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This glossary defines key terms used throughout the IPTF documentation. Terms are organized by category for easy reference.
Terms in bold within definitions are themselves defined elsewhere in the glossary.

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Core Privacy Concepts

Fundamental cryptographic primitives and privacy mechanisms.
Cryptographic value computed from hidden data (for example, amount and secrets). It lets others later verify that revealed data is consistent, without learning the data from the commitment itself.Used extensively in private transaction systems to hide values while proving correctness.
Private record that represents ownership of some value plus the secrets needed to prove it. The note is usually stored off-chain or encrypted; on-chain you only see commitments, nullifiers and proofs.Core primitive in UTXO-style privacy systems like Zcash and Aztec.
Unique value derived from a note’s secret and revealed when the note is spent. The system stores used nullifiers to prevent double-spending without exposing which note belonged to which party.Essential for preventing double-spending in private transaction systems.
An address generated per transaction so that multiple payments to the same party cannot be easily linked on-chain. The recipient publishes some public information once; senders use it to derive fresh, unlinkable addresses.See EIP-5564 for the Ethereum standard.
A cryptographic key that allows read-only access to encrypted state, like private balances or notes. It enables controlled visibility for auditors, regulators, or internal control functions.Critical for regulatory compliance in privacy-preserving systems.
Circuit pattern that consumes one or more input notes (revealed via nullifiers) and produces one or more output notes (as new commitments). Enables private transfers, splits, and merges of value.Originally introduced in Zcash’s Sprout protocol.
Encrypted payload attached to a private transaction containing information the recipient needs (e.g., note details, amount, blinding factor). Only the intended recipient can decrypt it using their encryption key.Used to communicate transaction details in private payment systems.

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Blockchain Architecture

Layer 2, data availability, and blockchain infrastructure concepts.
The guarantee that all transaction and state data needed to recompute and verify the system is actually published and retrievable. If DA fails, independent verifiers cannot reliably check state, even if proofs appear valid.Critical security property for rollups and Layer 2 systems.
A dedicated network or service that publishes and stores the data required for DA (for example, rollup or application data), separate from the main execution chain.Examples include Celestia, EigenDA, and Ethereum’s blob space.
Layer 2 operator that accepts transactions on a L2 network, orders them, and produces blocks or batches that are later finalized on Layer 1 (like Ethereum).Often the first point of censorship risk in L2 systems.
Entity that runs a specified computation on given inputs (public and private, like L2 state transitions, private notes, etc.) and outputs both the result and a cryptographic proof that it was computed correctly. Provers may see plaintext data, so who runs them and how they are operated is an explicit part of the trust and privacy model.May require significant computational resources for complex circuits.
Entity (often a smart contract) that checks proofs from provers and decides whether to accept the claimed result (for example, a new state root or settlement outcome).Verification is typically much cheaper than proof generation.
Third party that submits transactions on behalf of users to hide identity.Used in privacy-preserving protocols like Tornado Cash and Railgun.
ERC-4337 entity that defines how gas fees for user operations are paid or sponsored. It allows implementation of controlled gasless flows or internal fee routing.Enables better UX for private transaction systems.

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L2 Categories

Different types of Layer 2 scaling and privacy solutions.
ZK rollup focused on throughput/cost; state public within L2 (ZKsync, Scroll).Optimized for transaction throughput, not privacy.
ZK rollup designed for encrypted/private state (Aztec).Provides privacy guarantees at the protocol level.
Validity proofs on L1; data availability off-chain.Lower costs but different trust assumptions than rollups.
Hybrid model allowing per-transaction choice between on-chain and off-chain DA.Flexibility to choose cost vs. security trade-offs per transaction.

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Institutional & TradFi Terms

Traditional finance concepts relevant to blockchain adoption.
Atomic settlement ensuring asset delivery only if payment occurs.Core settlement pattern for securities transactions. See DvP Atomic Settlement approach.
Atomic exchange of two payment obligations.Used in foreign exchange settlement (CLS system).
Post-trade analysis of execution quality and slippage.Important for demonstrating best execution.
Selective disclosure mechanism generating compliance reports on-demand.Privacy-preserving compliance approach. See Regulatory Disclosure pattern.
OTC trading workflow where market makers provide quotes privately.Common in bond and derivatives markets.
Obligation to obtain most favorable terms when executing client orders.Regulatory requirement under MiFID II and other frameworks.

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Standards & Protocols

Ethereum and industry standards relevant to privacy and institutional adoption.
Ethereum standard for permissioned tokenized securities with built-in compliance framework.View EIP-3643 →
Standard for conditional cross-chain settlement coordination.View ERC-7573 →
Ethereum standard for derivatives contracts with automated lifecycle management.View EIP-6123 →
Stealth address standard for unlinkable payments.View EIP-5564 →
Fork Choice Inclusion Lists standard for censorship resistance through committee-enforced transaction inclusion.View EIP-7805 →
Native account abstraction standard enabling custom account validation logic, institutional key management, and ZK-based privacy systems.View EIP-7701 →
Standard for confidential token transfers using cryptographic commitments to hide balances and amounts.View ERC-7945 →
ZK token wrapper standard enabling privacy for existing ERC-20 tokens through shielded wrapping.View ERC-8065 →
International messaging standard for financial services communication.View ISO 20022 →
International Capital Market Association Bond Data Taxonomy for standardized bond information.View ICMA BDT →

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Privacy Technologies

Cryptographic techniques and privacy-enhancing technologies.
Cryptographic technique allowing computation on encrypted data.Still largely impractical for most blockchain applications due to performance costs.
A proof that reveals no more information than the validity of the statement it supports.Core primitive for privacy-preserving blockchain systems.
Zero-knowledge proof systems: Succinct Non-interactive Arguments of Knowledge (SNARK) and Scalable Transparent Arguments of Knowledge (STARK).SNARKs require trusted setup but have smaller proofs; STARKs avoid trusted setup but have larger proofs.
Collaborative zero-knowledge proofs where multiple parties jointly prove properties.Useful for multi-party computation scenarios.
Privacy mechanism using cryptographic commitments to hide transaction details.Originally introduced by Zcash; used in various privacy protocols.
Smart contract that operates on encrypted state while maintaining verifiability.Requires specialized execution environments or cryptographic techniques.
Popular zero-knowledge proof system (Groth16) and domain-specific language (Circom) for writing ZK circuits.Widely used in production privacy protocols.
Zero-knowledge proof system with universal trusted setup.More flexible than Groth16 for circuit updates.
Hardware-based secure computation environment.Examples include Intel SGX and ARM TrustZone. Involves hardware trust assumptions.
Cryptographic technique for joint computation without revealing inputs.Used for distributed key generation and threshold signatures.
Cryptographic protocol where a server evaluates a pseudorandom function on a client’s input without learning the input, and the client learns the output without learning the server’s key.Used for private set intersection, password-hardening, and privacy-preserving authentication.
Extension of OPRF where the server provides a proof that the output was computed correctly using a committed key, preventing malicious servers from returning arbitrary values.View RFC 9497 →

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Identity & Compliance

Identity systems and compliance mechanisms.
Data bundled with a cryptographic proof of its own correctness, enabling portable and composable verifiable credentials.Enables privacy-preserving identity and credential systems.
Preventing a single actor from creating multiple fake identities to gain disproportionate influence in systems that distribute value, votes, or access.Critical for fair resource allocation and governance.
Email authentication standard where mail servers sign outgoing messages.Used in ZK email proofs for privacy-preserving identity verification.
Decentralized identity system used by ERC-3643 for KYC/eligibility verification.Supports compliant tokenized securities.
Know Your Customer / Anti-Money Laundering regulatory compliance requirements.Required for most institutional financial services.
Cryptographically signed claims about identities, credentials, or data that can be verified on-chain with minimal disclosure.See Pattern: Attestation Verifiable On-Chain for implementation approaches including EAS, W3C Verifiable Credentials, and ONCHAINID.
One implementation of on-chain attestation protocol.See attestations pattern for holistic overview.
Regulatory registry for digital asset compliance (eWpG requirement).Required for tokenized securities in Germany.
Cryptographic data structure for efficient membership proofs.Used extensively in blockchain systems and ZK circuits.

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Regulatory Frameworks

Key regulatory regimes governing digital assets and privacy.
German Electronic Securities Act regulating tokenized securities.Learn more →
EU Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation.Learn more →
US legislative framework for digital asset regulation.Still in development as of 2026.
US Securities and Exchange Commission rule governing money market funds, specifying liquidity requirements, portfolio quality, maturity limits, and conditions for liquidity fees and redemption gates.Learn more →
EU regulation establishing rules for money market funds including daily/weekly maturity limits, stress testing obligations, and reporting to national competent authorities.European equivalent to SEC Rule 2a-7.

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Infrastructure

Blockchain infrastructure components.
External data provider for blockchain smart contracts.Examples include Chainlink, UMA, and Pyth.
Financial institution responsible for safeguarding digital assets.Required for most institutional participation in crypto markets.

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Related Resources

Technical Patterns

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Use Cases

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Source Glossary

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