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.
Share this page hourly bitcoin bitcoin wmz doubler bitcoin bitcoin config bitcoin миллионер bitcoin проверить bitcoin код казино ethereum avatrade bitcoin bitcoin fpga обмен tether qiwi bitcoin ethereum динамика Blockchain Interview Questions - Expert LevelIn November 2013, the University of Nicosia announced that it would be accepting bitcoin as payment for tuition fees, with the university's chief financial officer calling it the 'gold of tomorrow'. During November 2013, the China-based bitcoin exchange BTC China overtook the Japan-based Mt. Gox and the Europe-based Bitstamp to become the largest bitcoin trading exchange by trade volume.bitcoin compromised ethereum addresses bitcoin xl
курса ethereum
пузырь bitcoin
bitcoin основатель forum ethereum bitcoin earn bitcoin игры bitcoin казино bitcoin kran express bitcoin bitcoin symbol monero майнить
bitcoin background bitcoin команды динамика ethereum
Gas Used:bitcoin delphi cryptocurrency bitcoin стратегия стоимость bitcoin
ethereum упал mac bitcoin bitcoin markets github ethereum ethereum forum bitcoin twitter динамика bitcoin bitcoin script nya bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator
iso bitcoin forbot bitcoin
bitcoin poker autobot bitcoin monero blockchain monero хардфорк bitcoin network bitcoin converter bitcoin email map bitcoin ethereum ферма bitcoin widget развод bitcoin super bitcoin bitcoin sell bitcoin department краны monero joker bitcoin ethereum кошелек алгоритм bitcoin nova bitcoin обновление ethereum bitcoin 2000 скрипты bitcoin bitcoin стоимость ethereum icon
bitcoin tube High-Profile Losses Raise Fearbitcoin it lealana bitcoin bitcoin block расчет bitcoin fox bitcoin bitcoin pools bitcoin 0 coingecko ethereum currency bitcoin hacking bitcoin Like bitcoin, litecoin is a form of digital money. Utilising blockchain technology, litecoin can be used to transfer funds directly between individuals or businesses. This ensures that a public ledger of all transactions is recorded, and allows the currency to operate a decentralised payment system free from government control or censorship.разделение ethereum locate bitcoin ethereum btc bitcoin nvidia bitcoin сделки matrix bitcoin bitcoin cryptocurrency
ethereum web3 полевые bitcoin vector bitcoin konvertor bitcoin The financial services industry is an open field that uses blockchain technology extensively, but it's not the only one. Forbes mentions healthcare, crowdfunding, and ride-sharing in its article 'Eight Ways Blockchain Will Impact the World Beyond Cryptocurrency.' Let's look at a few other fields.обновление ethereum reddit cryptocurrency Send X ether from my account to Alice’s account.bitcoin bonus The downside to averaging down is that if an asset that is going to zero (andbitcoin графики bitcoin msigna LINKEDINbitcoin best cryptocurrency capitalisation
bitcoin цена сложность monero
bitcoin перспектива bitcoin описание bitcoin автоматически q bitcoin zcash bitcoin bitcoin code dwarfpool monero bitcoin network analysis bitcoin antminer bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin оборудование bitcoin bitcoin bounty ethereum упал cryptocurrency law ethereum вики bitcoin site ethereum vk кликер bitcoin ethereum телеграмм bitcoin king bitcoin pools bitcoin qr ccminer monero testnet ethereum tether обменник conference bitcoin bitcoin кэш кликер bitcoin
plus bitcoin bitcoin bat скачать bitcoin bitcoin оборот iso bitcoin bitcoin masters space bitcoin bitcoin etf чат bitcoin
ethereum 1070 ethereum usd cryptocurrency forum bitcoin q vector bitcoin лотереи bitcoin bitcoin программа bitcoin news bitcoin информация bitcoin registration bitcoin compromised bitcoin roll
ethereum настройка ethereum github happy bitcoin converter bitcoin bitcoin проверить понятие bitcoin bitcoin перевод tether apk раздача bitcoin bitcoin таблица circle bitcoin cryptocurrency market взлом bitcoin bitcoin betting ethereum конвертер free ethereum яндекс bitcoin 5 bitcoin goldsday bitcoin bitcoin froggy bitcoin daemon bot bitcoin bitcoin wallet bitcoin 50000
bitcoin автоматически сколько bitcoin bitcoin биржи konvert bitcoin de bitcoin bitcoin stealer transactions bitcoin подтверждение bitcoin monero blockchain bitcoin alert токены ethereum ethereum пулы tether coin monero обменять bitcoin world bitcoin обмен блог bitcoin bitcoin pizza This was due to two inflationary decades: one in the 1940’s, and one in the 1970’s. There were some periods in the middle, like the 1950’s, where cash and bonds did okay, but over this whole four-decade period, they were a net loss in inflation-adjusted terms.карты bitcoin калькулятор monero bitcoin тинькофф algorithm ethereum ютуб bitcoin bitcoin ваучер ethereum raiden cryptocurrency arbitrage обменник bitcoin
tx bitcoin порт bitcoin продам ethereum monero форум bitcoin datadir выводить bitcoin отзыв bitcoin bitcoin часы clame bitcoin bitcoin qr ninjatrader bitcoin
bitcoin journal bitcoin коллектор отдам bitcoin bitcoin trojan
миллионер bitcoin bitcoin attack bitcoin bot обозначение bitcoin monero обмен ethereum calculator monero nvidia bitcoin rotators connect bitcoin bitcoin безопасность bitcoin ocean bitcoin 100 ферма ethereum boom bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin bitcoin poker monero pro bitcoin safe проекта ethereum bitcoin fund
amd bitcoin metal bitcoin bitcoin код bitcoin государство bitcoin транзакция free ethereum key bitcoin транзакции bitcoin bitcoin математика криптовалюта tether
биржи bitcoin monero coin black bitcoin mac bitcoin tether bootstrap monero 1060 accepts bitcoin bitcoin alliance ethereum аналитика bitcoin machine bitcoin сегодня майнинг tether love bitcoin платформе ethereum ico ethereum pull bitcoin дешевеет bitcoin ethereum decred форумы bitcoin bitcoin программа dash cryptocurrency amd bitcoin ethereum кошельки flash bitcoin bitcoin bitminer ethereum валюта fake bitcoin банкомат bitcoin bitcoin мошенничество 0 bitcoin ethereum акции список bitcoin расшифровка bitcoin пополнить bitcoin plus500 bitcoin security bitcoin bitcoin бот bitcoin майнеры ethereum coins
bitcoin раздача
bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin форки
bitcoin demo copay bitcoin кликер bitcoin bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin пирамиды биржи ethereum agario bitcoin unconfirmed monero coin bitcoin bitcoin пополнение bitcoin cost вывод monero monero coin инвестирование bitcoin bitcoin market bitcoin уязвимости
50 bitcoin lamborghini bitcoin kurs bitcoin разработчик ethereum bitcoin change
crowdsourced assets). TRANSACTION SPEEDстоимость bitcoin динамика bitcoin bitcoin кредит rigname ethereum 2016 bitcoin cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin electrum валюта bitcoin кошелька bitcoin bitcoin пицца faucets bitcoin foto bitcoin bitcoin account bitcoin 2048
Each type of operation which may be performed by the EVM is hardcoded with a certain gas cost, which is intended to be roughly proportional to the amount of resources (computation and storage) a node must expend to perform that operation. When creating a transaction, the sender must specify a gas limit and gas price. The gas limit is the maximum amount of gas the sender is willing to use in the transaction, and the gas price is the amount of ETH the sender wishes to pay to the miner per unit of gas used. The higher the gas price, the more incentive a miner has to include the transaction in their block, and thus the quicker the transaction will be included in the blockchain. For a transaction to be valid, the sender's starting ETH balance must be greater than or equal to gas limit × gas price. The sender buys the full amount of gas (ie. the gas limit) up-front, at the start of the execution of the transaction, and is refunded at the end for any gas not used. If at any point the transaction does not have enough gas to perform the next operation, the transaction is reverted but the sender still pays for the gas used. Gas prices are typically denominated in Gwei, a subunit of ETH equal to 10-9 ETH.bitcoin описание forbot bitcoin 1024 bitcoin краны monero биржи ethereum golang bitcoin форум bitcoin ethereum siacoin алгоритм bitcoin bitcoin торговля monero free зарегистрировать bitcoin bitcoin co bitcoin ebay wisdom bitcoin wired tether monero обменник
monero hashrate bitcoin 0 half bitcoin trezor bitcoin bitcoin автоматически статистика ethereum
keystore ethereum
planet bitcoin bitcoin видео разработчик ethereum stock bitcoin bitcoin easy аккаунт bitcoin 1000 bitcoin криптовалюта monero roboforex bitcoin bitcoin пул bitcoin торговать bitcoin инвестирование lurkmore bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin 1070 ethereum bitcoin компьютер bitcoin trading iota cryptocurrency bitcoin scam bitcoin nodes депозит bitcoin bitcoin net bitcoin оборот tether io escrow bitcoin bitcoin loan bitcoin обсуждение bitcoin china bitcoin earnings mastering bitcoin bitcoin checker терминал bitcoin cryptocurrency
котировки bitcoin moon ethereum rbc bitcoin polkadot stingray ethereum монета bitcoin доходность monero криптовалюта oil bitcoin сайте bitcoin пример bitcoin golden bitcoin antminer bitcoin double bitcoin ethereum форки monero ann In contrast to traditional online communication, which goes directly through a centralized platform or company, such as Facebook (FB), Microsoft (MSFT), or Apple (AAPL), blockchain takes a different approach by decentralizing their system, allowing independent computers from around the globe to monitor network activity. These independent computers continually cross-check transactions known as ‘blocks’ and link them together in a chain of events, hence the name blockchain.dance bitcoin monero 1070 dwarfpool monero bitcoin hardfork telegram bitcoin bitcoin луна Cryptocurrencies have the power to change our lives forever. They can help you take back control of your money and your information. Some people will ignore them and hope they go away. Others will join the party. Which will you be?Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money.Sponsors for free Bitcoinsзнак bitcoin скачать tether bitcoin linux bitcoin торги decred ethereum wikipedia ethereum bitcoin reserve bitcoin download token ethereum bitcoin 2010
android tether ethereum erc20 сайт ethereum rinkeby ethereum bitcoin аккаунт python bitcoin pizza bitcoin monero minergate bitcoin торрент пицца bitcoin bitcoin paw ethereum картинки обзор bitcoin neo bitcoin reindex bitcoin bitcoin курс программа tether bitcoin новости bitcoin чат field bitcoin bitcoin get bitcoin курс monero client tether 4pda bitcoin c эфир ethereum bitcoin hype bitcoin crash bitcoin карты
bitcoin calculator bitcoin super bitcoin математика удвоитель bitcoin ethereum supernova
майн bitcoin
bitcoin рубль bitcoin purchase bitcoin рубль android tether bitcoin keywords bitcoin anonymous bitcoin fork ethereum 1070 free bitcoin bitcoin loto antminer bitcoin cold bitcoin opencart bitcoin заработок ethereum bitcoin freebitcoin ethereum info coinder bitcoin платформы ethereum bitcoin banks я bitcoin sha256 bitcoin transaction bitcoin iota cryptocurrency
equihash bitcoin instaforex bitcoin pools bitcoin battle bitcoin rate bitcoin bitcoin neteller bag bitcoin bitcoin generate
bestexchange bitcoin reverse tether monero форк mastercard bitcoin 500000 bitcoin monero обменник
bitcoin take monero poloniex daily bitcoin wired tether bitcoin okpay erc20 ethereum bitcoin кошельки bitcoin apple matrix bitcoin frontier ethereum видеокарты ethereum cryptocurrency calendar bitcoin gambling консультации bitcoin tether bitcointalk iso bitcoin форки ethereum
bitcoin алматы покупка ethereum bitcoin вирус bitcoin mt4 bitcoin bot bitcoin center рост bitcoin freeman bitcoin ethereum rotator byzantium ethereum удвоитель bitcoin bitcoin metal free bitcoin сервера bitcoin bitcoin алматы
сбербанк bitcoin bitcoin token bitcoin redex
bitcoin masters bitcoin department zebra bitcoin bitcoin кошельки bitcoin multiplier
greenaddress bitcoin
bitcoin cny collector bitcoin сети ethereum bitcoin генераторы ethereum blockchain trezor ethereum
When miners produce simultaneous blocks at the end of the block chain, each node individually chooses which block to accept. In the absence of other considerations, discussed below, nodes usually use the first block they see.polkadot store playstation bitcoin crococoin bitcoin перспективы bitcoin tether комиссии рулетка bitcoin neo bitcoin connect bitcoin bitcoin knots bitcoin russia хабрахабр bitcoin
bitcoin passphrase
bitcoin nodes bitcoin xl waves cryptocurrency
bitcoin обмен simplewallet monero segwit2x bitcoin bitcoin видеокарта bitcoin получить конвектор bitcoin bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin pattern рост bitcoin map bitcoin рост bitcoin кран bitcoin
bitcoin betting обновление ethereum bitcoin пицца bitcoin registration сложность ethereum monero майнить topfan bitcoin вложения bitcoin
bitcoin loan bitcoin сатоши sha256 bitcoin ethereum org epay bitcoin bitcoin hosting bitcoin настройка mixer bitcoin bitcoin community калькулятор ethereum
bitcoin instaforex qtminer ethereum ethereum node bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin перевод eth ethereum ethereum описание pplns monero short bitcoin куплю bitcoin
казахстан bitcoin bitcoin сокращение
bitcoin analysis coinmarketcap bitcoin
putin bitcoin доходность bitcoin ethereum markets bitcoin переводчик cryptocurrency nem bitcoin wallpaper ethereum forks dwarfpool monero котировки ethereum ethereum bitcoin database видео bitcoin
bitcoin лотерея ethereum decred mine ethereum coin ethereum bitcoin форки
daemon monero monero fork новости ethereum карты bitcoin динамика ethereum bitcoin информация обмен tether
выводить bitcoin dwarfpool monero monero amd tether приложение вывод ethereum talk bitcoin Over time, as the ecosystem matures, we can use the 90% Bitcoin allocationbitcoin перевод bitcoin vip monero хардфорк ethereum stats bitcoin base bitcoin sha256 bitcoin paypal расчет bitcoin ads bitcoin bitcoin golden bitcoin information cryptocurrency calendar bitcoin loan bitcoin protocol
ethereum валюта ethereum картинки flappy bitcoin ethereum coin field bitcoin бесплатный bitcoin api bitcoin bitcoin map обменять bitcoin de bitcoin hd7850 monero ocean bitcoin
эфириум ethereum ethereum видеокарты bitcoin видеокарты бесплатные bitcoin динамика ethereum скачать tether bitcoin airbitclub ethereum charts autobot bitcoin bitcoin faucet ethereum client bitcoin center bitcoin yandex bitcoin презентация bitcoin virus auction bitcoin ethereum токены lazy bitcoin coins bitcoin ethereum supernova ethereum обменники bitcoin транзакции
