A term used to describe time-bound smart contracts between crypto traders.

The Hashed TimeLock Contract (HTLC) is a type of conditional smart contract that is both time-based and relies on funds-restrictive hash functions. This smart contract essentially involves two traders who agree on a future transaction, effectively locking down the agreed-upon funds until the transaction is confirmed. So, HTLC is the crypto space’s equivalent of a forwards contract and serves as further guarantee regarding the authenticity of the smart contract.

With HTLC, if the receiving party does not acknowledge funds within the agreed-upon period, the funds will be reversed.

The use of algorithms to increase trading activity within a short period of time.

High-Frequency Trading (HFT) refers to a trader’s strategic use of complex algorithms on the trading floor such that they can engage in a lot of buying and selling within a very brief period of time. HFT is generally characterized by a combination of sophisticated tools which allow the algorithms to analyze and predict trends ahead of time, and make split-second decisions on the basis of the outcomes of the analyses.

There are many advantages to using HFT, the foremost of which is immediate accumulation of profits. But there are also disadvantages, one of which is that HFT is a high-risk trading strategy.

The efficiency of a crypto mining machine, measured in terms of the speed required to compute new hashes.

Hash rate refers to the average speed it takes a computer to correctly compute new hashes for the blockchain. This rate is measured in hashes per second (h/s) and represents how sophisticated the mining machine is. Thus, miners take note of this frequency when deciding on appropriate crypto computing hardware or software since it can be the underlying reason behind their successful mining endeavor.

Hash rate varies from blockchain to blockchain and generally depends on the difficulty involved in mining new blocks.

Hashed TimeLock Contract (HTLC)

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