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XDC Glossary

Plain definitions of the terms you will meet around XDC Network, from base fee to XDPoS.

XDC terms A to E

Apothem: XDC's public test network, chain ID 51. Test coins (TXDC) are free from the faucet. See developers.

Base fee: The minimum fee per unit of gas, set by the protocol for each block under EIP-1559. On XDC it is burned. See the burn tracker.

Block explorer: A website that shows blocks, transactions and addresses on a chain. XDC's main explorers are xdcscan.com and xdcscan.io.

Burn: Permanently removing coins from supply. On XDC, the base fee of every transaction has been burned since the Cancun upgrade on 30 January 2026.

Chain ID: A number that identifies a network to wallets: 50 for XDC mainnet, 51 for Apothem testnet.

Circulating supply: Coins available to trade, excluding locked or reserved holdings. See XDC supply.

EIP-1559: An Ethereum fee design with a protocol-set base fee (burned) plus an optional tip to the block producer. XDC adopted it in the Cancun upgrade.

Epoch: A fixed run of 900 blocks on XDC, about 30 minutes at today's block time. Masternode rewards are calculated per epoch.

EVM: The Ethereum Virtual Machine. XDC runs it, so Ethereum smart contracts and tools work on XDC.

XDC terms F to M

Finality: The point after which a transaction cannot be reversed. On XDPoS 2.0 a block is final after three blocks.

Gas: The unit that measures the work a transaction needs. Fee = gas used × (base fee + tip).

Liquid staking: Staking through a protocol that gives you a token representing your staked coins, which you can still use or trade.

Masternode: A validator node on XDC. 108 core masternodes produce blocks; each stakes at least 10 million XDC. See masternodes.

MiCA: The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. XDC has published a MiCA white paper (PDF).

MLETR: UNCITRAL's Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records, which lets digital trade documents carry the same legal weight as paper. See trade finance.

XDC terms N to S

Observer node: A node tier on XDC that observes consensus and relays transactions without producing blocks. Its rewards are currently paid from the XDC Ecosystem Reward Wallet.

Protector node: A second tier of up to 432 nodes on XDC that adds redundancy behind the core masternodes. Its rewards are currently paid from the XDC Ecosystem Reward Wallet.

Recovery phrase: The 12 or 24 words that restore a wallet. Anyone with them controls your coins. Never share them. See the safety center.

RPC endpoint: A server address that wallets and apps use to read from and send to the chain. See the public XDC RPCs.

RWA tokenization: Representing real-world assets, such as invoices or bonds, as tokens on a blockchain. A core XDC use case.

Stablecoin: A token designed to track a currency such as the US dollar. Native USDC has been live on XDC since 17 September 2025. See DeFi on XDC.

Standby node: A candidate that meets the masternode stake but is not in the active set. See validators.

XDC terms T to Z

TVL: Total value locked: the value of assets deposited in DeFi apps on a chain, as tracked by DefiLlama.

xdc prefix: XDC addresses can start with xdc instead of 0x. Both point to the same account. Use the address converter.

XDC Foundation: A not-for-profit set up in the Cayman Islands in 2021 to support XDC development, education and community.

XDPoS 2.0: XDC's delegated proof-of-stake consensus, live since 30 September 2024, with three-block finality.

XinFin: XinFin Fintech Pte. Ltd., the Singapore company, incorporated in 2017, that created XDC Network.

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