Cryptocurrency, also known as crypto, is a type of digital money made for buying things online.
Almost everyone knows about cryptocurrency, but many don’t really know what it is. Cryptocurrency isn’t just digital money; it also has the power to change finance and other industries. So, it’s worth learning a bit about cryptocurrency.
What is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a type of digital money that doesn’t need central banks or trusted third parties to check transactions and make new money. Instead, it uses special codes to confirm transactions on a shared database called a blockchain.
Right now, that definition might seem really confusing. But, by the end of this overview, you’ll understand crypto without needing a special key to unlock it.
Many different cryptocurrencies exist, and they each have different values. The first one, Bitcoin, was created in 2009 by someone named Satoshi Nakamoto.
In 2008, Nakamoto wrote a paper called “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” where he first talked about blockchain. Blockchain is the technology that lets cryptocurrency function like regular money, but without needing a central bank or trusted middleman.
Blockchain fixes the issue of spending the same digital money twice, which is a problem because digital data can be copied easily. It ensures that a unit of currency can’t be duplicated or spent more than once.
Throughout history, the worldwide financial system has been in charge of setting up and making sure money transactions are valid.
Cryptocurrency works without central banks. Instead, records of transactions are public and checked by blockchain technology. These records can’t be changed, stopping hackers from making fake transactions and building trust among users.
How many cryptocurrencies are there?
There are lots of different cryptocurrencies, and many have stopped existing. Around the end of 2024, CoinMarketCap counted 23,669 cryptocurrencies. New ones keep appearing all the time.
Many cryptocurrencies exist because it’s really simple to make one. Ethereum’s blockchain lets people add code to it, so anyone can create a new token using Ethereum’s system. Instead of starting from zero, developers can use what’s already there.
How does Cryptocurrency Work?
To do a cryptocurrency transaction, you need a wallet for that digital money. The wallet doesn’t store the money; it just gives you an address where your funds are on the blockchain. It also has private and public keys to help you make safe transactions.
You can use a cryptocurrency exchange to buy or sell Crypto Coins. These exchanges can hold both regular money and digital money. They keep track of what people buy and sell, and they make sure the right amount of digital money goes to the right person. You can also use digital money to buy things like stuff or services.
Whenever you buy cryptocurrency or use it to buy something, you’re letting a certain amount of that cryptocurrency move from your digital wallet to the seller’s wallet. This transaction is secured with your private key and recorded on the blockchain.
The miners in the cryptocurrency network check your public key to make sure your private key was used to encode the transaction. When they confirm the block containing your transaction, the record of who has how much cryptocurrency is updated for both you and the seller. The software handles all of these steps.
Why is it called blockchain?
A block is like a group of transaction details on a digital money system. It shows things like Person A sent some of the digital money to Person B, Person X got this amount of digital money from Person Y, and more.
A block has a link to the block before it. Blocks form a chain, connecting one after another through links to earlier blocks. If someone tries to change a block, they need to recreate the whole chain of blocks after it. If they don’t, the chain would have wrong links and the cryptocurrency network wouldn’t accept it.
Blocks have extra details that help the cryptocurrency network check if the block is valid. To reach an agreement across the network, miners use a method called proof-of-work. They solve tough puzzles using powerful computers to add blocks to the blockchain. These puzzles are hard to solve but easy to confirm once solved. Miners usually get rewarded with cryptocurrency and transaction fees for their efforts.
To add new blocks to the blockchain, a miner has to solve a puzzle. As more transactions happen, the blockchain gets bigger, needing more computing power to add blocks. This makes the blockchain harder to change. Today, a hacker would need most of the network’s computing power to alter transactions.
Another way to reach an agreement across a network like a blockchain is called proof of stake. Instead of needing a lot of computer power, proof of stake lets people with the most money or the oldest investments create blocks by checking transactions.
Stakeholders are chosen somewhat randomly. There are extra rules to stop the richest people from making fake transactions or having too much control over the blockchain.
Why is Cryptocurrency So Popular?
- More ways to use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are being found regularly. This includes new finance apps, games, unique digital items, and more places where you can use cryptocurrency to buy things.
- Cryptocurrency has become a very popular investment choice because its value has grown a lot in the last five years. It used to be something only a few people talked about, but now it’s getting a lot of attention from the media. Many folks think it’s a great way to invest money and make big profits.
- Many think cryptocurrency is the future of money. Lots of businesses in different fields are finding ways to use blockchain tech to do things better. We might be just starting with cryptocurrency.
There are the Five Largest Cryptocurrency
| Rank | Coin Name | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bitcoin | $1.154 Trillion |
| 2 | Ethereum | $534 Billion |
| 3 | Binance Coin | $94 Billion |
| 4 | Solana | $75 Billion |
| 5 | Tether | $73 Billion |
| 6 | Ruby Coin | $93.52 Million |
The top valuable cryptocurrencies and publicly traded companies keep changing. Cryptocurrencies change their value faster than stable stocks. However, some cryptocurrencies stay at the top consistently.
Bitcoin is the most valuable cryptocurrency because it was the first one made, many people use it, and there are lots of miners who support it. That’s why it’s at the top of the list.
Ethereum’s Ether is the second-biggest digital currency and has stayed that way for a while. Ethereum isn’t just about Ether; it’s a place where other digital currencies can exist, and it helps create apps that keep Ether valuable compared to those other currencies. Many digital currencies use the apps Ethereum offers.
Best Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin and Ether are the top choices in cryptocurrency. Many people prefer buying Bitcoin because it’s widely used and has lots of software to help with transactions.
Ether is also popular because it’s valuable for creating new tokens, DeFi services, NFTs, and other blockchain apps on the Ethereum network.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Cryptocurrency
Using cryptocurrency instead of traditional finance has many significant benefits. These benefits include:
- Speed. In cryptocurrency, confirming a transaction can happen in just a few minutes. After it’s confirmed, the person getting the money can use it right away. But in regular banking, it usually takes at least a day for a transfer to go through.
- Lower Fees. Using cryptocurrency is often cheaper than using regular banks. Storing cryptocurrency is free, while banks may charge a monthly fee. Also, sending money internationally using cryptocurrency is much cheaper than using traditional international remittance services.
- No Barriers to Entry. Unlike traditional banking, you don’t need an ID or visit a bank to use Bitcoin. There are no credit checks or personal information required, which is very appealing for the millions of people without bank accounts worldwide.
- Security. Cryptocurrency is safer than cash or debit cards online. To steal your Bitcoin, a hacker would need your private key. Also, cryptocurrency transactions are usually anonymous.
There are also some disadvantages to holding cryptocurrencies. they include:
- No Insurance. Money stored in cryptocurrency isn’t insured like it is in a bank. In the U.S., if you put money in a bank, it’s usually insured by the FDIC. This means if the bank loses your money, you can get up to $240,000 back per account. But if you or the company holding your cryptocurrency loses it, there might not be a way to get it back.
- No Way to dispute transactions. If you send too much money by mistake or don’t get what you’re supposed to, you can’t argue or undo the transaction. Once transactions are confirmed on the blockchain, they’re permanent. You can only get your money back if the other person agrees to give it back to you.
- Easy to lose access to funds. If you can’t find your private key, you can’t use your money. The private key is like a special code needed to approve and record transactions. Remember to save your private key in different safe spots.
- High Volatility. Cryptocurrencies often change a lot in value, which can make them tricky to use for buying things because prices would have to keep changing. It’s also hard for investors to handle because prices can swing by more than 10% in a single day.
