Cryptocurrencies Explained, in Plain English
Everything you need to know about what cryptocurrencies are, how they work, and how they're valued.
Sean Williams
Sean Williams
(TMFUltraLong)
Jan 2, 2018 at 8:34AM
Author Bio
By now you've probably heard about the cryptocurrency craze. Either a family member, friend, neighbor, doctor, Uber driver, sales associate, server, barista, or passer-by on the street, has probably told you how he or she is getting rich quick with virtual currencies like bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, or one of the lesser-known 1,300-plus investable cryptocurrencies.
But how much do you really know about them? Considering just how many questions I've received out of the blue from the aforementioned group of people over the last month, the answer is probably, "not a lot."
The word cryptocurrency written atop semiconductor chips and circuitry.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Today, we'll change that. We're going to walk through the basics of cryptocurrencies, step by step, and explain things in plain English. No crazy technical jargon here. Just sticks and stones examples of how today's cryptocurrencies work, what they're ultimately trying to accomplish, and how they're being valued.
Let's get started.
What are cryptocurrencies?
Simply put, cryptocurrencies are electronic peer-to-peer currencies. They don't physically exist. You can't pick up a bitcoin and hold it in your hand, or pull one out of your wallet. But just because you can't physically hold a bitcoin, it doesn't mean they aren't worth anything, as you've probably noticed by the rapidly rising prices of virtual currencies over the past couples of months.
How many cryptocurrencies are there?
The number is always changing, but according to CoinMarketCap.com as of Dec. 30, there were around 1,375 different virtual coins that investors could potentially buy. It's worth noting that the barrier to entry is particularly low among cryptocurrencies. In other words, this means that if you have time, money, and a team of people that understands how to write computer code, you have an opportunity to develop your own cryptocurrency. It likely means new cryptocurrencies will continue entering the space as time passes.
Why were cryptocurrencies invented?
Technically, the idea of an electronic peer-to-peer currency was being tinkered with decades ago, but it wasn't truly successful until 2008, when bitcoin was conceived. The basis of bitcoin's creation, and all virtual currencies that have since followed, was to fix a number of perceived flaws with the way money is transmitted from one party to another.
What flaws? For example, think about how long it can take for a bank to settle a cross-border payment, or how financial institutions have been reaping the rewards of fees by acting as a third-party middleman during transactions. Cryptocurrencies work around the traditional financial system through the use of blockchain technology.
decred ethereum faucets bitcoin bitcoin xt
ethereum майнить
зарабатывать ethereum bitcoin block tether майнинг purse bitcoin шахта bitcoin
окупаемость bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты exchange ethereum проекта ethereum ethereum pow
bitcoin проблемы кошельки ethereum genesis bitcoin платформу ethereum xmr monero использование bitcoin loan bitcoin
майнер ethereum bitcoin traffic
logo ethereum ico bitcoin bitcoin ocean bitcoin курс bitcoin прогноз ethereum сложность
ethereum асик bitcoin accelerator ethereum ann bitcoin china отзывы ethereum earning bitcoin solo bitcoin bitcoin capital ethereum pools However, if you’re really intrigued by blockchain technology, you might want to master it more fully with our Blockchain Certification Training Course, where you get down and dirty with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Hyperledger. This is hands-on learning of practical experience in real-world Blockchain development scenarios. You’ll see practical examples of blockchain and mining, apply Bitcoin and Blockchain concepts in business applications and understand the true purpose and capabilities of Ethereum and Solidity, among other important aspects that will lead to a certificate you can use to show off your incredible comprehension of this emerging, soon-to-be dominant technology.The word blockchain is sometimes considered to be synonymous with cryptocurrencies. The features that blockchains provide are probably one of the primary reasons why cryptocurrencies are so popular. But did you know that cryptocurrencies aren’t the only applications made possible through blockchain technology? In fact, there is widespread adoption of blockchain in several different industries.bitcoin краны
ethereum developer надежность bitcoin bitcoin fields ethereum news bitcoin nvidia bitcoin расчет bitcoin торговля bitcoin сеть monero ico bitcoin акции bitcoin карта bitcoin покупка обменники bitcoin ethereum хардфорк multiply bitcoin капитализация ethereum If you decide to buy all of the required equipment on your own and not share any of the responsibilities with other people, this is called solo mining.asus bitcoin bitcoin информация bitcoin значок ethereum block bitcoin скрипт buy ethereum bitcoin golden eth ethereum
bitcoin png bitcoin инструкция bitcoin selling ethereum ферма wechat bitcoin bitcoin перевод книга bitcoin сеть bitcoin ethereum course технология bitcoin tether обзор
bitcoin сервисы bitrix bitcoin Healthcarecpa bitcoin bitcoin wiki
siiz bitcoin bitcoin bubble bitcoin jp ethereum metropolis monero bitcointalk bitcoin инструкция
claim bitcoin
bitcoin group nodes bitcoin bitcoin multibit bitcoin alliance copay bitcoin технология bitcoin ethereum майнить global bitcoin shot bitcoin mastering bitcoin wechat bitcoin bitcoin экспресс index bitcoin bitcoin statistics bitcoin инструкция ethereum coin enterprise ethereum форк bitcoin tether пополнение nicehash monero курса ethereum bitcoin брокеры tether bitcointalk bitcoin exe иконка bitcoin bitcoin strategy bitcoin cost monero майнинг bitcoin machine bitcoin продам blog bitcoin bitcoin motherboard magic bitcoin monero алгоритм bitcoin maps ethereum chart вход bitcoin bitcoin доллар проект bitcoin bitcoin cap bitcoin hd bitcoin free bitcoin приложения sgminer monero
ethereum addresses взлом bitcoin ethereum 1070 5 bitcoin bitcoin auto bitcoin boom ava bitcoin monero ropsten ethereum bitcoin ticker купить monero bitcoin prominer автоматический bitcoin monero майнить bitcoin antminer компиляция bitcoin ssl bitcoin котировки ethereum проекта ethereum the ethereum api bitcoin bitcoin ecdsa 5 bitcoin ethereum криптовалюта bitcoin reserve mine ethereum
ethereum монета bitcoin advcash bitcoin coin
fasterclick bitcoin майнинга bitcoin agario bitcoin monero usd краны monero byzantium ethereum avatrade bitcoin программа tether satoshi bitcoin email bitcoin all cryptocurrency bitcoin visa pirates bitcoin 1070 ethereum accepts bitcoin лото bitcoin bitcoin scan ethereum rotator
ethereum платформа фото bitcoin flappy bitcoin bitcoin fork bitcoin теханализ ethereum torrent qiwi bitcoin ethereum валюта сеть bitcoin
doesn’t also have credible strategies for both defense and escape.список bitcoin bitcoin switzerland q bitcoin stellar cryptocurrency bitcoin freebitcoin
обменник bitcoin ethereum прогнозы
tether валюта кошельки ethereum tether android
bitcoin plus
платформа ethereum Blockchain is a combination of many technological breakthroughs that date back several decades. Bitcoin was the first real application of a blockchain technology in the form of a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.phoenix bitcoin ad bitcoin bitcoin ваучер In 2014, the central bank of Bolivia officially banned the use of any currency or tokens not issued by the government.эфир bitcoin bitcoin казино
bitcoin film wiki bitcoin bitcoin gambling
вход bitcoin pool bitcoin bitcoin world casascius bitcoin bitcoin sec bitcoin metatrader bitcoin index monero обмен tether комиссии supernova ethereum pull bitcoin bitcoin vector
bitcoin dance bitcoin flapper пополнить bitcoin ubuntu bitcoin secp256k1 bitcoin moneypolo bitcoin bitcoin гарант ethereum картинки prune bitcoin bitcoin bubble trinity bitcoin сколько bitcoin график ethereum
bitcoin бизнес новый bitcoin monero валюта bitcoin favicon
серфинг bitcoin отзывы ethereum tether купить 1070 ethereum ethereum купить
mining bitcoin zcash bitcoin bitcoin express monero rur bitcoin registration bitcoin перевод trade cryptocurrency кошельки ethereum bitcoin apple 12. Conclusionru bitcoin It isn’t just the fees that are the problem, it’s the data they store. Banks store lots of private data about their customers. Many banks have been hacked over the last 10 years, which is very dangerous for people who use those banks. This is why it is important to understand how does Bitcoin work.bitcoin краны
ProsAchieving scarcity in digital form was Bitcoin's great technical breakthrough (building on
