Solana glossary – the terms, in simple words

Every field has its dialect; crypto just speaks it louder. Here are the 40 words you will actually meet on Solana – one plain sentence each, no lecture. Bookmark it, come back whenever a guide or a wallet says something strange.

The basics

• Blockchain – a shared record book copied across thousands of computers; no single company owns it, and everyone can verify the rules.
• Solana – a public blockchain built for fast, low-cost transactions; the network these guides are about.
• SOL – Solana's native coin: it pays network fees and can optionally be staked.
• Lamport – the smallest unit of SOL, like a cent to a dollar; 1 SOL = 1 billion lamports.
• Transaction – any action recorded on the network: a transfer, a swap, a stake delegation.
• Fee – the small amount of SOL a transaction costs; on Solana usually a fraction of a cent.
• Address – your public "account number" on Solana; safe to share, unlike your keys.
• Explorer – a public website (Solscan, Solana FM) where anyone can look up transactions, addresses, and validators.
• Epoch – Solana's calendar unit, roughly 2–3 days; staking changes and rewards happen on epoch boundaries.
• Mainnet – the real network with real value, as opposed to test networks used for practice.
• Devnet / testnet – practice networks where coins have no value; developers and curious people break things here safely.

Wallets and security

• Wallet – software or a device that holds your keys and lets you approve transactions; Phantom, Solflare, and Backpack are popular on Solana.
• Seed phrase – the 12–24 words that back up your wallet; whoever knows them controls your funds, forever, no appeals.
• Private key – the secret code that signs your transactions; your seed phrase can regenerate it, which is why both must stay secret.
• Public key – the shareable half of the pair; your address is derived from it.
• Hardware wallet – a physical device (Ledger and similar) that keeps keys offline; strong protection for meaningful amounts.
• Signing – approving a transaction with your key; read what you sign, because a signature is consent.
• Phishing – fake sites, messages, or "support" designed to trick you into revealing keys or signing something harmful.
• Drainer – a malicious transaction or app that empties a wallet once you approve it; the reason "read what you sign" is rule one.
• Self-custody – holding your own keys instead of trusting an exchange; more freedom, more responsibility.

Staking and validators

• Staking – locking SOL to support the network's security and earn a share of rewards; on Solana it is optional and reversible.
• Delegation – pointing your staked SOL at a validator you choose; the SOL never leaves your wallet.
• Validator – an operator running servers that confirm transactions and vote on the state of the network; when you stake, you pick one to back.
• Vote account – a validator's public identity for voting and receiving delegations; the long key you can search on the dashboard.
• Commission – the percentage of rewards a validator keeps for running the infrastructure; check its history, not just today's number.
• Stake account – the on-chain account that holds your delegated SOL; created automatically by your wallet when you stake.
• Undelegate / deactivate – the way out of staking: you request it, then wait until the epoch ends for the SOL to become liquid.
• Rewards – the extra SOL staking earns, paid every epoch; the amount varies with the network, so treat any fixed promise with suspicion.
• APY – annualized yield estimate; useful as context, misleading as the only filter for choosing a validator.
• Inflation – the scheduled issuance of new SOL that funds staking rewards; it declines over time by design.
• Delinquent – a validator that has stopped voting; delegating to one earns nothing until it recovers.
• Native staking – delegating from your own wallet to a validator you choose; maximum control, and this Hub's main subject.
• Liquid staking – depositing SOL into a pool that stakes for you and gives you a liquid token in return; convenient, adds pool fees and smart-contract risk.
• Stake pool – a service (Marinade, Jito, and others) that spreads deposited SOL across many validators.
• LST – "liquid staking token" (mSOL, JitoSOL) – the receipt token a pool gives you, tradable while the underlying SOL is staked.
• MEV – "maximal extractable value" – extra income validators can earn from transaction ordering; on Solana often via Jito; a detail worth knowing, not fearing.

Ecosystem and slang

• dApp – a "decentralized application" – an app that runs against the blockchain and connects to your wallet instead of a login.
• DeFi – financial apps (swaps, lending) built on public networks; powerful, and a place to walk slowly.
• NFT – a unique on-chain record used for art, memberships, or game items; ownership is verifiable, value is not guaranteed.
• Token – any asset issued on the network besides SOL itself; some are useful, some are jokes, few are investments.
• Airdrop – free tokens sent to wallets, sometimes real marketing, often scam bait; unexpected tokens are best left untouched.
• RPC – the connection point apps use to talk to the network; when a wallet "can't connect," it is usually an RPC hiccup, not lost funds.
• DYOR – "do your own research" – the house rule of this entire site.

Frequently asked questions

What is an epoch on Solana?

An epoch is Solana's internal calendar unit, roughly 2–3 days long. Staking changes – delegating, undelegating, commission updates – take effect at epoch boundaries, and rewards are paid once per epoch.

What is validator commission?

The percentage a validator keeps from staking rewards. A 5% commission means 95% of rewards reach delegators. History matters more than the current number – our assessment guide explains why.

What is the difference between native and liquid staking?

Native staking: you delegate from your own wallet to a validator you choose, and the SOL stays under your control. Liquid staking: you deposit into a pool, it spreads the stake across validators, and you hold a liquid token (mSOL, JitoSOL) instead. More on both in the ecosystem overview.

A term you keep forgetting is not a personal failure – it is a bookmark waiting to happen. When you are ready to use these words in practice, start with the basics or go straight to first practical steps.