<aside> ✨ This is a comprehensive guide that was previously used as a study manual for the Superdao T3st, a web3 proficiency examination that has been completed over 133,000 times.
Use it to familiarize yourself with the fundamental aspects of web3, including Blockchain technology, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Finance, Non-Fungible Tokens, Transactions, and Wallet management.
</aside>
A distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records called blocks
Bitcoin (chain) Ethereum Polygon Solana BSC Avalanche
Algorand Near Cardano Aptos Sui Linera
Cosmos (chain creation) Polkadot (chain creation) Flow (for NFTs) Ripple (for payments) Ronin (play-to-earn) Ton (Telegram-affiliated)
Nodes are special computers that maintain a blockchain. Block is the batch of transactions processed by nodes at once.
Node infrastructure is a programming infrastructure that allows programs to use blockchain-based data faster. E.g. Alchemy, QuickNode, Infura, Moralis
Proof-of-work (requires lots of energy) and Proof-of-stake (requires staking) are the mechanisms to ensure that everyone has the same data on a blockchain.
PoS uses staking, a special smart contract that freezes your tokens for a certain period (from days to years), giving your financial rewards (in a form of the same or different token) or other benefits in return
Miners (PoW) and validators (PoS) are the entities (organizations/individual users) that support the blockchain, execute new transactions, and ensure the accuracy of data.
Scanner (blockchain explorer) is a tool to search and read information from the blockchain. E.g. Etherscan, Polygonscan
A bridge is a connection that allows deploying assets (tokens and NFTs) from one chain to another. Is often a target of hacking attacks, including major incidents ($100M+) on Ronin and Binance
A computer program that is hosted and executed on a blockchain network. Smart contracts can define rules, like a regular contract, and automatically enforce them via the code. Smart contracts cannot be deleted by default, and interactions with them are irreversible.
Each smart contract consists of code specifying predetermined conditions that, when met, trigger outcomes. It follows logic: “if/when x event happens, then execute y action.” E.g., a smart contract issues a token when someone deposits fiat.
Solidity is a programming language for smart contracts on Ethereum Rust is a programming language for smart contracts on Solana