| Decentralized Autonomous Organizations | Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) is a decentralized autonomous organization, a type of bottom-up entity structure with no central authority. Members of a DAO own tokens of the DAO which give them the ability to participate in the management and decision-making of an entity through voting rights. All votes and activity through the DAO are posted on a blockchain, making all actions of users publicly viewable. DAOs rely heavily on smart contracts. These logically coded agreements dictate decision-making based on underlying activity on a blockchain. For example, based on the outcome of a decision, certain code may be implemented to increase the circulating supply, burn a select amount of reserve tokens, or issue select rewards to existing token holders. |
| Decentralized Consensus | A Decentralized Consensus is a decentralized scheme that transfers authority and trust to a decentralized virtual network and enables its nodes to record transactions continuously and sequentially on a public “block,” creating a unique “chain”: the blockchain. Each successive block contains a “hash” (a unique fingerprint) of the previous code; therefore, cryptography (via hash codes) is used to secure the authentication of the transaction source and removes the need for a central intermediary. The combination of cryptography and blockchain technology together ensures there is never a duplicate recording of the same transaction. The key concept is with this degree of unbundling, the consensus logic is separate from the application itself; therefore, applications can be written to be organically decentralized, sparking a variety of system-changing innovations in software architecture, whether they are money or non-money related. |
| Decentralized Exchange (DEX) | A Decentralized Exchange (DEX) is a marketplace created on a public blockchain where peer-to-peer orders and transactions can be found/published, matched, and settled and no one party has central control over the orders, or without relying on an intermediary to manage the transfer or holding of their funds. |
| Decentralized Finance (DeFi) | Decentralized finance (DeFi) is an emerging financial technology paradigm based on secure distributed ledgers. DeFi challenges traditional centralized financial systems by empowering individuals with peer-to-peer digital capabilities and the ability to own and control their assets. DeFi eliminates the need for trusted intermediaries and the associated fees that banks and other financial companies charge for using their services. Individuals hold money and other assets in a personal secure digital wallet, secured by private cryptographic keys, and can transfer funds in seconds. Anyone with an internet connection can use DeFi. |
| Delegated Entity | The entity that is delegated to perform a specific operation on behalf of another entity. |
| Delegation Mechanism | The mechanism that allows delegation of several rights from one entity to another so that the delegated entity can act on behalf of the delegator. |
| Delegator | An entity who is delegating/ registering a delegation for a specific operation either to a machine or to another entity. |
| Dencun | Dencun is an upgrade activated on the Ethereum blockchain designed to enhance its performance by making execution by scalability layer-2 solutions more efficient and improving data availability across the network. |
| Department | A Department is a subdivision of a company represented as a separate corporate entity. |
| Digital Asset | A Digital Asset is any asset that is purely digital or is a digital representation of a physical asset. Digital assets are broadly defined as any digital representation of value which is recorded on a secured ledger (distributed or centralized) or any similar technology. Digital assets include (but are not limited to): 1) Cryptocurrency /convertible virtual currency 2) Stablecoins 3) Non-fungible tokens (NFTs). |
| Digital Currency | A Digital Currency (also known as a Virtual Currency or Electronic Currency) is currency which does not exist in physical form. |
| Digital Financial Asset | Digital Financial Asset refers to a term used to distinguish financial assets in digital form from other assets, such as images, videos, and texts that are also rendered in digital form. |
| Digital Native Tokens | Digital Native Tokens are digital assets that originate on a distributed ledger. |
| Digital Non-native Tokens | Digital Non-native (or Asset-backed) Tokens are assets represented digitally on a distributed ledger. |
| Digital Token | A transferable unit generated within a distributed network that tracks ownership of the units, usually through the application of blockchain technology. |
| Digital Transfer Agent (DTA) | A Digital Transfer Agent (DTA) provides the services of a traditional Transfer Agent, with the additional benefit of leveraging digital technology such as Blockchain and Smart Contracts to support digital asset management in a security token ecosystem. |
| Distributed Ledger Technology | Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a decentralized peer-to-peer digital system for recording transactions between parties in multiple places at the same time. DLT deploys cryptography and consensus mechanisms to allow participants to share an immutable replica of the same ledger. Unlike traditional databases, distributed ledgers have no central data store or administration functionality. A distributed ledger is a database that does not need a third party to ensure recorded transactions are valid and honest. DLT allows users to view any changes and who made them, reduces the need to audit data, ensures data is reliable, and only provides access to those who need it. |
| DLT Asset | A DLT Asset is an asset transacted on a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. |
| DLT System | A DLT System is a system of electronic records that enables independent entities to establish a consensus around a shared ledger without relying on a central authority to provide or authenticate the authoritative version of the records. The consensus is established by the authoritative ordering of cryptographically validated (‘signed’) transactions made persistent by replicating the data across multiple nodes and tamper-free by linking them via cryptographic hashes. The shared result of the consensus process serves as the authoritative version of the records. |
| Dominance | Dominance refers to the ratio between a crypto asset market capitalization and the total market capitalization of the asset class, which measures the relevance of a project in the industry. |
| DvP1 | DvP1 (Delivery versus Payment model 1) is a securities settlement mechanism that links a securities transfer and a funds transfer in such a way as to ensure that delivery occurs if and only if the corresponding payment occurs. DvP1 typically settles securities and funds on a gross and obligation-by-obligation basis, with final (irrevocable and unconditional) transfer of securities from the seller to the buyer (delivery) if and only if final transfer of funds from the buyer to the seller (payment) occurs. [Source: BIS, 16 Jun 2015] |
| DvP2 | DvP2 (Delivery versus Payment model 2) is a securities settlement mechanism that links a securities transfer and a funds transfer in such a way as to ensure that delivery occurs if and only if the corresponding payment occurs. DvP2 typically settles securities on a gross basis, with final transfer of securities from the seller to the buyer occurring throughout the processing cycle, but settles funds on a net basis, with final transfer of funds from the buyer to the seller occurring at the end of the processing cycle. (Source: BIS, 16 Jun 2015) |