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.
серфинг bitcoin calculator ethereum rise cryptocurrency bitcoin лохотрон cubits bitcoin bitcoin adress account bitcoin платформ ethereum валюта monero новые bitcoin контракты ethereum
bitcoin рулетка
ethereum decred roulette bitcoin fpga ethereum разработчик bitcoin tether ico A number of countries are undertaking blockchain-based land registry projects. Honduras was the first government to announce such an initiative in 2015, although the current status of that project is unclear. This year, the Republic of Georgia cemented a deal with the Bitfury Group to develop a blockchain system for property titles. Reportedly, Hernando de Soto, the high-profile economist, and property rights advocate will be advising on the project. Most recently, Sweden announced it was experimenting with a blockchain application for property titles.alipay bitcoin
ethereum картинки
bitcoin maining opencart bitcoin game bitcoin gift bitcoin bitmakler ethereum
ethereum developer bitcoin cz tether android
ethereum бесплатно bitcointalk ethereum bitcoin multiply
bitcoin кликер bitcoin skrill
What Are Bitcoin IRAs?казино ethereum bitcoin это cryptocurrency capitalization wei ethereum bitcoin коды
accepts bitcoin обмен tether ethereum видеокарты cryptocurrency charts trinity bitcoin bitcoin tx bitcoin куплю
cpa bitcoin bitcoin song
bitcoin заработать
добыча bitcoin разработчик bitcoin rpg bitcoin калькулятор ethereum go bitcoin earn bitcoin de bitcoin bitcoin armory bitcoin pools ethereum капитализация ethereum stats get bitcoin алгоритм monero block ethereum bitcoin форк bitcoin котировка мониторинг bitcoin total cryptocurrency краны monero ethereum калькулятор car bitcoin king bitcoin gift bitcoin mindgate bitcoin
bio bitcoin bitcoin converter clame bitcoin dance bitcoin сколько bitcoin
bitcoin icon bitcoin network bitcoin wm wikileaks bitcoin ethereum blockchain bitcoin favicon monero cryptonight bitcoin armory bitcoin biz bitcoin lion The dichotomy between quantitative easing that central banks around the world are doing, and the quantitative tightening that Bitcoin just experienced with its third halving, makes for a great snapshot of the difference between scarcity or the lack thereof. Dollars, euro, yen, and other fiat currencies are in limitless abundance and their supply is growing quickly, while things like gold and silver and Bitcoin are inherently scarce.ethereum dark
You might remember how I explained earlier that the blockchain is decentralized, meaning that no single authority has control over the network. This also means that the blockchain does not need a third party intermediary to confirm a movement of funds.Despite being digital, bitcoin is designed to provide absolute scarcity, which is why it has the potential to be such an effective form of money (and measure of value). There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin, and 21 million is a scarily small number in relative and absolute terms. The Fed created $100 billion dollars just last week, with the click of a button. That is approximately $5,000 per bitcoin that will ever exist, created in just a week (and by only one central bank). To provide broader context, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the European Central bank have collectively created $10 trillion dollars-worth of new money since the financial crisis, the equivalent of approximately $500,000 per bitcoin. Despite dollars, euro, yen and bitcoin all being digital, bitcoin is the only medium that is tangibly scarce and the only one with inherent monetary properties.nicehash monero trade bitcoin up bitcoin
ethereum course серфинг bitcoin bitcoin начало андроид bitcoin фарминг bitcoin bitcoin anonymous
обсуждение bitcoin мониторинг bitcoin donate bitcoin machine bitcoin ethereum claymore bitcoin сеть ethereum контракты форки ethereum bitcoin лопнет options bitcoin monero новости bitcoin оборот mercado bitcoin bitcoin conf group bitcoin
клиент ethereum токены ethereum 9000 bitcoin bitcoin plugin взлом bitcoin mastering bitcoin bitcoin passphrase plus bitcoin bitcoin торговля coins bitcoin bitcoin шахта приложение bitcoin bitcoin капча майнить bitcoin bitcoin free bitcoin delphi 100 bitcoin
бутерин ethereum bitcoin trader
apk tether bitcoin mine
кошелька ethereum mini bitcoin status bitcoin bitcoin electrum bitcoin cli field bitcoin bitcoin generate bitcoin kran mist ethereum ethereum coin mini bitcoin bitcoin forbes jaxx bitcoin monero btc адрес ethereum china bitcoin ethereum forum bitcoin chains bitcoin webmoney bitcoin это bitcoin information china bitcoin bitcoin кран bitcoin коллектор bitcointalk ethereum bitcoin скачать ropsten ethereum
дешевеет bitcoin nicehash ethereum новости bitcoin redex bitcoin bitcoin history red bitcoin генераторы bitcoin usb bitcoin bitcoin игры bitcoin database alien bitcoin monero курс криптовалюта monero bitcoin games bitcoin box
monero вывод tether coinmarketcap claim bitcoin bitcoin io bitcoin блок xronos cryptocurrency analysis bitcoin робот bitcoin bitcoin обменники стоимость monero bitcoin блок bitcoin exchanges bitcoin софт продам bitcoin bitcoin motherboard вклады bitcoin fx bitcoin nicehash monero bitcoin auto bitcoin dice
приложения bitcoin bitcoin darkcoin ethereum википедия bitcoin кранов bitcoin обои truffle ethereum bitcoin attack
bitcoin создать bitcoin бизнес keepkey bitcoin bitcoin markets зарегистрироваться bitcoin
ethereum 4pda nanopool ethereum bitcoin options bitcoin bank
биржи monero Bitcoin Cash (BCH) holds an important place in the history of altcoins because it is one of the earliest and most successful hard forks of the original Bitcoin. In the cryptocurrency world, a fork takes place as the result of debates and arguments between developers and miners. Due to the decentralized nature of digital currencies, wholesale changes to the code underlying the token or coin at hand must be made due to general consensus; the mechanism for this process varies according to the particular cryptocurrency.торрент bitcoin
bitcoin purse my ethereum bitcoin click bitcoin banking sgminer monero спекуляция bitcoin ethereum обменники майнер monero cryptocurrency получение bitcoin monero fr ethereum токены wechat bitcoin mine ethereum
bcc bitcoin bitcoin flip ethereum видеокарты monero client bitcoin converter курсы bitcoin ethereum контракт bitcoin отслеживание ethereum forum mastering bitcoin withdraw bitcoin frontier ethereum
doge bitcoin bitcoin usa hashrate bitcoin
bitcoin автосборщик перевод bitcoin форум ethereum работа bitcoin monero proxy bitcoin jp ethereum course bitcoin video теханализ bitcoin bitcoin trend bitcoin дешевеет bitcoin майнить bitcoin zona
up bitcoin bitcoin fake habrahabr bitcoin bitcoin орг bitcoin all игры bitcoin халява bitcoin bitcoin asic alliance bitcoin monero asic
korbit bitcoin ethereum forks bitcoin hype bitcoin q казино ethereum
ethereum bonus my ethereum us bitcoin ethereum асик валюта tether
bitcoin cms майнить ethereum
проекта ethereum bitcoin dat bitcoin roll ethereum капитализация торговать bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрировать ethereum логотип Libertarianismcollector bitcoin
bit bitcoin bitcoin алматы
bitcoin деньги криптовалюта monero bitcoin formula ethereum пул daily bitcoin фермы bitcoin
1 ethereum monero пул
bitcoin ферма
