Glossary

An explanation of often-used terms and abbreviations

Term	Abbreviation	Explanation
Botanix EVM		Name of the blockchain network developed by Botanix Labs, the first EVM equivalent layer 2 built on top of Bitcoin.
Bridging		The act of transferring bitcoin from the Bitcoin main chain to the Botanix EVM (bridge-in) or the other way around (bridge-out).
CometBFT		CometBFT is a blockchain application platform; it provides the equivalent of a web-server, database, and supporting libraries for blockchain applications written in any programming language. Like a web-server serving web applications, CometBFT serves blockchain applications. More formally, CometBFT performs Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) State Machine Replication (SMR) for arbitrary deterministic, finite state machines. For more background, see What is CometBFT?.
Decentralized application	dApp	A software application that runs on a distributed computing system, often a blockchain, rather than on a single centralized server. dApps operate autonomously, with code executed on a blockchain network that is maintained by multiple nodes, ensuring transparency, security, and resistance to censorship.
Ethereum Virtual Machine	EVM	A decentralized computing engine that executes smart contract code on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows for the creation and execution of decentralized applications (dApps) by interpreting and running bytecode in a secure and isolated environment.
Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold Signatures	FROST	A protocol that minimizes the number of rounds of communication between participants in Schnorr signature schemes, reducing network bandwidth, time, and probability of errors. It requires a maximum of three rounds for signing, even without a trusted signature aggregator or preprocessing stage. It can be used to implement 'n-of-m' threshold signatures represented by a single signature on the blockchain. This saves block space and increases privacy by making them indistinguishable from other, more common spend types.
Proof of Stake	PoS	A consensus mechanism used in blockchain networks where validators are chosen to create new blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they are willing to "stake" or lock up as collateral. It aims to achieve network security and consensus more energy-efficiently compared to Proof of Work (PoW).
Proof of Work	PoW	A consensus mechanism used by certain blockchains to secure the network and validate transactions. It requires participants (miners) to solve complex mathematical puzzles, which consume computational resources. Successfully solving the puzzle proves the work was done, allowing the miner to add a new block to the blockchain and receive a reward.
Rust Ethereum	Reth	Reth (short for Rust Ethereum, pronunciation) is an Ethereum full node implementation that is focused on being user-friendly, highly modular, as well as being fast and efficient. We use a fork of Reth to run our EVM.
Spiderchain		A series of successive multisigs between Botanix Orchestrators. The security is achieved through the decentralization of these multisig wallets. This series of successive multisigs effectively creates a network that safeguards the bitcoin of the Botanix EVM.
Unspent Transaction Output	UTXO	It represents the amount of digital currency someone has left remaining after conducting transactions. In blockchain systems like Bitcoin, a UTXO serves as a token that can be spent as input in a new transaction, effectively acting as the blockchain's version of a coin or currency note.