# Glossary

> The terms used across Deference, in one place.

| Term             | Meaning                                                                                                         |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Activation       | Burning INFERENCE to add $1.00 of credit for each one                                                           |
| API key          | A secret that starts with `sk-df-` and authenticates requests                                                   |
| Available credit | Your credit minus what running requests hold                                                                    |
| Claim            | Receiving reward INFERENCE, in your wallet or as credit                                                         |
| Credit           | The dollar balance on your account that pays for requests. It cannot be sent or withdrawn                       |
| DEF              | The token launched on Stockereum whose trading fees buy INFERENCE for its holders                               |
| Free credit      | A balance you get from the Overview checklist. It pays for open-weight text models, expires, and is spent first |
| Hold             | Credit set aside while a request runs, released when it ends                                                    |
| INFERENCE        | The ERC-20 token you buy with USDC and turn into credit                                                         |
| Model id         | The `author/name` string that picks a model, such as `anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5`                              |
| Payout           | One hour's rewards, published with the data behind it                                                           |
| Reserve          | The contract that holds USDC and sells 1 INFERENCE for each USDC                                                |
| USDC             | The dollar stablecoin you pay with                                                                              |