Glossary

Terms in this glossary are the ones used across the site and in every translation. Code identifiers, schema property names, operation names, and hashes are never translated.

Core

Atomical : A digital object created by a Bitcoin transaction and carried by a Bitcoin output.

Atomical ID : The durable identity of an Atomical, written <txid>i<output-index>. Assigned once, never changes.

Atomical number : A sequential number assigned in mint order. Useful for display. Not the identity to store.

Location : The unspent output that currently carries an Atomical. Changes on every move.

Envelope : The witness script structure carrying atom, an operation, and a CBOR payload in the reveal transaction.

Operation : The short code inside the envelope that tells a validator what to do. Examples: ft, dft, dmt, nft, mod, sl.

Commit and reveal : The two-transaction pattern. The commit pays to a Taproot output; the reveal spends it and exposes the envelope.

Bitwork : A proof-of-work style prefix requirement on a transaction id, used to gate mints and claims.

Candidate : A pending claim for a globally allocated name or ticker, before rules resolve a winner.

Verified winner : The Atomical that the rules resolved as holding a name or ticker.

Generation : An immutable snapshot of an index at one consistent chain position.

Reorg : A Bitcoin chain reorganisation that can invalidate previously indexed results.

ARC-20

ARC-20 : The Atomicals fungible token model. One unit is one coloured satoshi.

Ticker : A globally allocated ARC-20 name. Not proof of creator identity.

Coloured UTXO : A Bitcoin output that a validator recognises as carrying ARC-20 value.

Cardinal UTXO : An ordinary Bitcoin output with no Atomicals value. Used for fees and change.

Direct FT : A one-step ft mint that places the whole supply in output zero.

DFT : A decentralised fungible token deployment created with dft.

DMT claim : A single mint against a DFT deployment, using the dmt operation.

Perpetual DFT : An activation-gated decentralised mode with progressing Bitwork and an optional global cap.

Mint amount : The exact satoshi value each valid DMT claim places in output zero.

Max mints : The number of valid fixed-mode claims a deployment allows.

Allocation : The validator’s decision about which output receives how much coloured value.

Normal allocation : The default coloring behavior when no operation payload changes it.

Burn : Coloured value that could not be placed in any eligible output and is therefore destroyed.

Split : The y operation, which separates fungible value at one output.

Custom coloring : The z operation, activation gated, which assigns coloured value explicitly.

Splat : The x operation on the non-fungible branch, separating multiple Atomicals held at one output.

No-inflation validation : The rule that coloured output totals cannot exceed coloured input totals.

Names and collections

Container : A named collection identity that items can prove membership in.

DMINT : Decentralised minting of Container items against a sealed manifest.

Sealing : Making an Atomical or a Container manifest permanently unchangeable.

Realm : A top-level Atomicals name owned as an NFT.

Subrealm : A child name claimed under a parent Realm’s rules.

Payname : A Realm used as a payment destination.

IDNA : The internationalised domain name rules used when comparing and normalising names.

Confusable : Two distinct names that render similarly enough to deceive a reader.

Integration

Cursor : An opaque, signed pagination token that refers to a stable position in a generation.

Readiness : Whether a service can currently answer correctly, distinct from whether it is configured or running.

Freshness : How far behind the chain tip an index currently is.

Idempotency key : A client-supplied key that makes a repeated mutation safe to retry.

Request ID : A per-request identifier returned in responses and logs, used to trace one call.

PSBT : A partially signed Bitcoin transaction, the exchange format between a service and a wallet.

BIP-322 : A message signing scheme used here to prove control of an address without moving funds.

SIGHASH : The flag that decides which parts of a transaction a signature commits to.

Terms we avoid

These words appear in third-party material and are not used as claims on this site: guaranteed, risk-free, backed, collateralised, price floor, redemption. Where a source uses them, the page quotes the source and says what evidence exists.