Crypto Abecedarium

U

Utility Token: is a type of cryptocurrency token that represents a unit of value and has a specific use or utility within a particular blockchain ecosystem or decentralized application (DApp). Unlike security tokens, which may represent ownership in an underlying asset or company, utility tokens are designed to provide access to a product or service within a specific platform. 

Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO): In blockchain terminology, a UTXO is the amount of cryptocurrency held in a specific output of a transaction that has not been spent. 

Upgrade: The process of making significant changes or improvements to a blockchain's protocol or software, often through a hard fork or network upgrade. 

User Interface (UI): The graphical or visual representation through which users interact with a cryptocurrency wallet, exchange, or other software applications.  

Underlying Asset: In the context of tokenization, the original physical or financial asset that a token represents. For example, tokenizing real estate involves representing the underlying real estate asset with a digital token. 

User-Activated Soft Fork (UASF): A mechanism for upgrading a blockchain's protocol where network nodes coordinate to enforce new rules without support from miners, often used to introduce backward-compatible changes. 

Uniform Resource Locator (URL): A web address used to access websites and other resources on the internet, which may be relevant for accessing cryptocurrency-related services. 

Unpermissioned: Refers to systems, networks, or protocols in which participants do not require explicit permission to join or use the network. Many cryptocurrencies operate on unpermissioned, open-source, and decentralized principles.