Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the words you’ll see in Scrya and in this help centre. Terms are in alphabetical order.
Address family
The format a wallet address takes on a group of networks. Scrya checks addresses by family: EVM addresses start with 0x, Tron addresses start with T, Solana addresses are a string of letters and numbers, and Bitcoin addresses start with 1, 3 or bc1. See Choosing the right network.
API key
A code your exchange creates so another service can connect to your account. For Scrya, it lets Scrya ask your exchange for your balance. It comes with a second value, the API secret. You paste it into the API Key field. See How exchange verification works.
API secret
The private half of an API key, shown by your exchange when you create the key. Many exchanges show it only once. Some exchanges use a different name: Binance calls it the Secret Key and Kraken calls it the Private Key. It goes in Scrya’s API Secret field. Treat it like a password and never send it to anyone, including Scrya support.
Audit Log
A page for business users that records every change to your organisation’s data: who made it, when, and what changed. Users can read these records but can’t edit or delete them. See Audit log.
Authenticator app
An app on your phone or computer, such as Google Authenticator, Authy or 1Password, that shows a new 6-digit code every few moments. Scrya uses it for two-factor authentication.
Blockchain
See Network.
Browser wallet
A wallet that runs as a browser extension, in an in-app browser or built into the browser itself, such as MetaMask, Phantom or Brave Wallet. With these, you can sign Scrya’s message using Connect & Sign with … instead of copying and pasting.
Business Admin
A member of a business’s team who can do everything in their organisation, including inviting and managing users, changing organisation settings and plans, deleting customers, and exporting or erasing customer data. Your Settings page shows this role as Business Administrator. See Roles and permissions.
Business User
A member of a business’s team who can add customers and create and manage verification requests, but can’t manage users, change organisation settings, or export or erase customer data. See Roles and permissions.
Centralised exchange
A company that holds crypto on your behalf in an account, such as Binance, Coinbase or Kraken. It’s one of the two ways to verify in Scrya. You connect a read-only API key and Scrya checks your balance with the exchange. See Supported exchanges.
Certificate (verification certificate)
A PDF record of a verification request’s results, including the assets, methods and balances verified. Businesses can select Download Certificate on a request once at least one holding is verified. When every holding in a request is verified, it’s also attached to the completion email. See Verification certificates.
Chain
See Network.
Custodial and non-custodial
A custodial service holds your crypto for you, as an exchange does. A non-custodial wallet is one where only you hold the keys. Scrya itself is non-custodial in a different sense: it proves what you hold without ever taking control of it or moving it.
Customer
A person or business that an organisation asks to verify their holdings. Customers use Scrya by invitation and complete verifications in their own portal.
Error reference
A code like ERR-7K3F-9Q2M shown when something has gone wrong on Scrya’s side. Quote it to support so they can find the exact problem. See Error messages and references.
EVM
Short for Ethereum Virtual Machine. A group of networks that work the same way as Ethereum and share the same 0x… address format. In Scrya, these are Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum One and Base. The same address works on all of them, but the balance on each is separate.
Explorer (blockchain explorer)
A website that shows public blockchain data, such as the balance and transactions of an address. Examples include Etherscan, BscScan, PolygonScan, Arbiscan, BaseScan, Solscan, Tronscan and mempool.space. In the wallet form, Search explorer lets you look up an address before you submit it.
Gas (network fee)
A fee paid to a network to process a transaction. Signing Scrya’s message isn’t a transaction, so it never costs gas.
Hardware wallet
A physical device that keeps your private keys offline, such as a Ledger, Trezor or Blockstream Jade. You can sign Scrya’s message with one. See the Ledger and Trezor guides.
Invitation
An email that lets you create your Scrya account. Scrya accounts are invitation-only: there’s no public sign-up. See Accepting your invite.
Message signing
Using your wallet to sign a short piece of text, which proves you control the address without moving any funds. Scrya gives you a one-time message to sign. It’s a random code that expires 15 minutes after it’s issued. See How wallet verification works.
MFA
Short for multi-factor authentication. See Two-factor authentication.
MFA challenge frequency
An organisation setting that decides how often users with two-factor authentication turned on must enter a code, from Every log-in to Every 48 hours. Business Admins set it. See Two-factor authentication.
Monitoring
The status a wallet address shows once your signature has passed Scrya’s check, while Scrya reads the address’s balance. This usually takes up to 15 minutes. If the balance can’t be read within 24 hours, it shows Expired and you can select Start new verification. While an address is monitoring, a customer can select Recall submission to withdraw it and try again.
Network (or chain)
The blockchain an asset is held on. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana each have their own network. USDT and USDC exist on several networks, so you choose the one your tokens are actually on. On an exchange, USDT and USDC are held as one balance that isn’t split by network. See Supported assets and networks.
Organisation
A business’s workspace in Scrya. It holds the business’s team, customers, verification requests and settings, and other businesses can’t see them. Some screens spell it “Organization”.
Passphrase
An extra password that some exchanges ask you to set when you create an API key. In Scrya, only OKX needs one. Enter the passphrase you chose for the key, not your exchange login password.
Private key
The secret that controls a crypto wallet. Anyone who has it can move the funds. Scrya never asks for it. Note that Kraken uses “Private Key” as the name for its API secret, which is different: that’s the value you paste into Scrya’s API Secret field.
Private wallet
A wallet you control yourself, such as MetaMask, Phantom, a Ledger or Electrum. It’s one of the two ways to verify in Scrya. You prove ownership by signing a message, then Scrya reads the balance from the blockchain.
Read-only permission
An API key setting that lets a service view your balances but not trade or withdraw. Scrya only needs read-only access. Each exchange names it differently, for example Read Info, Read Only, View or Query Funds. See the exchange guides.
Request status
Where a verification request is up to, such as Pending, In Progress, Verified, Rejected or Closed. See Request statuses.
Saved API key
An exchange key you’ve already used in Scrya. When you verify with the same exchange again, you can choose it under Use a saved API key or add a new one, and Scrya checks it again with your exchange. Scrya never shows the key itself.
Seed phrase (recovery phrase)
A list of words, often 12 or 24, that can restore a wallet and everything in it. Never share it with anyone. Scrya will never ask for it.
Self-service verification
A verification a customer starts themselves by selecting Verify an asset in their portal and choosing an organisation they’re already a customer of. That organisation can see the request straight away.
Signature
The text your wallet produces when you sign a message. It proves the message was signed by your address. Its format depends on the network: EVM signatures start with 0x, Bitcoin signatures are Base64 text, Solana signatures are Base58 text and Tron signatures are hex text.
Stablecoin
A crypto token designed to keep a steady value, usually one US dollar. Scrya supports two: USDC and USDT.
Two-factor authentication
A second check when you sign in. After your password, you enter a 6-digit code from an authenticator app. You can turn it on under Settings. See Two-factor authentication.
USD value
The US dollar value of a verified balance, captured at the moment the verification completed. It isn’t updated afterwards, and it may be missing if no price was available at the time.
USDC
A US-dollar stablecoin issued by Circle. Scrya supports it on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum One, Base and Solana. USDC on Tron is no longer offered because Circle ended support for it.
USDT
A US-dollar stablecoin issued by Tether. Scrya supports it on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum One, Solana and Tron.
Verification request
A request from a business for a customer to prove they hold one or more assets. Each address or exchange account in the request is verified separately. When all of them are done, the request’s status updates. See Creating a verification request.
Verification type
How a customer proves a holding: Private wallet (sign a message) or Centralised exchange (connect a read-only API key). See Wallet or exchange?.
Wallet address
The public identifier for receiving crypto, like an account number. It’s safe to share. Some formats are case-sensitive, so copy and paste it rather than typing it.