Glossary
Plain words, and the terms behind them.
Every phrase on this site maps to one technical concept in the specification.
Terms
On this site
Shared settlement ledger
- Technical term
- settlement leg (permissioned ledger)
- What it means
- A ledger operated by Fiat-on-Chain and confirmed by the member institutions and the central bank; only members can write to it.
On this site
Deposit token
- Technical term
- token class
- What it means
- A bank deposit recorded in a form that can be sent directly; each token is a promise from that bank to the holder, who has an account there.
On this site
Token gateway
- Technical term
- binding kit
- What it means
- Software inside the institution that turns its ordinary payment messages (ISO 20022) into signed token instructions, and back.
On this site
Hardware key safe
- Technical term
- HSM with threshold keys
- What it means
- Tamper-resistant hardware holding the two signing keys; both must sign before a token is created.
On this site
Fingerprint
- Technical term
- commitment (Merkle root)
- What it means
- A short code that changes if any entry in the token accounts changes, so the ledger can be checked without revealing it.
On this site
Proof
- Technical term
- consistency proof (sum proof)
- What it means
- Mathematical evidence that tokens in existence equal the institution's ledger, without showing customer balances.
On this site
Circuit breaker
- Technical term
- breaker state machine
- What it means
- An automatic stop on token creation when a proof is late or wrong; restarted only by authorized people with two signatures.
On this site
Pooled settlement account
- Technical term
- omnibus reserve account; settlement balances
- What it means
- One account at the central bank holding the members' settlement money, represented one-to-one on the shared ledger.
On this site
RTGS synchronization
- Technical term
- RTGS-sync binding
- What it means
- The shared ledger holds no money; a payment commits only when the central bank's payment system confirms it.
On this site
Confirming computers
- Technical term
- validators (QBFT consensus); committed seals
- What it means
- The computers that agree each transaction happened; three of four must sign for it to be final.
On this site
Identity attestation
- Technical term
- signed attestation; reliance record
- What it means
- An institution’s signed statement that it has checked a customer, which others may rely on under their own rules.
On this site
Each side pays or neither does
- Technical term
- payment-versus-payment (PvP); cross-leg atomic commit
- What it means
- A currency exchange where both payments settle at the same instant or both are cancelled.
On this site
Delivery and payment together
- Technical term
- delivery-versus-payment (DvP)
- What it means
- A securities purchase where the asset and the money change hands in the same step or not at all.
On this site
Securities register
- Technical term
- asset leg; central securities depository (CSD)
- What it means
- The institution that keeps the official record of who owns a security, plugged into the shared ledger.
On this site
Regulator's screen
- Technical term
- supervisor node and console
- What it means
- A read-only copy of the ledger run by the central bank, showing every event as it happens.
On this site
Bank failure handling
- Technical term
- resolution: freeze, snapshot, book transfer, wind-down
- What it means
- The pre-agreed steps for moving a failed institution's customers to another without loss.
On this site
Rulebook
- Technical term
- jurisdiction pack; network rulebook
- What it means
- One signed file per country holding every rule the network enforces there; changed only with the Member Council's approval.
On this site
Member Council
- Technical term
- —
- What it means
- The issuers in a jurisdiction, with the central bank as observer; binding rights over the rulebook, consultation on fees.
On this site
Central bank's payment system
- Technical term
- RTGS (real-time gross settlement)
- What it means
- The system central banks run to move money between banks, usually in business hours.
| On this site | Technical term | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Shared settlement ledger | settlement leg (permissioned ledger) | A ledger operated by Fiat-on-Chain and confirmed by the member institutions and the central bank; only members can write to it. |
| Deposit token | token class | A bank deposit recorded in a form that can be sent directly; each token is a promise from that bank to the holder, who has an account there. |
| Token gateway | binding kit | Software inside the institution that turns its ordinary payment messages (ISO 20022) into signed token instructions, and back. |
| Hardware key safe | HSM with threshold keys | Tamper-resistant hardware holding the two signing keys; both must sign before a token is created. |
| Fingerprint | commitment (Merkle root) | A short code that changes if any entry in the token accounts changes, so the ledger can be checked without revealing it. |
| Proof | consistency proof (sum proof) | Mathematical evidence that tokens in existence equal the institution's ledger, without showing customer balances. |
| Circuit breaker | breaker state machine | An automatic stop on token creation when a proof is late or wrong; restarted only by authorized people with two signatures. |
| Pooled settlement account | omnibus reserve account; settlement balances | One account at the central bank holding the members' settlement money, represented one-to-one on the shared ledger. |
| RTGS synchronization | RTGS-sync binding | The shared ledger holds no money; a payment commits only when the central bank's payment system confirms it. |
| Confirming computers | validators (QBFT consensus); committed seals | The computers that agree each transaction happened; three of four must sign for it to be final. |
| Identity attestation | signed attestation; reliance record | An institution’s signed statement that it has checked a customer, which others may rely on under their own rules. |
| Each side pays or neither does | payment-versus-payment (PvP); cross-leg atomic commit | A currency exchange where both payments settle at the same instant or both are cancelled. |
| Delivery and payment together | delivery-versus-payment (DvP) | A securities purchase where the asset and the money change hands in the same step or not at all. |
| Securities register | asset leg; central securities depository (CSD) | The institution that keeps the official record of who owns a security, plugged into the shared ledger. |
| Regulator's screen | supervisor node and console | A read-only copy of the ledger run by the central bank, showing every event as it happens. |
| Bank failure handling | resolution: freeze, snapshot, book transfer, wind-down | The pre-agreed steps for moving a failed institution's customers to another without loss. |
| Rulebook | jurisdiction pack; network rulebook | One signed file per country holding every rule the network enforces there; changed only with the Member Council's approval. |
| Member Council | — | The issuers in a jurisdiction, with the central bank as observer; binding rights over the rulebook, consultation on fees. |
| Central bank's payment system | RTGS (real-time gross settlement) | The system central banks run to move money between banks, usually in business hours. |
Want the technical version?
The specification and its annexes are available on request.