Glossary
Plain definitions of 33 terms you meet when you accept crypto, from networks and token standards to sweeps, payouts and webhooks. Each one says how it works in Crypto Merchant and links to the page with the details. For costs, see Pricing; to set things up, start with Getting started or the API reference.
Updated 30 October 2026
A secret that identifies your account when your software calls an API. Anyone who has it can act for you, so it stays on your server.
In Crypto Merchant: Keys start with cm_live_ on mainnet and cm_test_ on testnet, are sent as a Bearer token, and are shown only once.
The token standard on BNB Smart Chain. Network fees there are paid in BNB.
In Crypto Merchant: USDT and USDC on BNB Smart Chain are accepted, as well as BNB itself.
More: Accept USDT on BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20)Back to the list
Each block a blockchain adds after the block that holds a payment. The more confirmations, the harder it is for the payment to be undone.
In Crypto Merchant: An invoice counts as paid only after a set number of confirmations on its network, for example 2 on Bitcoin and 19 on Tron.
A service that lets a business accept cryptocurrency. It tells the customer what to send and where, detects the payment on the blockchain, and tells the business once it is paid.
In Crypto Merchant: Crypto Merchant is a custodial gateway. It gives each invoice its own deposit address, watches 11 networks and credits your balance, minus 1% per paid invoice.
A custodial service holds the private keys of the wallets your coins are in and moves coins on your instructions. You see a balance, not keys.
In Crypto Merchant: Crypto Merchant is custodial. Each business has its own pool wallet, and every wallet is derived from one recovery phrase kept offline on paper.
The blockchain address a customer sends a payment to.
In Crypto Merchant: Every invoice gets its own deposit address, so each payment is matched to its invoice without memos or tags. An address is reused only after a cool-down.
The token standard on Ethereum, where network fees are paid in ETH. Networks built the same way, such as Polygon, Base and Arbitrum One, use the same standard, but their tokens are separate from Ethereum's.
In Crypto Merchant: USDT and USDC on Ethereum are accepted. Tokens on Polygon, Base and Arbitrum One are listed as networks of their own, and the customer pays on the one the invoice shows.
Fixing an invoice's amount in coin at the moment the customer picks a coin, so price moves while they pay don't change what they owe.
In Crypto Merchant: The rate is locked for the time shown on the invoice page. Stablecoins count as one US dollar each.
A prepaid balance that pays network fees when coins are moved for you.
In Crypto Merchant: Your one-time $25 go-live payment is credited to it in full. It is kept in US dollars, only pays network fees, and can't be withdrawn or refunded as cash. If it runs out, the fee is taken from the payment being moved.
A code computed from a message and a shared secret. If the code you compute matches, the message came from someone who knows the secret and wasn't changed on the way.
In Crypto Merchant: Each webhook has a CM-Signature header with a timestamp and an HMAC-SHA256 signature made with your endpoint's whsec_ secret.
One coin you choose to keep your whole balance in, instead of holding each coin you receive.
In Crypto Merchant: If you choose one, other coins are swapped into it every 24 hours, or when you request a payout.
A payment page run by the gateway rather than on your own website, so you don't have to build one.
In Crypto Merchant: Every store gets its own checkout page, where customers enter an amount or pick one of your payment links. You don't need a website to share it.
A request for one payment: an amount, usually priced in a currency such as US dollars, with the details the customer needs to pay it.
In Crypto Merchant: Each invoice has its own page, its own deposit address and a time limit. Create invoices in the portal or with the API.
Know your customer and know your business: the identity and company checks a financial service may run, such as ID documents, proof of address or company registration papers.
In Crypto Merchant: We don't ask for identity documents when you create an account. The Terms still prohibit illegal and sanctioned uses, and let us pause or close an account that breaks them.
A blockchain that records transfers, such as Ethereum, Tron or Solana. The same coin on two networks is not interchangeable: USDT on Tron and USDT on Ethereum are different tokens.
In Crypto Merchant: Crypto Merchant supports 11 networks. Customers must send the coin shown, on the network shown.
What a blockchain charges to process a transfer, paid in the network's own coin: ETH on Ethereum, TRX on Tron, SOL on Solana. Moving a token needs some of that coin too.
In Crypto Merchant: Sweeps, swaps and token payouts are paid from your gas balance, and nothing is added on top for sweeps. Payouts of a network's own coin pay the fee from the amount sent.
With a non-custodial setup, payments go straight to a wallet whose keys only you hold. Nobody else can move your coins, and nobody else can recover them if you lose the keys.
In Crypto Merchant: Crypto Merchant doesn't offer a non-custodial mode: payments always collect in a pool wallet it holds for your business.
More: Custodial vs non-custodial crypto paymentsBack to the list
A payment of more than the invoice asked for.
In Crypto Merchant: The invoice counts as paid. If the extra is more than $5, the customer can withdraw it from the invoice page. If it is $5 or less, it goes to the Crypto Merchant platform pool and is not returned.
A reusable link for one product, service or donation that you can share anywhere. It can have a fixed price or let the customer enter the amount.
In Crypto Merchant: Every payment made through a link becomes its own invoice.
Sending coins from your balance to a wallet you control.
In Crypto Merchant: Pay out any time, with no minimum and no Crypto Merchant payout fee, only the network fee. Only Admins can make payouts.
The wallet where a business's confirmed payments collect until they are paid out.
In Crypto Merchant: Each business has its own pool wallet, held by Crypto Merchant. A ledger records exactly which coins belong to your business.
A list of words from which a wallet's keys can be rebuilt, usually following the BIP-39 standard. Whoever has the phrase controls the wallet.
In Crypto Merchant: Every Crypto Merchant wallet is derived from one master recovery phrase, written on paper and kept offline by the operator.
Sending a payment, or part of it, back to the customer. Crypto refunds go to an address the customer gives, because a blockchain payment can't be reversed by the sender.
In Crypto Merchant: On an underpaid invoice, the customer can get back what they sent, minus the refund's network fee. Refunds for returns are part of your own refund policy.
A token on Solana, following the Solana Program Library standard. USDT and USDC on Solana are SPL tokens, and network fees are paid in SOL.
In Crypto Merchant: USDT and USDC on Solana are accepted, as well as SOL itself.
A token designed to keep a steady value, usually one US dollar. USDT and USDC are the best known.
In Crypto Merchant: Invoices count stablecoins as one US dollar each, and you can keep your whole balance in one stablecoin.
Exchanging one coin for another.
In Crypto Merchant: Swap rates are based on live market prices and include a service margin. Network fees for swaps are paid from your gas balance.
Moving a confirmed payment from its deposit address into the merchant's main wallet.
In Crypto Merchant: Choose automatic sweeps, as soon as a payment is confirmed, or manual sweeps that you start. There is no sweep fee, only the network fee.
The rules a token follows on one network, so wallets and apps know how to send and read it. A token's standard tells you which network it lives on, such as TRC-20 for Tron.
In Crypto Merchant: The invoice page shows the network to pay on, and only tokens from the official contract are counted.
The token standard on Tron. USDT on Tron is often called USDT TRC-20. Moving it costs a network fee paid in TRX, Tron's own coin.
In Crypto Merchant: USDT on Tron is accepted. The TRX needed to move it comes from your gas balance.
How far short a payment can be and still count as paid. Wallets sometimes send a little less than asked because of their own fees.
In Crypto Merchant: You set it; we recommend at least $1. A payment short by more is underpaid: the customer can send the rest or get back what they sent.
A US dollar stablecoin issued by Circle on many networks.
In Crypto Merchant: Accepted on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum One, and Solana.
A US dollar stablecoin issued by Tether on many networks.
In Crypto Merchant: Accepted on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum One, Tron, and Solana.
A message a service sends to your server when something happens, so you don't have to keep asking.
In Crypto Merchant: Crypto Merchant sends events such as invoice.paid, signed with HMAC-SHA256 and retried for about two days if your server doesn't answer.
Free setup, no documents to sign up, 1% per paid invoice, and payouts whenever you want.
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