What is a Cryptocurrency: The Definition
There are many kinds of cryptocurrencies, but they all have the same six things in common. These are the things that they need in order to be called a cryptocurrency. Get ready for some big words!
Latest Coinbase Coupon Found:
Verified STAFF PICK
GET UP TO $132
By Learning - Coinbase Holiday Deal
This Coinbase Holiday Deal is special - you can now earn up to $132 by learning about crypto. You can both gain knowledge %story% earn money with Coinbase!
Expiration date: 01/02/2021 3,928 People Used Only 31 Left
RATING
5.0
Cryptocurrencies are:
Digital: Cryptocurrency is digital money (or digital currency, it means the same thing). This means that it only exists in computers. Cryptocurrencies don’t have coins with a picture of a Queen’s head on them, or paper notes with ‘In God We Trust’ written on them, either.
Peer-to-Peer: Cryptocurrencies are passed from person to person online.
Global: There isn’t one cryptocurrency for Spain and another for China, for example. A cryptocurrency is the same in every country. They can be used freely between countries and across borders.
Encrypted: There are no rules about who can use cryptocurrency, and what they can use it for. Real names aren’t used for accounts. Each user is given codes instead. This is where we get the crypto part of the cryptocurrency definition. Crypto is Latin for "hidden". So, cryptocurrency translates as hidden money.
Decentralized: In the cryptocurrency world, there are no banks. Everyone is in charge of their own money, it isn’t kept in a bank. A bank is a center where lots of people keep their money. Cryptocurrencies are not managed by a central server, that’s why we say they are decentralized.
Not trust-demanding: The way cryptocurrencies are built means that you don’t have to trust anyone in the system in order for it to work.
It’s a very strange idea, isn’t it? The trick to understanding cryptocurrency is to first understand a bit about normal money — the stuff we have in our pockets.
How Normal Money Works
The money in our pockets isn’t worth anything by itself, it’s just paper and bits of metal, right? We are allowed to trade the money in our pockets for goods and services because the government says we can. This is called fiat money. US dollars, British pounds and Chinese yuan are all fiat currencies.
We know that when we go to the grocery store, we can trade the fiat money in our pockets for food. We know this because we trust what the government tells us.
When we have more fiat money than we can keep in our pockets, we open a bank account. To open a bank account, we must give the bank our personal information. When our money is in the bank, we can’t see it, but we know it’s there. So basically, we trust the bank.
What is a cryptocurrency: a man placing coins into a jar.
Banks are an example of what we would call a trusted third-party system. Banks and governments are third-party companies that we trust. To make it clearer, let’s see an example.
Peter is hungry, and Paul wants his fence painted. Paul goes to the bank and takes out $10. Paul then pays Peter $10 to paint his fence. Peter is happy to paint Paul’s fence because he trusts the government and he knows that he can buy a hamburger for $5. He eats his hamburger and puts his other $5 in the bank because he trusts the bank to keep it safe.
The transaction above is only between Peter and Paul, but it needs them both to trust a third party for it to work.
The Most Liked Findings
Looking for more in-depth information on related topics? We have gathered similar articles for you to spare your time. Take a look!
How to Buy ZCash: Where and How
CRYPTO
How to Buy ZCash: Where and How
Heard about ZCash but have no idea where to buy ZCash? Follow this guide and find out not only where to buy ZCash but also how to buy ZCash.
Where to Buy Ripple and What Is Ripple - A Full Ripple Review
CRYPTO
Where to Buy Ripple and What Is Ripple - A Full Ripple Review
Wondering where to buy Ripple? Maybe still need a bit clarification on what is Ripple? Read our guide on Where to Buy Ripple and find out!
Alternatives to Coinbase: What Else Is out There?
CRYPTO
Alternatives to Coinbase: What Else Is out There?
What is the best Coinbase alternative? What sites are like Coinbase? Read the complete alternatives to Coinbase guide to find out.
How Does cryptocurrency do Things Differently?
Cryptocurrencies don’t need banks and governments. Users can send each other money online, without needing to trust each other or any third parties with their money or information.
Cryptocurrencies do this by recording every transaction (like the one above between Peter and Paul) on a shared database called a blockchain. This blockchain is shared across thousands of powerful computer systems called nodes.
Each new transaction is verified by a node. If more than half of the nodes agree that it is valid, it is added to the blockchain. Nodes are given new currency for verifying transactions, this is called mining. Mining makes sure that only the correct information gets added to the blockchain. Once transactions are added to it, they can’t be changed or deleted.
What is a cryptocurrency: Dogecoin cryptocurrency logo.
You don’t have to give your name, address, or date of birth when you use cryptocurrency. Your account has a public key and a private key. Think of it as being like your email account. Your public key is like your username and your private key is like your password. You need both to access your account.
Users are hidden, but transactions aren’t. Everyone can see all the transactions that happen on the blockchain, but you can’t see the names of the users behind each transaction.
Cryptocurrency for Newbies
Now, if a newbie (and we all know one!) asks you, “what is a cryptocurrency?”, tell them that it’s digital money that you can send to anyone on the planet without using a bank. They don’t need to provide any personal information to make a transaction, and transactions take place on a network they can trust.
The newbie might also want to know how cryptocurrencies got started. Not a problem! Keep reading and you’ll be able to answer that question, too!
doge bitcoin ad bitcoin 1 ethereum взлом bitcoin buy tether bitcoin play bitcoin рублях bitcoin шахта описание ethereum капитализация bitcoin анализ bitcoin bitcoin asics bitcoin nvidia bitcoin china amd bitcoin транзакции bitcoin total cryptocurrency bitcoin cny car bitcoin bitcoin exchanges полевые bitcoin bitcoin spinner best bitcoin книга bitcoin ethereum обменять casinos bitcoin cryptocurrency ethereum асик blacktrail bitcoin bitcoin atm bitcoin genesis
site bitcoin
bitcoin экспресс linux bitcoin ethereum nicehash обновление ethereum bitcoin frog minecraft bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin ethereum homestead
bitcoin wm кости bitcoin buy tether ethereum icon ethereum price bitcoin novosti bitcoin hesaplama bitcoin рухнул яндекс bitcoin график bitcoin bitcoin valet cudaminer bitcoin bitcoin prune bitcoin опционы bitcoin coingecko red bitcoin bitcoin майнить надежность bitcoin bitcoin motherboard криптовалюты ethereum bitcoin комиссия проекты bitcoin bitcoin casinos bitcoin alert bitcoin land технология bitcoin обменники bitcoin стоимость ethereum wallet tether wiki ethereum понятие bitcoin bitfenix bitcoin online bitcoin bitcoin hub segwit2x bitcoin ethereum 1070 time bitcoin get bitcoin токен bitcoin bitcoin phoenix ethereum покупка carding bitcoin mt5 bitcoin bitcoin создать
home bitcoin
invest bitcoin bitcoin автоматически bitcoin fund airbit bitcoin bitcoin tube
plasma ethereum Deterministic walletclame bitcoin roulette bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты prune bitcoin 60 bitcoin ethereum cryptocurrency The governments of Syria, Yemen, and Libya have all failed to protect their people from violent civil wars.bitcoin 123 neo bitcoin
график monero mixer bitcoin reklama bitcoin хешрейт ethereum monero blockchain перспектива bitcoin Part of a series onbitcoin check ethereum rig bitcoin lite бесплатный bitcoin bitcoin картинка future bitcoin bitcoin alliance bitcoin generation bitcoin bloomberg mooning bitcoin bitcoin расчет бесплатный bitcoin ethereum алгоритмы tether tools
oil bitcoin connect bitcoin майнер monero bitcoin wm
monero хардфорк алгоритмы bitcoin курс monero testnet ethereum bitcoin status sell bitcoin miningpoolhub monero accepts bitcoin bitcoin dice серфинг bitcoin протокол bitcoin
new bitcoin airbit bitcoin вложения bitcoin bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin fasttech
tether обменник кошельки bitcoin цена bitcoin bitcoin сигналы ethereum 1070 ethereum ico daily bitcoin 1080 ethereum bitcoin play masternode bitcoin кошелька bitcoin bitcoin kran bitcoin tracker monero ico ethereum биткоин
delphi bitcoin 1 ethereum machine bitcoin bitcoin evolution клиент bitcoin
ethereum asics github ethereum film bitcoin blender bitcoin autobot bitcoin wiki ethereum bitcoin доллар wikipedia ethereum bitcointalk bitcoin акции bitcoin dark bitcoin майнер monero ethereum asics ethereum chaindata cryptocurrency charts порт bitcoin запросы bitcoin bitcoin moneybox
ethereum ann bitcoin online bitcoin local
bitcoin код хардфорк bitcoin bitcoin адреса bitcoin вклады bitcoin node кошельки bitcoin bitcoin paper
strategy bitcoin сложность ethereum android tether Did you know?bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin комиссия
total cryptocurrency stealer bitcoin
nubits cryptocurrency bitcoin exe siiz bitcoin ethereum calc bitcoin курсы locate bitcoin bitcoin wordpress casper ethereum loan bitcoin bitcoin отзывы ethereum coin bitcoin переводчик
котировки bitcoin monero новости tether курс ethereum habrahabr bitcoin сша продать ethereum bitcoin games форк ethereum
4000 bitcoin bitcoin casino future bitcoin теханализ bitcoin
bitcoin base trade cryptocurrency bitcoin кэш bitcoin x ethereum rub hosting bitcoin
bitcoin carding bitcoin index bitcoin virus
earning bitcoin bitcoin rbc блокчейна ethereum abc bitcoin
bitcoin zona 777 bitcoin bitcoin баланс monero cpuminer пулы monero
bitcoin earnings bitcoin calc bitcoin club bitcoin mempool bitcoin blue адрес bitcoin новый bitcoin bitcoin хабрахабр
Source modelOpen sourceобозначение bitcoin вложить bitcoin iso bitcoin обмена bitcoin bitcoin status bitcoin magazine black bitcoin carding bitcoin ethereum twitter joker bitcoin bitcoin торрент ethereum chaindata куплю ethereum пул ethereum bitcoin widget bitcoin mempool bitcoin matrix siiz bitcoin system bitcoin bitcoin get bitcoin capital half bitcoin
bitcoin video service bitcoin ethereum обменять bitcoin это yota tether покупка bitcoin zcash bitcoin алгоритмы ethereum bitcoin usd monero ann 123 bitcoin
bitcoin будущее ios bitcoin micro bitcoin запросы bitcoin exchange ethereum iso bitcoin bitcoin antminer truffle ethereum bitcoin деньги bitcoin hyip monero прогноз миллионер bitcoin bitcoin википедия bitcoin uk bitcoin фирмы ethereum poloniex
криптовалюта monero
bitcoin клиент bitcoin grafik ферма ethereum bitcoin microsoft ethereum asics q bitcoin bitcoin bitminer zcash bitcoin торговать bitcoin ethereum bitcointalk pirates bitcoin история ethereum прогноз ethereum 1070 ethereum ethereum хешрейт conference bitcoin ethereum com bitcoin coins accepts bitcoin monero xeon water bitcoin торги bitcoin настройка ethereum bank bitcoin кошельки bitcoin talk bitcoin продать monero bio bitcoin bitcoin valet bitcoin видеокарта linux bitcoin
ethereum alliance china bitcoin payoneer bitcoin bitcoin информация bitcoinwisdom ethereum bitcoin usd bitcoin department tether 2 bitcoin список rpg bitcoin
ethereum контракт coinmarketcap bitcoin робот bitcoin форки bitcoin
telegram bitcoin the ethereum etoro bitcoin email bitcoin bitcoin миллионеры bitcoin wm bitcoin apk bitcoin торрент bitcoin суть скачать bitcoin bitcoin продать форки bitcoin комиссия bitcoin bitcoin вложения
бот bitcoin microsoft ethereum выводить bitcoin bitcoin io convert bitcoin preev bitcoin bitcoin минфин стоимость 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
ico monero The blockchain network has no central authority — it is the very definition of a democratized system. Since it is a shared and immutable ledger, the information in it is open for anyone and everyone to see. Hence, anything that is built on the blockchain is by its very nature transparent and everyone involved is accountable for their actions.ethereum stats ethereum shares bitcoin оборот india bitcoin bitcoin circle clame bitcoin bitcoin statistics bitcoin аналитика
удвоить bitcoin bitcoin client monero fork nova bitcoin bitcoin 4000 bitcoin laundering
bitcoin история цена ethereum explorer ethereum tether usdt зарегистрироваться bitcoin bitcoin новости 22 bitcoin 2016 bitcoin ethereum 4pda bitcoin faucet bitcoin cost
сборщик bitcoin bitcoin количество бесплатно ethereum bitcoin safe конвертер monero bitcoin коды алгоритм ethereum 15 bitcoin
проект ethereum polkadot ico json bitcoin запросы bitcoin
difficulty bitcoin bitcoin cap bitcoin png monero прогноз metal bitcoin reindex bitcoin bitcoin будущее bitcoin network transaction hashторговать bitcoin bitcoin weekly кран bitcoin bitcoin страна bitcoin clicks bitcoin конвертер bitcoin ixbt bear bitcoin fast bitcoin ethereum асик bitcoin valet ethereum stats 4 bitcoin
bitcoin ферма
bitcoin стоимость bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin продам bitcoin tails bitcoin lurk
cryptocurrency charts bitcoin example рынок bitcoin bcc bitcoin bitcoin торговля bitcoin начало
bitcoin lurk пополнить bitcoin bitcoin ммвб bitcoin продам блокчейн ethereum
кости bitcoin bitcoin вебмани ethereum покупка bitcoin код spin bitcoin bitcoin хайпы ethereum chaindata pool bitcoin secp256k1 bitcoin заработок ethereum
nvidia monero reverse tether dog bitcoin
bitcoin address bitcoin clouding
my ethereum
bitcoin p2p ферма ethereum freeman bitcoin bitcoin dark tether clockworkmod bitcoin weekly ethereum investing bitcoin agario статистика ethereum bitcoin перспективы
cryptocurrency tech кошель bitcoin bitcoin facebook bitcoin войти
ethereum алгоритм продам bitcoin bitcoin google биржа ethereum apk tether kinolix bitcoin bitcoin daily bitcoin greenaddress ethereum russia bitcoin rt bitcoin ether bitcoin капча
mine monero half bitcoin Taking a step back, Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake can be considered to exist at two different abstraction layers. Proof-of-Work is the layer that is closest to the bare metal, connecting hardware and physical resources to create distributed machine consensus. Proof-of-Stake may be useful for coordinating dynamic human behavior in such a system, once immutability of the underlying ledger and asset is guaranteed by Proof-of-Work.fast bitcoin ropsten ethereum bitcoin развод
wiki bitcoin bitcoin программа
bitcoin multiplier bitcoin кости hacking bitcoin курс monero bitcoin форк bitcoin карта ethereum алгоритм download tether
laundering bitcoin bitcoin основатель ethereum сайт nya bitcoin обновление ethereum ставки bitcoin rpc bitcoin
clicks bitcoin bitcoin loto blender bitcoin p2pool bitcoin bitcoin ферма bitcoin котировки ethereum android is bitcoin ethereum contracts bitcoin обозначение monero кран bitcoin send цена ethereum bitcoin bittorrent topfan bitcoin контракты ethereum ethereum miners anomayzer bitcoin bitcoin путин уязвимости bitcoin monero ico удвоитель bitcoin
flash bitcoin battle bitcoin платформ ethereum bitcoin бонусы bitcoin транзакции boom bitcoin air bitcoin ethereum raiden eobot bitcoin python bitcoin ethereum алгоритм bestchange bitcoin ethereum twitter криптовалюта ethereum
ethereum coingecko daemon bitcoin значок bitcoin mine ethereum amd bitcoin create bitcoin short bitcoin
iso bitcoin ethereum клиент monero nvidia dag ethereum форекс bitcoin mini bitcoin 6000 bitcoin ethereum токен bitcoin doubler ava bitcoin bitcoin сигналы
monero nvidia security bitcoin форк ethereum ethereum акции bitcoin ферма bitcoin primedice bitcoin кредит enterprise ethereum bitcoin scripting bitcoin passphrase bitcoin эфир криптовалюта ethereum bitcoin rt mining ethereum monero ico ethereum pool bitcoin это monero майнить ethereum bonus бесплатно bitcoin количество bitcoin tinkoff bitcoin keystore ethereum
bitcoin обменник bitcoin cc bitcoin 0 bitcoin moneybox video bitcoin bitcoin вклады конференция bitcoin stellar cryptocurrency cryptocurrency mining bitcoin перевести card bitcoin carding bitcoin 4pda tether cryptocurrency law
сборщик bitcoin bitcoin rbc bitcoin scrypt bitcoin payeer
dat bitcoin bitcoin сети bitcoin ocean bitcoin фарминг fasterclick bitcoin bitcoin scan connect bitcoin bitcoin скачать bitcoin лопнет bitcoin gambling zcash bitcoin new bitcoin 2018 bitcoin bitcoin song бесплатный bitcoin сложность monero
Ethereum uses accounts to store the ether, analogous to bank accounts.проверка bitcoin get bitcoin обменники bitcoin solo bitcoin
bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin alien json bitcoin ethereum токены ethereum асик bitcoin шифрование kran bitcoin инвестиции bitcoin ethereum обменять bitcoin pizza bitcoin кости