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.
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bitcoin check bitcoin википедия This idea of a ledger is the starting point for understanding bitcoin. It is a place to record all transactions that happen in the system, and it is open to and trusted by all system participants. Bitcoin converts this system for recording payments into a currency. Whereas in banking, an account balance represents cash that can be demanded from the bank, what does a unit of bitcoin represent? For now, assume that what is being transacted holds value inherently.bitcoin расчет putin bitcoin Depending on your bitcoin strategy and willingness to get technical, here are the different types of bitcoin wallets available. Bitcoin.org has a helper that will show you which wallet to choose.tether limited обновление ethereum nvidia bitcoin battle bitcoin client bitcoin bitcoin порт
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bitcoin бумажник panda bitcoin To a thief on a network, Bitcoin private keys represent more than just data - they’re money. For insight into how this can be, consider the recent case of a website repurposed to steal funds from unsuspecting Bitcoin users.direct bitcoin капитализация bitcoin bitcoin майнить bitcoin bittorrent x2 bitcoin ethereum btc ethereum заработок cryptocurrency analytics de bitcoin полевые bitcoin sell ethereum bitcoin кран bitcoin шахты bitcoin технология bitcoin скачать bitcoin cz 'The monopoly of government of issuing money has not only deprived us of good money but has also deprived us of the only process by which we can find out what would be good money. We do not even quite know what exact qualities we want, because in the two thousand years in which we have used coins and other money, we have never been allowed to experiment with it, we have never been given a chance to find out what the best kind of money would be.'LINKEDINкупить bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм platinum bitcoin валюта bitcoin bitcoin server bitcoin pps bitcoin окупаемость x2 bitcoin forecast bitcoin зарабатываем bitcoin фермы bitcoin bitcoin ether bitcoin purse биржа bitcoin bitcoin sec обменник monero
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If there’s anything I hope to communicate with this post, it’s that design features of Bitcoin that appear odd, ugly, or broken tend to have good justifications beneath the surface. This doesn’t make them unimpeachable: there is certainly a case to be made for the alternatives, and that design space is being actively explored by thousands of projects.paypal bitcoin trezor bitcoin bitcoin trade bitcoin mmgp bitcoin club bitcoin обменник алгоритм bitcoin метрополис ethereum bitcoin начало bitcoin word ethereum упал space bitcoin форк ethereum bloomberg bitcoin bitcoin автоматический бесплатный bitcoin payoneer bitcoin 'Bitcoin 2'кран monero
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Bitcoin gains more legitimacy among lawmakers and legacy financial companies. For example, Japan passed a law to accept bitcoin as a legal payment method, and Russia has announced that it will legalize the use of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.proof of workBitcoin can also be a store of value, some have said it is a 'swiss bank account in your pocket'.sender hopes it will be too late.bitcoin обсуждение
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To assess Bitcoin's value as a currency, we'll compare it against fiat currencies in each of the above categories.bitcoin 1000
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