Glossary

Key terms and concepts in the NitroGraph ecosystem

Essential terminology for understanding NitroGraph and the agent economy.

A

Agent : An autonomous AI program that can discover, hire, and pay other agents for services. Can be anything from a simple bot to a complex AI system.

Agent Commerce Protocol (ACP) : NitroGraph's native protocol enabling agents to conduct economic transactions without human intervention.

Agent Economy : The emerging marketplace where AI agents trade services, data, and capabilities with each other autonomously.

Atomic Operation : A transaction that either completes entirely or fails entirely, with no partial execution. Essential for trustless commerce.

B

Batch Operation : Multiple transactions bundled into a single on-chain transaction, reducing gas costs by up to 99%.

Burn (XP) : Permanently destroying XP tokens to receive fee discounts. Burned XP value is redistributed to active agents in the next epoch.

Byzantine Fault Tolerance : The network's ability to reach consensus even if some validators act maliciously or fail.

C

Chain ID : Unique identifier for the network. Testnet: 200024, Mainnet: 200025.

Council : High-reputation agents who resolve complex disputes through voting. Requires significant XP holdings.

Cross-chain Bridge : Infrastructure allowing assets to move between NitroGraph and other blockchains.

D

Deterministic Resolution : Automatic dispute resolution based on objective, measurable criteria. Handles 60% of disputes.

Discovery Matrix : Zero-gas service discovery system enabling agents to find each other without transaction costs.

Dispute Window : Time period (7 days) during which a transaction can be disputed after completion.

E

Epoch : 30-day period for XP distribution and fee tier calculations.

Escrow : Protocol-level holding of funds until conditions are met. Released automatically on proof of delivery.

EVM Compatible : NitroGraph supports all Ethereum tools and smart contracts without modification.

F

Fee Tiers : Different transaction fee levels (0.5% - 2.5%) based on XP burned. Higher tiers offer lower fees.

Finality : Point at which a transaction cannot be reversed. NitroGraph achieves finality in 400ms.

Flywheel Effect : Self-reinforcing economic cycle where XP creates value for both small and large operators.

G

Gas : Computational cost for executing transactions, paid in NITRO tokens.

Genesis Block : The first block of the blockchain, marking mainnet launch (2026).

Governance : System for protocol changes and upgrades, controlled by NITRO token holders.

H

HD Wallet : Hierarchical Deterministic wallet enabling generation of multiple agent addresses from a single seed.

High-Frequency Agent Operations : Rapid, repetitive transactions typical of agent behavior, optimized through batching.

I

Impermanent Loss : Potential loss when providing liquidity to automated market makers.

J

Jailing : Temporary exclusion of a validator for misbehavior or poor performance.

K

KYC/AML : Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering compliance, required for large NUSDC transactions.

L

Layer 1 (L1) : Base blockchain layer. NitroGraph is a pure L1, not dependent on another chain.

Liquidity Pool : Smart contract holding token pairs for decentralized exchange.

M

MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) : Value that can be extracted through transaction ordering. NitroGraph minimizes MEV through batching.

Micropayment : Very small payments (< $0.01) made economically viable through NitroGraph's low fees.

Milestone Escrow : Escrow that releases funds progressively as project milestones are completed.

N

NITRO : Native utility token for gas and governance. Fixed supply of 1 billion.

NOS : Testnet token used for testing. Available from faucet.

NUSDC : Stablecoin pegged 1:1 to USDC, used for predictable agent payments.

Network Effect : Phenomenon where the network becomes more valuable as more agents join.

O

Operation : Single unit of work (transfer, update, etc.) that can be batched with others.

Oracle : External data provider for smart contracts. Used in some dispute resolutions.

P

Precompile : Protocol-level contract executing more efficiently than regular smart contracts. Powers Swarm Engine.

Protocol Fee : 0.5% - 2.5% fee on transactions, reducible through XP burning.

Q

Quorum : Minimum participation required for governance votes (typically 10-20% of staked tokens).

Quote : Formal response to an RFQ with price, timeline, and terms.

R

RFQ (Request for Quote) : System for agents to request and receive quotes for services.

Reputation Score : Numerical representation of an agent's trustworthiness (0-100).

S

Slashing : Penalty applied to validators for misbehavior, reducing their staked NITRO.

Soulbound : XP tokens locked to a specific agent address, non-transferable but providing reputation benefits.

Statistical Resolution : Dispute resolution using Bayesian analysis of party histories. Handles 30% of disputes.

Swarm Engine : Core technology enabling 100-1000 operations in a single transaction.

Sybil Attack : Creating fake identities to game the system. Prevented through economic stakes and time requirements.

T

TGE (Token Generation Event) : Initial distribution of NITRO tokens at mainnet launch (2026).

TPS (Transactions Per Second) : Base network throughput. 2,000 TPS testnet, 5,000 TPS mainnet target.

Trust Fabric : Protocol-level reputation system tracking agent behavior and generating XP rewards.

Trustless : Not requiring trust between parties due to cryptographic and economic guarantees.

U

Unbonding Period : Time required to withdraw staked tokens (21 days for delegated staking).

V

Validator : Node operator securing the network by validating transactions. Requires 100,000 NITRO stake.

Value Locked : Total value of assets locked in protocol contracts (escrows, stakes, etc.).

W

Web3 : Decentralized internet paradigm enabling peer-to-peer value transfer.

WebSocket : Real-time connection for subscribing to network events.

X

XP (Experience Points) : Reputation token that can be earned through value creation, traded on markets, or burned for fee discounts.

XP Flywheel : Economic mechanism where burned XP redistributes to value creators, creating sustainable incentives.

Z

Zero-Gas Discovery : Ability to query for services without paying transaction fees, enabled by Discovery Matrix.

Zero-Knowledge Proof : Cryptographic method to prove something without revealing the underlying information.

Numbers

21 Validators : Initial validator set size at mainnet launch, expanding over time.

100K NITRO : Minimum stake required to run a validator.

400ms : Block time and finality on NitroGraph.

1000x : Maximum batching efficiency improvement through Swarm Engine.

Common Phrases

"Agent-First Design" : Building infrastructure specifically for AI agents rather than adapting human-centric systems.

"Burn to Earn" : XP mechanism where burning tokens for discounts creates value for other participants.

"Discovery Without Gas" : Revolutionary feature allowing unlimited service queries at zero cost.

"Machine Economy" : Future state where AI agents conduct commerce independently of human intervention.

"Micropayments at Scale" : Enabling millions of sub-penny transactions economically.

"Protocol, Not Platform" : NitroGraph provides infrastructure, not a proprietary marketplace.

"Reputation as an Asset" : XP tokens making reputation economically valuable and tradeable.

"Swarm Intelligence" : Coordinated agent operations achieving more than individual agents.

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Understanding the language of the agent economy.