Glossary
165 definitions.
The privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched by John McAfee in 2020, evolving through multiple whitepapers and a Particl-derived mainnet.
Cybersecurity pioneer, founder of McAfee Associates, and the public face behind the GHOST announcement and its early privacy ecosystem.
A cryptocurrency designed to obscure sender, recipient, and/or transaction amounts on a public ledger.
A consensus mechanism where validators forge blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they hold and stake, rather than computational work.
A consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve cryptographic puzzles to produce blocks, as used by Bitcoin.
Unspent Transaction Output — the model Bitcoin and its derivatives use to track coin ownership as discrete spendable outputs.
A cryptographic signature where the real signer is hidden among a group of decoy public keys, providing plausible deniability.
Ring Confidential Transactions — combines ring signatures with hidden transaction amounts using Pedersen Commitments.
Multilayered Spontaneous Anonymous Group signatures — the ring signature construction used to sign over RingCT inputs.
A commitment scheme that hides a value while allowing the network to verify inputs equal outputs without revealing amounts.
A transaction type that hides transferred amounts using cryptographic commitments and range proofs.
A zero-knowledge range proof with no trusted setup, used to prove committed amounts are non-negative without revealing them.
A proof that demonstrates a statement is true without revealing the underlying secret that makes it true.
A one-time destination address derived per transaction so a public address never appears repeatedly on-chain.
A key that allows a party to verify incoming transactions to a stealth address without granting spending power.
The key that authorizes spending of funds sent to a stealth address; must remain private.
A key-exchange protocol used to derive a shared secret between sender and recipient for stealth address generation.
A transaction-propagation protocol that first sends a transaction along a restricted stem path before broadcasting, to obscure its IP origin.
The first Dandelion++ phase where a transaction is relayed along a single probabilistic path before broadcast.
The second Dandelion++ phase where the transaction is broadcast normally to the wider network.
Staking where spending keys remain offline while separate staking keys authorize block production, reducing hot-wallet risk.
Staking from a wallet whose keys are held on a connected machine, increasing exposure to compromise.
A full-node collateral model used by some coins for governance and services; GHOST's original plan referenced masternodes before Ghost Veterans.
GHOST's later participation model requiring a 20,000 GHOST threshold and active staking, replacing conventional masternodes.
New coins minted as an incentive to the staker who produces a valid block.
The schedule by which a coin's supply is released over time through block rewards.
A target maximum supply that the emission schedule approaches asymptotically rather than strictly capping.
A trustless cross-chain trade where each party receives the other's coin only if the counterparty does, typically via hashed timelocks.
A representation of a token on a different chain, backed by the original asset, e.g. wGHOST on Polygon.
Wrapped GHOST — a representation of GHOST on networks such as Polygon enabling DeFi interaction.
The Ethereum token standard used for the initial GHOST distribution before mainnet migration.
The Switch ecosystem token whose holders received the initial GHOST distribution via a May 25, 2020 snapshot.
The privacy marketplace ecosystem associated with ESH and McAfeeDEX, linked to GHOST's initial distribution.
A privacy-oriented decentralized exchange concept associated with the GHOST ecosystem.
A proposed Telegram-integrated private messaging and GHOST payments application from the 2020 vision.
A proposed browser-wallet vision inspired by MetaMask for GHOST mainnet and Ethereum interaction.
McAfee's later private stablecoin concept proposing DAI as a foundation for a privacy-preserving stablecoin.
A later GHOST ecosystem component referenced in post-McAfee development roadmaps.
A later privacy-networking component referenced in continuing GHOST development.
A private messaging component referenced in 2025-era GHOST development.
A separate community branch describing itself as a continuation of McAfee's vision after a community split; distinct from the original Ghost Privacy network.
An exchange associated with later GHOST-DAI and stablecoin collaboration efforts.
A privacy-focused blockchain from which the revised GHOST codebase was derived; open-source ancestry, not organizational affiliation.
A Proof-of-Stake privacy coin whose 2018 whitepaper was alleged to have been copied in the original GHOST whitepaper.
A leading privacy coin using RingCT and stealth addresses; a frequent comparison for GHOST.
A privacy coin using zk-SNARKs; the original GHOST proposal referenced Sapling-related concepts.
A privacy coin using a masternode layer; a frequent comparison for GHOST's original masternode plan.
Zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge, used by Zcash; referenced in GHOST's initial proposal.
A Zcash upgrade providing efficient zk-SNARK proofs; referenced in GHOST's early privacy framing.
An earlier privacy protocol predecessor to Zcash; referenced in older specifications PIVX highlighted.
The set of possible signers or inputs that could plausibly have produced a transaction, defining the privacy of a ring.
The property that an observer cannot prove which member of a ring produced a signature.
The graph of linked addresses and transactions observable on a transparent chain, used for clustering analysis.
Heuristic analysis grouping addresses likely controlled by the same entity on transparent chains.
The property that units of a currency are interchangeable; transparency and tainting can erode fungibility.
Coins associated with prior activity that some services refuse to accept, a fungibility problem privacy coins aim to solve.
Know-Your-Customer identity verification performed by exchanges, linking wallets to real identities.
The original transaction-propagation privacy proposal; Dandelion++ is the hardened successor.
An attack that narrows anonymity sets by observing which participants are active across transactions over time.
An attack that infers transaction origins by mapping network propagation patterns.
Resistance of a propagation protocol to nodes that refuse to relay transactions.
A proof that a committed value lies within a range (e.g. non-negative) without revealing it.
A ceremony generating parameters that must be destroyed; Bulletproofs avoid this requirement.
The target interval between blocks; GHOST's original proposal was 60 seconds, the revised chain 120 seconds.
The maximum data per block; GHOST's original proposal was 2 MB, the revised chain 8 MB.
The first block of a blockchain; GHOST mainnet genesis occurred June 22, 2020.
The live production blockchain, as opposed to a test network.
A separate network for testing software without real value.
A divergence in a blockchain's code or consensus; GHOST was forked from Particl's codebase.
A consensus change that requires all nodes to upgrade, creating a permanent divergence.
A supply target approached asymptotically by emission rather than a hard limit.
A participant who locks coins to forge blocks and earn rewards under Proof of Stake.
An adaptive governance / reward concept referenced in post-McAfee GHOST development.
A Bitcoin upgrade improving privacy and scripting; referenced as groundwork in later GHOST development.
A scaling network bridged by wGHOST to enable GHOST interaction with DeFi.
The core node software of the GHOST blockchain, maintained by the continuing community.
The project brand under which the continuing GHOST whitepapers and development are published.
A decentralized exchange concept associated with McAfee, linked to the Switch ecosystem.
An embedded SIM allowing remote carrier provisioning; central to the Ghost Cell Phone Data Service concept.
Voice over IP telephony, claimed as a supported capability of the Ghost Phone concept.
A governance concept referenced in the GhostChain branch.
A non-fungible token concept referenced in the GhostChain branch.
A distribution concept referenced in the GhostChain branch.
A virtual machine concept referenced in GhostChain's Substrate-based research.
A modular blockchain framework; referenced in GhostChain research.
A different token (Aavegotchi) sharing a similar ticker; not GHOST. The archive distinguishes all ticker collisions.
A ticker associated with some Ghost-related tokens; distinct from GHOST and GHST.
Resistance of cryptographic schemes to attack by quantum algorithms such as Shor's algorithm.
A quantum algorithm that can break elliptic-curve cryptography given a sufficiently large quantum computer.
Cryptography believed secure against quantum adversaries, using standardized PQ signatures or KEMs.
The mathematical structure underlying the public-key cryptography used by most cryptocurrencies.
Reusing a public address, which weakens privacy and increases quantum-key exposure.
Using fresh addresses per transaction to limit public-key exposure and improve privacy.
Efficient zk-SNARK proofs in Zcash; referenced but not ultimately the basis of the launched GHOST chain.
A real chain output included in a ring signature to enlarge the anonymity set around the true input.
The property that an observer cannot link a transaction to a specific prior output or address.
See View Key.
See Spend Key.
A value derived by Diffie-Hellman that both parties can compute but an observer cannot, used for stealth addresses.
A single-use destination key generated per transaction via stealth address logic.
Obscuring which prior output funded a transaction, provided by ring signatures.
Obscuring the destination of a transaction, provided by stealth addresses.
Hiding transaction values, provided by confidential transactions and range proofs.
Obscuring the IP origin of a transaction, addressed by Dandelion++.
Security of the user's device and software; privacy cryptography cannot protect a compromised endpoint.
Anonymity achieved through user behavior, not cryptography alone.
A wallet whose spending keys are kept offline.
A wallet whose keys are on a connected device.
Allowing another node to stake on behalf of a holder without transferring spending keys, as in cold staking.
The mechanism by which a project makes decisions; GHOST moved toward on-chain governance.
Decisions encoded and executed through the blockchain itself.
The defined curve of block reward reduction over time.
A balance capture at a specific block used for distributions, e.g. the ESH snapshot of May 25, 2020.
Exchanging one token representation for another, e.g. ERC20 GHOST for mainnet GHOST.
A free distribution of tokens to qualifying addresses.
A technical document describing a project's design; GHOST had multiple across its history.
The source code foundation of a project; GHOST's revised codebase derives from Particl.
Source code published for inspection and reuse under a license; openness does not imply safety.
A version-controlled source code store, e.g. on GitHub.
A published version of software with defined changes.
See Hard fork.
A release fixing vulnerabilities.
A decentralized exchange associated with the Particl ecosystem, referenced in GHOST's code archive.
Desktop wallet software in the GHOST ecosystem.
See Ghost Chat.
The risk that transparent-chain coins become non-interchangeable due to history.
See Transaction graph.
Connecting on-chain activity to identities via KYC'd exchange accounts.
The risk that published public keys become targets for future quantum attacks.
See MLSAG.
See Confidential Transaction.
The data footprint of a cryptographic proof; Bulletproofs are valued for efficiency.
The state of an actor being unidentifiable within a set; not absolute in any single mechanism.
A movement advocating privacy and cryptography for social change, the cultural root of privacy coins.
The sequential number of a block from genesis.
The rules by which nodes agree on the valid chain state.
A node authorized to produce blocks under Proof of Stake.
Locked funds required to operate a masternode or veteran node.
The split of block rewards among stakers, veterans, and development.
The portion of emission directed to project development.
A backward-compatible consensus change.
A computer participating in a blockchain network.
Another node a given node is connected to for relaying data.
The spreading of transactions and blocks across the peer network.
Sending a transaction to many peers simultaneously, as in Dandelion++'s fluff phase.
An attack exploiting timing patterns in transaction propagation.
Obscuring the network origin of a transaction, distinct from transaction-graph privacy.
A research project unaffiliated with the project it documents, as this site is.
Recommendations to buy or sell assets; this archive explicitly does not provide it.
An original document or record, e.g. a whitepaper or blockchain data.
A source reporting on or analyzing primary sources, e.g. news coverage.
A statement made by a project but not independently confirmed.
A claim contested by another source.
A claim that was true at a point in time but may no longer be current.
Independently confirmed by multiple reliable sources.
A status that cannot be determined from available evidence.
A capability under investigation, not yet released.
A capability intended for development but not yet implemented.
A capability under evaluation before release.
A capability that has been deployed and made available.
A capability that was available and is no longer maintained.
An idea described but never implemented.
A capability publicly stated by the project, not necessarily built.
A capability under active construction.
A capability currently operational; must be verified, not assumed from history.