QRL glossary
One-line definitions of the terms used across QRL and this explorer. Each links to a deeper guide where there is one.
Every term below has a stable anchor — link straight to a definition with /learn/glossary#<term>. Where a full guide exists, follow the "Read the guide" link for the deep dive.
Quantum & the threat model
- Grover's algorithm
- A quantum search algorithm that gives only a square-root speed-up against hash functions, so doubling the hash output size restores the original security margin.
- Harvest now, decrypt later
- Capturing signed or encrypted data today to break it once quantum computers mature — the threat model that motivates migrating to post-quantum cryptography early.
- NIST PQC standards
- The 2024 NIST post-quantum standards (incl. FIPS 204 / ML-DSA). QRL 2.0's signature scheme follows this standard.
- Post-quantum cryptography
- Cryptographic schemes designed to resist attacks by quantum computers. QRL uses XMSS (Legacy) and ML-DSA-87 (2.0). Read the guide →
- Shor's algorithm
- A quantum algorithm that efficiently factors integers and solves discrete logs, breaking RSA and ECDSA. It is the core reason today's mainstream chains are quantum-vulnerable. Read the guide →
Cryptography & signatures
- ECDSA
- The elliptic-curve signature Bitcoin and Ethereum use. A large quantum computer could derive its private key from a public key via Shor's algorithm — the vulnerability QRL is built to avoid.
- Hash function
- A one-way function (e.g. SHA-256, SHAKE-256) mapping data to a fixed-size digest. Hash-based signatures like XMSS depend on these rather than on number-theoretic hardness.
- Merkle tree
- A hash tree that rolls many one-time public keys up to a single root public key — the structure that lets XMSS sign many times from one address.
- ML-DSA-87
- The lattice-based post-quantum signature QRL 2.0 uses — NIST FIPS 204 (Dilithium family), at the highest level-5 parameter set. It is stateless, unlike XMSS. Read the guide →
- OTS key (one-time signature)
- An XMSS signing key tied to a single index that must be used only once; reusing an index weakens security, which is why QRL Legacy tracks the OTS index per wallet.
- XMSS
- The eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme — the hash-based, stateful post-quantum signature QRL Legacy uses. Its security rests on hash functions, not number theory, so Shor's algorithm cannot break it. Read the guide →
Consensus, staking & the beacon chain
- Beacon chain
- QRL 2.0's Proof-of-Stake consensus layer, run by the qrysm client, which coordinates validators, slots and epochs.
- Epoch
- A group of 128 slots on QRL 2.0 (~2.1 hours), used for validator duty assignment and finality accounting.
- Proof-of-Stake (PoS)
- QRL 2.0's consensus, where validators stake QRL — instead of mining — to propose and attest blocks. Read the guide →
- Proof-of-Work (PoW)
- QRL Legacy's consensus, where miners spend computation (the QRandomX algorithm) to add blocks. Read the guide →
- QRandomX
- QRL Legacy's ASIC-resistant, CPU-friendly Proof-of-Work mining algorithm (a QRL variant of RandomX).
- Slashing
- A penalty that burns part of a validator's stake for provable misbehaviour, such as double-proposing or contradictory attestations.
- Slot
- The fixed time window in which one validator may propose a block on QRL 2.0. One slot is 60 seconds.
- Validator
- A participant that stakes QRL to propose and attest blocks on the QRL 2.0 Proof-of-Stake chain.
- Withdrawal
- An EIP-4895 validator-reward payout applied directly by the QRL 2.0 protocol, separate from ordinary transactions.
The two chains & migration
- Chain ID
- The network identifier. QRL 2.0 testnetv2 is chain ID 1337.
- gqrl
- QRL 2.0's execution client — a go-ethereum fork (formerly go-zond) that runs the EVM and serves the qrl_* JSON-RPC.
- Q-address format
- Both chains use a Q-prefix address. QRL Legacy is 79 chars (39 bytes, XMSS-derived); QRL 2.0 is 41 chars (20 bytes, EVM-style). Length, not prefix, identifies the chain. Read the guide →
- QRL → QRL 2.0 migration
- The announced model where a snapshot of QRL Legacy balances is claimed on QRL 2.0 by signing with the old XMSS wallet. The on-chain claim mechanism is not yet in public source. Read the guide →
- QRL 2.0
- The EVM-compatible Proof-of-Stake successor chain, signing with ML-DSA-87, run by gqrl (execution) + qrysm (consensus). Currently testnetv2 (chain ID 1337).
- QRL Legacy
- The original QRL Proof-of-Work mainnet (since 2018), signing with XMSS. It becomes a read-only archive after the move to QRL 2.0 — a predecessor, not a competitor.
- qrysm
- QRL 2.0's consensus client — a Prysm fork that runs the beacon chain.
Units & economics
- Gas
- The unit measuring computational work for a QRL 2.0 transaction. The fee equals gas used × gas price.
- Planck
- The smallest unit of QRL 2.0. 1e18 Planck = 1 Quanta.
- Quanta
- The whole-coin unit on both QRL chains. 1 Quanta = 1e9 Shor; on QRL 2.0 also = 1e18 Planck. QRL is the ticker; Quanta is the unit.
- Shor (unit)
- QRL's base accounting unit: 1e9 Shor = 1 Quanta on both chains. On QRL 2.0 it sits above Planck (1 Shor = 1e9 Planck).
- Supply cap
- QRL Legacy has a 105M-QRL maximum supply emitted on a decaying schedule; roughly 79.9M existed as of mid-2026.
Reading the explorer
- Coinbase (block reward)
- The special transaction that pays the block producer the newly-minted block reward — mined on QRL Legacy, not present as a normal tx on QRL 2.0.
- Reorg (reorganisation)
- When a previously-seen block is replaced as the network settles on the canonical (heaviest / most-attested) fork.
- Richlist
- The ranking of addresses by balance.