connect Ethereum (“Layer 1” or “L1”) to Layer 2 (“L2”) networks like Zora Network, which sit on top of Ethereum.

This is the process of transferring ETH from one network to another. Zora Network's native bridge allows you to transfer your ETH from Ethereum Mainnet to the Zora Network.

In relation to NFTs, burning is a term that is often thought of as the process of “deleting” or “removing” a token from your wallet. ‘Burnt’ NFTs are not deleted; they are just transferred to an unusable address that no one controls (often referred to as a “burn address”), which permanently removes you as the owner and makes it inaccessible to anyone.

**Reminder: Burning is a permanent and irreversible process, so please remember that once you transfer an NFT or token to a burn address, it can NEVER be retrieved.

On Zora, a collection is a group of Editions stored in the same smart contract address. A collection can be full of different artworks or other items often related in theme or type. It can be thought of as the parent folder that holds the edition(s) within.

An example of a collection on Zora can be found here.

Connecting to a site is the Web3 version of signing in / logging in to a website or service. When you connect to a site, you are connecting with your wallet, so in this way, you can think of your wallet as also being a digital identity management system.

Commonly referred to as “crypto”, is a digital or virtual currency secured by cryptography, like Bitcoin or Ethereum. You can use mainnet ETH and OP/Base ETH on Zora, too.

Alterntively, “Crypto” or “Crypto Space” is a way to refer to the Cryptocurrency and Web3 industry.

A digital wallet controlled by a centralized entity, like a cryptocurrency exchange. In this arrangement, the centralized entity holds and can access the private keys associated with the wallet, providing convenience for users but resulting in less direct control over their cryptocurrency assets.

An edition is the artwork itself, so it would be the image, video, meme, podcast episode or 3D file uploaded to be collected. Editions can have varied costs or supplies depending on what you or the creator set them to be.

An example of an edition on Zora can be found here.

Refers to your ability to export the private key of any wallet you create on Zora. You would export your private key to back up your wallet or import it into another wallet client, such as MetaMask.

Gas is the measurement unit for the computational work needed to execute transactions and smart contracts on Ethereum. These gas fees are paid to miners to validate a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. ETH is required to cover gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain.

Refers to the action of collecting an NFT(s) from a collection or edition. Technically speaking, minting refers to the creation of a token on a blockchain network.

• “I’ve minted all of their works! I love their collections.”

• “I love to mint on Zora.”

It is the individual token/artwork that you get when you mint from a collection. The NFTs you have collected will show in your wallet and also be displayed on your Zora profile.

• “I minted the most recent NFT from Zora.”

• “I created a fixed edition with a size of 1000 tokens.”

Offchain refers to actions and processes that happen outside or off the blockchain. This can be seen as interactions and changes made on a website, like updating your profile on Instagram or Facebook.

Onchain refers to transactions, activities or processes that occur on the blockchain. An example of this on Zora is that the process of minting from a collection happens onchain.

• “They were the first to mint from my collection, which brought it onchain.”

• “I personalized my profile, and the changes were saved onchain.”

A string of letters and numbers that is used to access and spend cryptocurrencies or NFTs stored in a wallet. A critical component in cryptocurrency management is the private key, which functions like a confidential PIN or password and grants exclusive access to crypto funds at a specific blockchain address.

It can also be represented as a Seed Phrase within a wallet.

A seed phrase comprises 12 to 24 words and is a master key for accessing and recovering cryptocurrency wallets. It's crucial for wallet regeneration and securing access to digital assets, especially if the wallet is lost or compromised.

To keep your funds safe, you should never share your seed phrase or private key with anyone, just like you would never share your social security number or bank account password with anyone.

A digital wallet is one where you have direct control over your private keys and the management of your cryptocurrency holdings. Zora and Metamask wallets are examples of self-custodial wallets.

It can also be known as a “non-custodial wallet”.

A testing ground or a sandbox where you can use the full toolset of Zora without the need to spend your ETH. Testing on the testnet provides a risk-free environment where you can ensure that your collection functions correctly and identify any potential issues before they occur on the mainnet, saving you time and ETH.

You can find the Zora Testnet here.

Digital asset wallets (“Wallets”) allow users to store, send, and receive NFTs, cryptocurrency, and other tokens. Wallets are accessed using a seed phrase or private key, which gives the owner permission to transfer tokens from that wallet.

Your wallet will commonly be displayed in the following way: 0xabc...123de