Midnight SignalNews · Signals · Trust

Home Learning Hub

Trusted Apps

Trusted Apps Glossary

Plain-English terms for wallets, DeFi, lending, staking, and app risk.

Lookup

Wallet

An app that lets users store keys, sign transactions, and interact with blockchain apps.

Lookup

Self-Custody

Holding your own keys instead of trusting an exchange or custodian.

Lookup

Swap

Trading one token for another through a wallet, DEX, or aggregator.

Lookup

Network Fee

A transaction cost paid to use a blockchain network.

Lookup

APR

Annual percentage rate. A simple yearly rate that usually does not include compounding.

Lookup

APY

Annual percentage yield. A yearly rate that includes compounding assumptions.

Lookup

TVL

Total value locked. The amount of capital deposited in a protocol.

Lookup

Staking

Locking or delegating tokens to support a network or protocol in exchange for rewards.

Lookup

Collateral

Assets pledged to borrow against in a lending protocol.

Lookup

Liquidation

When collateral is sold or seized because a borrow position became too risky.

Contextual Learning

Trusted Apps terms

Terms update based on the page you are viewing. Linked terms can open this panel directly.

Market Basics

Liquidity

How easy it is to trade without slippage.

Liquidity describes how easily an asset can be bought or sold without moving the price too much. Higher liquidity usually means cleaner execution and lower slippage risk.

Trusted Apps

Trusted Apps

Apps evaluated with trust evidence.

A directory layer for wallets, DeFi apps, lending platforms, privacy tools, and infrastructure. The goal is to help users understand what an app does and what evidence supports confidence in it.

Trust Score

A confidence read for apps and protocols.

A score that summarizes trust evidence such as maturity, ecosystem presence, risk flags, available data, security signals, and product category context. It is not an endorsement or guarantee.

Wallets

Wallet

An app for holding and using crypto.

A wallet lets users hold assets, connect to dApps, sign transactions, and sometimes swap tokens. Wallet choice matters because it controls the user experience and key-management risk.

Self-Custody

You control the keys.

Self-custody means the user controls the private keys or recovery phrase. It gives more control, but also more responsibility if keys are lost or exposed.

Seed Phrase

The recovery words for a wallet.

A seed phrase is a set of recovery words that can restore wallet access. Anyone with the phrase can usually control the wallet, so it should never be shared or typed into untrusted sites.

Fees

Costs paid to use a network or app.

Fees can include network transaction fees, swap fees, routing fees, lending fees, or protocol fees. Good app pages should make fee sources clear before the user acts.

DeFi

Swap

Trading one token for another.

A swap exchanges one crypto asset for another, usually through a decentralized exchange, wallet route, or aggregator. Users should watch fees, slippage, liquidity, and token legitimacy.

DeFi

Financial apps built on blockchains.

DeFi means decentralized finance: apps for swapping, lending, borrowing, staking, liquidity provision, and yield strategies that operate through smart contracts.

APR

Annual rate without compounding.

APR estimates yearly return or cost without assuming rewards are reinvested. It is useful for simple comparisons, but it can understate or differ from compounded returns.

APY

Annual rate with compounding.

APY estimates yearly return when rewards compound. It can look higher than APR, so users should understand the assumptions behind the number.

TVL

Total value locked.

TVL estimates how much value is deposited in a protocol. It can indicate adoption and liquidity, but it can also change quickly and should not be treated as proof of safety.

Staking

Participating in network or protocol rewards.

Staking generally means locking or delegating assets to help secure a network or participate in a protocol, often in exchange for rewards. Risks vary by chain and app.

Lending

Collateral

Assets backing a loan.

Collateral is value posted to borrow against. If collateral falls too much, a position can be liquidated, which is why collateral ratios matter in lending apps.

Liquidation

Forced closing of an undercollateralized position.

Liquidation happens when a borrowing position no longer has enough collateral. The protocol can sell or seize collateral to repay debt, often with a penalty.

Privacy

ZK Proof

Proving something without revealing everything.

A zero-knowledge proof lets one party prove a statement is true without revealing all of the underlying data. It is one of the core ideas behind many privacy-preserving blockchain systems.

Selective Disclosure

Revealing only the data that is needed.

Selective disclosure means sharing specific information while keeping other details private. It is important for identity, compliance, and privacy-aware applications.