17.1Quick terminology and misconception-sensitive distinctions
Use the Lexicon for full definitions. Keep these distinctions consistent in speech, slides, activities, and assessment.
| Terms | Educator distinction |
|---|---|
| Money / currency | Money is the broader tool or asset used for exchange, account, and value across time; currency is a particular monetary unit or system. |
| Function / property | A function is what money does; a property is a quality affecting how well it does it. |
| Scarcity / value | Scarcity limits availability; value also depends on use, demand, preference, information, and context. |
| Price inflation / one price increase | Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level; one price may change for many reasons. |
| Bank deposit / physical cash | A bank deposit is a claim the bank owes; physical cash is a different form of central-bank or state-issued money depending on the jurisdiction. |
| Liquidity / solvency | Liquidity concerns timely payment; solvency concerns whether assets cover obligations. |
| CBDC / Bitcoin | A CBDC is centrally issued digital fiat; Bitcoin has no central issuer and uses independently verifiable rules. |
| Bitcoin / bitcoin | Bitcoin refers to the network, protocol, or project; bitcoin refers to the asset or units. |
| Bitcoin protocol / Bitcoin service | The protocol is the shared rule system; a wallet, exchange, explorer, or payment company is a separate service or tool. |
| Digital signature / encryption | A signature proves key authorization; encryption hides readable content. |
| Miner / node | A miner proposes candidate blocks through proof of work; a node verifies rules. |
| Developer proposal / rule change | Developers propose software; participants choose whether to adopt it. |
| Block time / schedule | About ten minutes is a long-run average, not an exact appointment. |
| Finite supply / price guarantee | A predictable maximum is a supply property; it does not guarantee demand or returns. |
| Sound money / fact | Sound money is a judgment made through stated criteria and trade-offs. |
| Wallet / bitcoin storage | A wallet manages keys and transactions; bitcoin remains recorded on the shared ledger. |
| Address / private key | An address receives; a private key authorizes spending. |
| Seed phrase / password | A seed phrase may recreate wallet keys and often gives full recovery access; it is not an ordinary resettable password. |
| Custodial / self-custodial | The distinction is who controls keys. |
| Hot / cold | The distinction is key exposure to an online general-purpose environment. |
| On-chain / Lightning | The distinction is payment path, not custody. |
| Explorer / node | An explorer is a third-party interface; a node verifies rules independently. |
| Confirmation / correct payment | A confirmation strengthens settlement history; it does not correct the recipient or validate the purpose. |
| Privacy / secrecy | Privacy is control over information; it does not mean an activity has no public data or legal obligations. |
| KYC / no-KYC | These paths collect different identity information and create different support, privacy, counterparty, fraud, and legal trade-offs. Use no-KYC throughout. |
| Local example / recommendation | A checked local example supports learning; it is not a universal endorsement. |