Glossary

Term	Definition
Bootstrap Rewards	As outlined in The Root Network whitepaper, we reward up to 10% of the total supply of ROOT tokens over 260 weeks as a bootstrap to early backers. Stakers, nominators, and validators are rewarded ROOT based on ROOT staked by duration for the reward cycle. Rewarded ROOT is transferred into The Vortex and paid out in Vortex tokens at the end of the reward cycle.
Era	A 24-hour period. For each Era, validators are selected by voting to do the work.
Extrinsic	The term extrinsic is generally used to mean any information that originates outside of the runtime. However, for practical purposes, it is more useful to consider each transaction type independently and identify scenarios where each type would be most applicable.
Network Fees	Fees from DEX, marketplaces, communication protocols, material world and other experiences, and paying gas on the network.
Network Tokens	These are tokens used on the network to pay gas and network fees.
Nominator	A participant who stakes ROOT and chooses to nominate one or more validators. This is a higher risk (see Slashing) and comes with a higher reward relative to staking.
Reward Cycle	A 90-day period. At the end of the reward cycle, participants are rewarded proportionally to their participation level.
ROOT	The token used to power The Root Network.
Slashing	This is the risk validators and nominators take on. It happens when a validator misbehaves e.g., the validator node becomes unavailable. Slashed ROOT is transferred to the Treasury.
Staker	A participant who stakes ROOT and doesn’t nominate a validator. It is a lower risk and comes with lower rewards relative to nominating.
Validator	A participant who stakes ROOT and operates one or more validator nodes to forge blocks and complete transactions on the network.
The Vortex	This is where all fees collected on the network are stored. It also includes the ROOT from Bootstrap Rewards. Tokens in The Vortex should generally go up. It decreases when people unroll their Vortex token. In this case, they get their proportion from The Vortex. For example, if you unroll 10 Vortex tokens and there are 100 Vortex tokens in circulation, you have 10% of the market supply. By unrolling, you get back 10% of all tokens in The Vortex at that time.
Vortex Tokens	Participants on The Root Network are rewarded with Vortex tokens. Vortex tokens are backed by the underlying tokens in The Vortex. They are tradable on DEX, assuming there is a liquidity pool with a pair of your choice.
Work Points	Work points are earned by validators for doing work to complete blocks and transactions on the network. As a nominator, you earn a percentage commission of Work points your selected validators earn. For more details on how they work, see Tokenomics.