Some Basics Of Cryptocurrency
3 min readThere is a lot of talk in the media right now about what crypto currency is. But the topic is certainly not an easy one. Therefore, in this article, we are bringing some light into the darkness and answering questions about crypto currency. Crypto currency is a form of universal digital money that you can use to buy goods or services. You can also trade and invest in crypto coins but as they are very volatile, they are not for the faint of heart.
So What Differentiates Crypto Coins From Traditional Currencies Like The Dollar Or The Euro?
A basic requirement is trust. The word “crypto” comes from the cryptographic techniques used for crypto currencies. These techniques ensure that transactions in crypto money can be processed securely. In addition, these techniques allow transactions to be carried out without the supervision of a third party such as a bank.
This is another reason for the popularity of the crypto coins. A decentralized financial system that does not rely on banks or influential bodies has some advantages. It can be faster, cheaper, fairer and more transparent. However, this is currently still a vision of the future and there are still some challenges for cryptocurrencie to overcome.
How Does Cryptocurrency Work?
Many crypto currencies are based on blockchain technologies. This enables the verification and approval of all transactions in a decentralized network. A blockchain is a type of digital ledger that all users of the network receive a copy of. If a user tries to edit or change the blockchain on their own, this version will be rejected by other users.
Basically, the blockchain is a database that stores large amounts of information and does not allow any changes. However, crypto currencies use a decentralized peer-to-peer network to verify new transactions. They are thus based on the mutual trust of users, which fundamentally distinguishes them from conventional currencies.
While traditional currencies are issued and regulated by a bank or central authority, there is no central body that manages typical crypto currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Also, there is no trusted third party that is monitoring transfers between two parties. While this is part of the appeal of crypto currencies, it can cause problems when making payments.
This Is How You Can Pay With Cryptocurrencies
You can actually pay for your purchases with crypto currencies – after all, they are real currencies. Many websites and online shops now accept Bitcoin as a payment method. You can use other crypto currencies to buy anything from an NFT to a virtual lot in an online video game.
To make a digital purchase using crypto coins, you need a crypto wallet. You can safely store crypto currencies in a crypto wallet. Each wallet contains private keys and public keys (public and private keys) that can be used to pay and receive crypto currencies. The public key is a code that all users within the system know. The private key is only known to one user at a time and is used to verify transactions.
Also Read About: what is Ethereum
How Many Cryptocurrencies Are There?
According to an online estimation, there are currently almost 6,000 different crypto currencies. However, 20 of these currencies have a 90% market share.
It is relatively uncomplicated to create a crypto currency, which explains the sharp increase in the number of crypto currencies in recent years – in 2013 there were still less than 70 crypto currencies. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin are amongst the most popular crypto currencies.
How Is The Value Of Each Cryptocurrency Determined?
Compared to other financial markets, the market for crypto currencies is subject to relatively strong fluctuations. To put it mildly: the value of crypto currencies can increase dramatically within days or even hours – but they can also fall again just as quickly.
Many crypto currencies like bitcoin and Ethereum have no intrinsic value. Actually their value is determined on the basis of supply and demand. If many people want to buy a crypto currency when there is a shortage of supply, the value increases. Bitcoin today price and many other crypto currencies have a limited number of tokens, which is why the supply doesn’t outstrip the demand – at least for now.