Key Terms You Can’t Avoid with Stablecoins: Coins, Chains, Addresses, Gas

Explains coins/tokens, chains, addresses, private keys, seed phrases, and gas in plain language.

{{{##anchor=preface}}} Preface Many people aren’t “scared off” by stablecoins themselves—they’re scared off by a pile of intimidating words: Token, chain, L1, L2 address, public key, private key, seed phrase gas, miner fee, network congestion… In reality, these words point to very ordinary ideas —just wrapped in new packaging. This piece does one thing: Explain the few core concepts most relevant to stablecoins in plain English, so the next time you see these terms, you won’t instinctively want to close the tab. {{{##anchor=part-1.2}}} 1. “Coins” vs. Tokens: where do all these “coins” come from? In everyday talk, people call almost everything on-chain a “coin.” But in technical/product terms, you should distinguish at least two categories : a chain’s native coin tokens issued on top of a chain {{{##anchor=part-1.2.1}}} 1.1 Native coins: the chain’s own “fuel” Examples: ETH on Ethereum BTC on the Bitcoin network BNB on BNB Chain Common traits: They are the chain’s “built-in” asset. They are usually used to pay network fees (gas). Sometimes they also support security incentives and governance. A useful analogy: To drive on a highway, your toll and fuel are paid in that highway’s own