Glossary snapshot — accounts, programs, and rent
Three terms that confuse newcomers, defined in plain English with links.
Account
A record on-chain that holds lamports and/or data. Accounts have owners and may be controlled by programs. Your wallet address corresponds to accounts — not a single monolithic “balance vault” in the banking sense.
Program
Executable code identified by an on-chain address. Programs process instructions according to their logic. Wallets and block explorers show program IDs; verifying them against official documentation prevents interacting with impersonators.
Rent
Accounts with data pay rent for storage, calculated from data size. Rent-exempt status means a minimum balance is deposited so ongoing rent is waived. Closing accounts can reclaim some locked lamports when rules allow.
Using this glossary
Each journal article links terms to expanded sections as we publish them. Request a briefing if you need a walkthrough tied to your specific reading list.