The Dental Crypto Payments Glossary: 60 Terms, Front-Desk Friendly

Front-desk staff hear a lot of unfamiliar shorthand once a practice adds crypto payments — some of it about the assets themselves (BTC, stablecoin, wallet), some of it about the plumbing (rate lock, settlement, processor), and some of it about compliance (KYB, AML, OFAC) that sounds scarier than it is. This page collects 60 of those terms in one place, defined the way you'd actually explain them to a patient or a new hire — short, plain, and specific to how a dental practice experiences them, not how a crypto trader would.

Terms are grouped alphabetically into seven sections below so this works as a real reference: skim it once, or come back and search it the next time a patient (or a partner) asks "wait, what does that mean?" One housekeeping note up front, since it comes up constantly: DDSCrypto is a payment processor for dental practices, not a cryptocurrency, and has no relationship to Dentacoin (DCN), an unrelated token from 2017 — more on that in the D-through-F section below.

For the full mechanics of how a crypto payment moves from patient to bank account, see the pillar guide on accepting cryptocurrency at a dental practice. This page is the glossary that sits underneath it.

Which five assets do these terms actually describe?

Most of this glossary applies regardless of which asset a patient chooses, but it helps to see all five side by side before diving into definitions:

Asset	Ticker	Type	Value behavior
Bitcoin	BTC	Store-of-value	Floating — moves with the market
Ethereum	ETH	Smart-contract platform token	Floating — moves with the market
Solana	SOL	Fast, low-fee network token	Floating — moves with the market
USD Coin	USDC	Stablecoin	Pegged 1:1 to the US dollar
Tether	USDT	Stablecoin	Pegged 1:1 to the US dollar

Whichever asset a patient sends, the practice's side of the transaction looks the same: a rate lock, a conversion, and a same-day USD deposit. Keep that table in mind as the asset-specific terms come up below.

What do the basic payment-rail terms mean, A through C?

• ACH (Automated Clearing House) — The US bank-to-bank network used for direct deposits and electronic transfers. Some insurers use ACH to reimburse dental claims instead of a paper check or a virtual credit card.
• AML (Anti-Money Laundering) — A category of laws and internal controls aimed at detecting and reporting suspicious financial activity.† A regulated crypto processor runs AML monitoring on transactions automatically; a practice using one doesn't build its own AML program.
• BAA (Business Associate Agreement) — A HIPAA contract between a covered entity (the dental practice) and a vendor that creates, receives, or transmits Protected Health Information on its behalf.† A processor that only ever sees a patient reference and a dollar amount may fall outside that definition, but many practices request a BAA anyway.
• Bitcoin (BTC) — The original cryptocurrency and still the most widely held; many patients paying with crypto default to BTC simply because it's the asset they already own.
• Blockchain — The public, shared ledger that records crypto transactions. It's permanent and viewable by anyone, which is why a well-designed payment flow never writes anything identifying or health-related to it.
• BSA (Bank Secrecy Act) — The federal law requiring financial institutions and money services businesses to help detect and prevent money laundering.† It's the legal foundation under which AML and KYB programs sit.
• Card Network — Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express: the networks that route card transactions and set the interchange fees baked into a practice's effective rate.
• Cash Discount Program — A pricing structure where the posted price already assumes a card surcharge, and patients who pay cash get a "discount" off that price.† Disclosure rules for how this must be presented to patients vary by state.
• Chargeback — A card payment reversed by the cardholder's bank after the fact, typically costing the practice $15–$50† in fees alone, on top of the disputed amount. Confirmed crypto payments don't have an equivalent mechanism — see Irreversibility below.
• Cold Wallet — A crypto wallet kept offline, disconnected from the internet, for long-term storage. A patient might keep savings in a cold wallet; a practice using DDSCrypto never needs one, because it never holds crypto at all.
• Confirmation — The point at which a crypto network verifies a transaction as final. In a rate-locked payment, confirmation is when the processor converts the payment to USD — it doesn't change the dollar amount already locked.
• Custody / Custodial — Holding an asset directly, with control over its private key. DDSCrypto's rail is non-custodial for the dental practice — the practice never takes custody of crypto at any point in the transaction.

What do the D-through-F terms mean — including one everyone confuses with DDSCrypto?

• Dentacoin (DCN) — An unrelated cryptocurrency token launched in 2017. DDSCrypto is a USD payment processor for dental practices, not a cryptocurrency, and has no connection to Dentacoin beyond the coincidental overlap in name.
• Digital Asset — A broad umbrella term covering cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and similar tokens generally; "crypto" and "digital asset" are often used interchangeably in payments contexts.
• Discount Rate — Another name for the percentage a processor charges per transaction, sometimes used interchangeably with "effective rate," though technically it's the base card-brand rate before add-on fees are layered in.
• Effective Rate — The all-in percentage a practice actually pays across every fee layered onto a transaction — the number that matters more than any single line item. The average dental practice's effective card rate runs around 3.53%†, which on roughly $44,900†/month in card volume works out to about $19,000†/year. See pricing for how a crypto rail compares.
• Ethereum (ETH) — A major cryptocurrency and smart-contract platform, commonly held by longer-term crypto users; accepted alongside BTC, SOL, USDC, and USDT.
• Exchange (Crypto Exchange) — A platform like Coinbase or Kraken where people buy, sell, and hold crypto. A patient likely bought their BTC or ETH on an exchange; a dental practice never needs an exchange account to accept payments.
• Exchange Rate — The current USD value of a crypto asset. In a DDSCrypto transaction, this rate is fixed — "locked" — the instant a patient starts checkout, which is what Rate Lock (below) refers to.
• Fiat Currency — Government-issued currency like the US dollar, legal tender backed by a government rather than pegged to another asset. Everything a practice receives through DDSCrypto is fiat: plain USD.
• FinCEN — The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the federal bureau that regulates money services businesses under the Bank Secrecy Act.† A compliant crypto processor registers with FinCEN; a dental practice accepting payments through one does not.

What do the compliance and network terms mean, G through L?

• Gas Fee / Network Fee — The fee paid to a blockchain's network to process a transaction, similar to a wire fee. It's paid by whoever sends the crypto (typically the patient's wallet), not by the dental practice.
• HIPAA — The federal law governing Protected Health Information.† A crypto payment flow can be run in a HIPAA-conscious way, but only if it never carries anything beyond a patient reference and a dollar amount.
• Hot Wallet — A crypto wallet connected to the internet, used for everyday spending — the opposite of a cold wallet. Patients typically pay from a hot wallet or exchange app; a practice never needs one.
• Interchange Fee — The portion of a card transaction fee that goes to the card-issuing bank, set by the card networks. It's usually the largest single component of a practice's effective card rate.
• Irreversibility — The property of a confirmed crypto transaction that it cannot be reversed the way a card chargeback can. This is why crypto payments carry essentially no chargeback risk once confirmed — a refund still has to be issued voluntarily by the practice.
• KYB (Know Your Business) — The identity and ownership verification a payment processor runs on a merchant at onboarding: legal entity name, ownership, licensing details, and estimated volume.† A dental practice completes this once at signup, similar to what its existing card processor already collected.
• KYC (Know Your Customer) — The individual-level counterpart to KYB, verifying a person's identity rather than a business's.† A dental practice doesn't run its own patient-facing KYC; that sits with the processor and, on the patient's side, with whatever wallet or exchange they use.
• Kiosk (Payment Kiosk) — A small front-desk display or terminal patients use to complete a crypto payment, as an alternative to a printed QR code — same rate-lock-and-convert mechanics underneath.
• Ledger — A record of transactions. A blockchain is a public ledger; a practice's own bookkeeping ledger records a settled crypto payment exactly like a card batch or ACH deposit — a USD line, on a known date.

What do the merchant and onboarding terms mean, M through O?

• Merchant Account — The account a business uses to accept electronic payments — cards, ACH, or crypto — that connects to its bank. Adding a crypto rail generally sits alongside a practice's existing merchant relationship rather than replacing it.
• Merchant of Record — The legal entity responsible for a transaction: collecting payment, handling refunds, and carrying certain compliance obligations.† In a DDSCrypto transaction, the practice remains the merchant of record for the sale; the processor handles the crypto-to-USD conversion and money-transmission side.
• MSB (Money Services Business) — A federal designation under the Bank Secrecy Act for businesses that transmit money or exchange currency.† A crypto payment processor is typically the party expected to register as an MSB — not the dental practice using it.
• Money Transmitter License — A state-issued license required of businesses that move money or exchange currency on behalf of others.† A dental practice accepting crypto as payment for its own services is a merchant, not a money transmitter, and generally doesn't need one.
• OFAC — The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which maintains sanctions lists.† Payments are screened against these lists automatically, in the background, by the processor.
• Onboarding — The signup process for a payment processor: application, KYB verification, bank-account connection, and front-desk setup. Most dental practices go from application to a first live crypto payment in about a week.

What do the P and Q terms cover, from PCI to QR codes?

• PCI DSS — Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, the security requirements card processors and merchants must meet to handle cardholder data safely.† It applies to card processing; a crypto rail that never touches card numbers has a different, typically lighter, compliance footprint.
• PHI (Protected Health Information) — Any information that identifies a patient and relates to their health, treatment, or payment for care, protected under HIPAA.† A well-built crypto payment flow never carries PHI — only a reference code and a dollar amount.
• Patient Reference — An internal invoice or account code used to tie a payment to a patient's ledger, without exposing a name, diagnosis, or treatment description on a public blockchain.
• Payment Processor — The company that handles the mechanics of a transaction — authorization, conversion, settlement — between a patient and a practice's bank account. DDSCrypto is a payment processor for dental practices, not a cryptocurrency.
• Private Key — The cryptographic credential that grants control over a crypto wallet's funds. Whoever holds the private key controls the asset, which is exactly why a DDSCrypto-connected practice never needs one: it never opens a wallet in the first place.
• Public Key / Wallet Address — The shareable address crypto is sent to, similar to a bank account number. A wallet address is what appears on a blockchain — never a name or health detail.
• QR Code Checkout — The most common way patients complete a crypto payment at a dental front desk: scanning a code on a printed card, invoice, or kiosk screen, which opens their wallet app pre-filled with the locked amount. See our front-desk QR checkout walkthrough for the exact flow.

What do the R and S terms mean, from rate lock to surcharge?

• Rate Lock — The moment a crypto payment's USD value is fixed, at the instant the patient starts checkout, before any crypto is sent. From that point forward, the dollar amount owed and the dollar amount the practice receives are both set, regardless of what the underlying asset's price does afterward. It's the single mechanic that removes crypto-price volatility from a dental practice's side of the transaction.
• Refund (Crypto Refund) — A voluntary return of funds initiated by the practice, since a confirmed crypto payment can't be reversed the way a card chargeback can. Refund policy is a business decision, not something forced by a market move or a card network.
• Same-Day Settlement — USD landing in the practice's bank account on the same day a crypto payment confirms. DDSCrypto settles same-day; some competing crypto processors, such as BitPay, settle the next business day.
• Sanctions List — A government-maintained roster of individuals and entities barred from financial transactions, most notably OFAC's.† Processors screen payments against these lists automatically.
• Settlement — The step where a payment becomes usable funds in a bank account, as opposed to just being authorized. Same-day settlement means the wait between "payment confirmed" and "money spendable" is a matter of hours, not days.
• Slippage — The gap between an expected price and the price actually executed, common in live crypto trading. A rate-locked dental payment isn't exposed to slippage the way a live trade is — the USD figure is fixed before conversion happens.
• Solana (SOL) — A fast, low-fee blockchain network and its native token, popular with mobile-first and younger crypto holders, and one of the five assets patients can pay with.
• Stablecoin — A cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady 1:1 value with the US dollar — USDC and USDT are the two DDSCrypto supports. Patients use them to send dollar-equivalent value without the price swings of BTC, ETH, or SOL. A stablecoin that loses its peg, even briefly, is said to "de-peg" — rare, but part of why the rate-lock step still matters even for stablecoin payments.
• Statement Fee — A recurring line-item fee some card processors charge just for issuing a monthly statement, separate from the per-transaction rate.† It's one of several smaller charges that add up inside a practice's effective rate.
• Surcharge — An added fee charged to a patient specifically for paying by card, generally legal in most states,† though research cited in industry surveys suggests 55–75%† of patients say they're less likely to return to a business that surcharges — a patient-experience cost that doesn't show up on any fee schedule.

What do the T-through-Z terms mean, from Tether to wallet?

• Tether (USDT) — The most-traded stablecoin globally by volume, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar; one of the two stablecoins patients can pay with alongside USDC.
• Treatment Plan Payment — A larger, often multi-procedure payment — implants, ortho, full-mouth cases — where the dollar amount, and the fee savings from a lower-cost rail, tend to be largest. It's why crypto often gets adopted first for these cases rather than routine visits.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) — A login security step requiring a second verification method beyond a password; standard for accessing a payment processor's dashboard or a patient's wallet app, unrelated to the payment mechanics themselves.
• USD Coin (USDC) — A dollar-pegged stablecoin, one of the two stablecoin options (alongside USDT) patients can use to pay without price exposure between wallet and checkout.
• Virtual Credit Card (VCC) — A one-time-use card number some dental insurers send instead of an ACH deposit or paper check. The practice runs it like a card charge and pays a processing fee, commonly cited in the 2–5%† range, on money it's already owed. More detail in our VCC fee breakdown.
• Volatility — The tendency of an asset's price to move sharply in either direction. It's the objection people raise most about crypto payments, and the one the rate-lock step is specifically designed to remove from the practice's side of the transaction.
• Wallet — Software (or occasionally hardware) that stores private keys and lets someone send or receive crypto. Patients use wallets to pay; a practice using DDSCrypto never opens, manages, or needs one.

Which fee terms actually matter for comparing costs?

A handful of terms above show up constantly in any conversation about switching or adding a rail. Here's the quick-reference version:

Term	What it means	Typical figure
Effective Rate	All-in % a practice pays on card volume	~3.53%† average
Interchange Fee	Portion of a card fee going to the issuing bank	Largest slice of the effective rate
Discount Rate	Base processor rate before add-ons	Varies by processor
DDSCrypto Rate	Flat rate for the crypto-to-USD rail	~1%†
VCC Fee	Fee on insurer virtual-credit-card reimbursements	Commonly cited 2–5%† per claim
Chargeback Cost	Fee per disputed card transaction	$15–$50† per incident

None of these figures move with the crypto market — a rate lock protects the transaction amount, while the rate a practice pays the processor is a separate, fixed number regardless of what Bitcoin or Ethereum did that day.

Which terms should front-desk staff actually memorize?

Nobody needs all 60 memorized to work a front desk well. If a patient asks one question mid-checkout, it's almost always answered by five terms: Rate Lock (the price is fixed the moment they start), Same-Day Settlement (the practice gets paid in USD that day), Stablecoin (why USDC or USDT feels different from Bitcoin), Irreversibility (why there's no crypto "chargeback," only a voluntary refund), and KYB (the one-time verification the practice did at signup, not something happening on every payment). Everything else in this glossary is useful context — those five are the ones that come up in an actual conversation.

Where to go from here

This glossary is meant to sit alongside the rest of the DDSCrypto blog as a reference, not a replacement for the deeper write-ups on legality, taxes, HIPAA, or onboarding linked throughout the definitions above. For the full walkthrough of how the rate-lock-and-convert rail works end to end, start with the pillar guide on accepting cryptocurrency at a dental practice. For current rates and what's included, see pricing.

One last reminder, since it's the single most common mix-up in this space: DDSCrypto is a payment processor for dental practices — not a cryptocurrency, and unrelated to Dentacoin (DCN), a separate token from 2017.

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† Figures cited throughout — the ~3.53% average effective card rate, ~$44,900/month average card volume, ~$19,000/year in card fees, ~1% DDSCrypto rate, $15–$50 chargeback costs, 2–5% VCC fees, and 55–75% patient surcharge-aversion figure — are the source document's modeled averages and program figures, not measurements of any individual practice; actual costs vary by processor, card mix, and practice. Statements describing KYB, KYC, AML, OFAC, BSA, FinCEN, MSB status, money transmitter licensing, HIPAA/PHI/BAA treatment, PCI DSS, cash discount and surcharge legality, and merchant-of-record obligations are general descriptions, not legal conclusions, and requirements vary by state and by processor. Pending counsel review; not legal or tax advice.