7 min read
TL;DR
- A is the new ticker; EOS is the legacy token. Both have a 2.1 billion max supply and swap 1:1.
- Every action needs CPU and NET (rented via PowerUp) and data lives in RAM (bought).
- DPoS: holders vote, 21 block producers run the chain, 15 of 21 approve changes.
- Savanna gives roughly 1-second finality; the LIB marks the last final block.
How to use this EOS glossary
Terms are grouped alphabetically. Where a topic needs more than a paragraph, we link to the full guide. If you’re brand new, start with account, A, RAM, CPU and PowerUp; those five explain most of what feels strange about EOS compared with other blockchains.
| Term | One-line meaning | Where you’ll see it |
|---|---|---|
| A | Vaulta token, formerly EOS | Exchanges, wallets |
| RAM | On-chain storage you own | Account pages |
| CPU / NET | Rented processing and bandwidth | Wallet errors |
| REX | Native staking pool | Staking screens |
| BP | Elected block producer | Voting tools |
A–B
A (token)
The ticker of the Vaulta token. It replaced EOS after the 2025 rebrand and is issued by the core.vaulta contract with four decimal places. The max supply is 2.1 billion, matching legacy EOS. When people say “A token (formerly EOS)”, they mean this.
Account
Your identity on EOS. Unlike the long hex addresses on Ethereum, accounts have readable names of up to 12 characters, such as coffeelover1. Allowed characters are a–z, 1–5 and the dot. An existing account must create yours and pay for about 3 KB of RAM. Guide: how to create an EOS account.
Active key / active permission
The everyday permission of an account, used to sign transfers, votes and dApp actions. It sits below the owner permission, which can replace it if it’s compromised.
Anchor
A self-custody wallet by Greymass for Vaulta and other Antelope chains, available in the browser, on mobile and on desktop. It can create free accounts and connects to dApps. Review: Anchor Wallet guide.
Antelope
The open-source blockchain protocol EOS runs on. It began as a community fork of Block.one’s EOSIO and was activated on EOS in September 2022. Telos, WAX and UX Network also use it.
Bancor algorithm
The pricing formula behind the RAM market. The less free RAM there is, the higher the price per kilobyte.
Block.one
The company that created EOSIO and ran the 2017–2018 ICO. It paid a $24 million SEC penalty in 2019 and lost influence over the chain after 2021.
Block producer (BP)
A server operator elected by token holders to produce blocks. The top 21 are active; the rest are on standby. Each active BP produces 12 blocks in a row (6 seconds) per turn. Guide: EOS block producers and DPoS.
BLS signatures
A signature scheme that lets many votes be combined into one compact proof. Savanna finalizers use BLS keys to vote on every block cheaply.
C–E
Chain ID
A unique fingerprint of a blockchain that wallets use to avoid signing for the wrong network. The EOS chain ID did not change with the Vaulta rebrand; it still starts with aca376f2.
core.vaulta
The system contract behind the rebrand. It is three things at once: the A token contract, the 1:1 EOS-to-A swap, and a wrapper that lets you pay for RAM, staking, voting and PowerUp in A.
CPU
Processing time a transaction consumes, measured in microseconds. A simple transfer takes roughly 100–300 µs. You rent CPU through PowerUp; if you run out, transactions fail until you rent more or the window resets.
dApp
A decentralized application whose logic runs in smart contracts. Directory: EOS dApps.
DPoS (delegated proof of stake)
The consensus model where token holders vote for block producers instead of mining or validating themselves. Each account can vote for up to 30 producers.
ENF
The EOS Network Foundation, founded in August 2021 to coordinate development and funding. It now operates as the Vaulta Foundation.
EOS (legacy token)
The original token, issued by eosio.token. It still exists on-chain and can be swapped 1:1 to A with no deadline. Many system tables still account in EOS internally.
EOS EVM
An Ethereum-compatible environment that ran as a contract on EOS from April 2023. It was shut down in October 2025 and is history now.
EOSIO
Block.one’s original blockchain software. Development stopped, and the community continued it as Antelope.
exSat
A Bitcoin “docking layer” from the EOS ecosystem that indexes Bitcoin’s UTXO data into Vaulta RAM. It is central to Vaulta’s Bitcoin-yield plans.
F–M
Finality
The moment a transaction can no longer be reversed. On EOS it is about one second since Savanna, compared with about 12.8 minutes on Ethereum and about an hour on Bitcoin. Comparison: EOS vs Ethereum vs Bitcoin.
Finalizer
Under Savanna, the active producers also act as finalizers. They vote on every block, and once 15 of 21 agree, the block is final.
Greymass
The team behind Anchor, Unicove, WharfKit and the Fuel resource service, plus public API nodes.
Halving
The scheduled cut in emission rate every four years under the 2024 tokenomics. The next one is on 1 June 2028. Details: EOS tokenomics.
Hyperion
A history API used by explorers to look up past actions and transactions.
Leap
The first node software of Antelope (Leap 3.1 to 5.0), succeeded by Spring.
LIB (last irreversible block)
The newest block that is final. Explorers show it next to the head block.
Memo
A short text field on a transfer. Exchanges often use it to identify your deposit, so a missing memo is the most common reason a deposit doesn’t arrive.
Multisig (msig)
A transaction that needs several approvals. It is built into EOS permissions through weights and thresholds. Producers use the eosio.prods account, which requires 15 of 21 signatures, to approve upgrades.
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N–R
NET
Network bandwidth a transaction uses, measured in bytes. A simple transfer needs about 150 bytes. Like CPU, it is rented through PowerUp.
Owner key / owner permission
The highest permission of an account. It can change the active key and recover control. Keep it offline.
Permission
A named set of keys or accounts with a threshold. Every account has owner and active, and you can add custom permissions linked to specific contract actions, for example a key that can only vote.
PowerUp
The system for renting CPU and NET for 24 hours, in place since April 2021. The price rises as network utilization grows, but for normal use it is tiny; the minimum fee is 0.0001 A.
Premium name
An account name shorter than 12 characters, or a suffix such as .bar, won in an on-chain auction. Only the owner of bar can create name.bar.
Proxy
An account that votes for producers on behalf of others who delegate their vote to it.
RAM
Permanent on-chain storage for balances, contract code and data. You buy it from a Bancor-priced market (0.5% fee each way) and can sell it back. A new account needs about 3 KB. Guide: EOS RAM, CPU and NET.
REX
The native staking pool. You deposit A and receive non-transferable REX, whose value in A rises as rewards flow in. REX 2.0 launched in July 2024 with a 21-day unstaking period.
S–Z
Savanna
The consensus algorithm activated on EOS on 25 September 2024 with Spring 1.0. It cut finality from about 3 minutes to about 1 second.
Spring
The current Antelope node software, the successor to Leap.
Staking Rewards Reserve
A pool of 250 million tokens that funds staking rewards, halving every four years: about 31.25 million a year in the first period.
Standby producer
A block producer ranked 22nd or lower. It receives vote pay but doesn’t produce blocks unless it climbs into the top 21.
Swap (EOS → A)
The 1:1 conversion of legacy EOS into A, live since 14 May 2025 with no deadline. Guide: how to swap EOS to A.
TPS
Transactions per second. EOS capacity is about 4,000 TPS based on chain limits; real load is far lower.
Unicove
The official Vaulta web portal by Greymass: explorer, swap, staking and RAM tools in one place. It needs a connected wallet to sign. Our own lookup tool is on the EOS explorer page.
Vaulta
The new name of the EOS network since March 2025, positioned as infrastructure for “Web3 banking”.
WharfKit
A developer toolkit that lets dApps connect to Antelope wallets, the successor to older login libraries.
Wombat
A gaming-focused wallet that offered free EOS accounts. Review: Wombat Wallet guide.
Learn more
What is EOS?
What EOS is, who built it and what makes it different.
RAM / CPU / NET
RAM, CPU and NET explained — with a calculator.
Staking
EOS staking and REX: where the yield comes from.
DPoS & producers
Delegated Proof of Stake and the 21 block producers.
Frequently asked questions
What does “A” mean in EOS?
A is the ticker of the Vaulta token, which replaced EOS after the 2025 rebrand. It is issued by the core.vaulta contract and swaps 1:1 with legacy EOS. See EOS to Vaulta explained.
What is the difference between CPU, NET and RAM on EOS?
CPU is processing time in microseconds, NET is bandwidth in bytes, and both are rented for 24 hours through PowerUp. RAM is permanent storage that you buy and can sell back. Our resources guide includes a calculator.
What is REX on EOS?
REX is the native staking pool. You deposit A, receive non-transferable REX, and earn a share of the Staking Rewards Reserve. Unstaking takes 21 days. Details on our EOS staking page.
What does LIB mean on an EOS explorer?
LIB stands for last irreversible block, the newest block that can no longer be reversed. Since the Savanna upgrade it is usually just two blocks, about one second, behind the head block.
Is EOSIO the same as Antelope?
Antelope is the community fork of EOSIO, the software Block.one originally wrote. EOS switched to Antelope in September 2022. The details are on our Antelope and EOSIO page.
Sources
eoscoin.org is an independent review and information site. Nothing here is financial, investment or legal advice. Crypto assets are highly volatile — do your own research before making any decision. Disclaimer · About
