What is cryptocurrency?
A pair of hands inserts a digital token into their mobile phone.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto are revolutionizing how we invest, bank, and use money. Read this beginner’s guide to learn more.
At its core, cryptocurrency is typically decentralized digital money designed to be used over the internet. Bitcoin, which launched in 2008, was the first cryptocurrency, and it remains by far the biggest, most influential, and best-known. In the decade since, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum have grown as digital alternatives to money issued by governments.
The most popular cryptocurrencies, by market capitalization, are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. Other well-known cryptocurrencies include Tezos, EOS, and ZCash. Some are similar to Bitcoin. Others are based on different technologies, or have new features that allow them to do more than transfer value.
Crypto makes it possible to transfer value online without the need for a middleman like a bank or payment processor, allowing value to transfer globally, near-instantly, 24/7, for low fees.
Cryptocurrencies are usually not issued or controlled by any government or other central authority. They’re managed by peer-to-peer networks of computers running free, open-source software. Generally, anyone who wants to participate is able to.
If a bank or government isn’t involved, how is crypto secure? It’s secure because all transactions are vetted by a technology called a blockchain.
A cryptocurrency blockchain is similar to a bank’s balance sheet or ledger. Each currency has its own blockchain, which is an ongoing, constantly re-verified record of every single transaction ever made using that currency.
Unlike a bank’s ledger, a crypto blockchain is distributed across participants of the digital currency’s entire network
No company, country, or third party is in control of it; and anyone can participate. A blockchain is a breakthrough technology only recently made possible through decades of computer science and mathematical innovations.
Most importantly, cryptocurrencies allow individuals to take complete control over their assets
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's Vision for the Future of Cryptocurrency
Key concepts
Transferability
Crypto makes transactions with people on the other side of the planet as seamless as paying with cash at your local grocery store.
Privacy
When paying with cryptocurrency, you don’t need to provide unnecessary personal information to the merchant. Which means your financial information is protected from being shared with third parties like banks, payment services, advertisers, and credit-rating agencies. And because no sensitive information needs to be sent over the internet, there is very little risk of your financial information being compromised, or your identity being stolen.
Security
Almost all cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tezos, and Bitcoin Cash are secured using technology called a blockchain, which is constantly checked and verified by a huge amount of computing power.
Portability
Because your cryptocurrency holdings aren’t tied to a financial institution or government, they are available to you no matter where you are in the world or what happens to any of the global finance system’s major intermediaries.
Transparency
Every transaction on the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tezos, and Bitcoin Cash networks is published publicly, without exception. This means there's no room for manipulation of transactions, changing the money supply, or adjusting the rules mid-game.
Irreversibility
Unlike a credit card payment, cryptocurrency payments can’t be reversed. For merchants, this hugely reduces the likelihood of being defrauded. For customers, it has the potential to make commerce cheaper by eliminating one of the major arguments credit card companies make for their high processing fees.
Safety
The network powering Bitcoin has never been hacked. And the fundamental ideas behind cryptocurrencies help make them safe: the systems are permissionless and the core software is open-source, meaning countless computer scientists and cryptographers have been able to examine all aspects of the networks and their security.
Utility
Unlike a credit card payment, cryptocurrency payments can’t be reversed. For merchants, this hugely reduces the likelihood of being defrauded. For customers, it has the potential to make commerce cheaper by eliminating one of the major arguments credit card companies make for their high processing fees.
bitcoin birds
delphi bitcoin
пул bitcoin The ability for bitcoin to compete with other payment systems has long been up for debate in the cryptocurrency community. When Satoshi Nakamoto programmed the blocks to have a size limit of approximately 1MB each to prevent network spam, he also created the problem of bitcoin illiquidity.planet bitcoin
Bitcoin is the global economic singularity: the ultimate monetary center of gravity — an exponential devourer of liquid value in the world economy, the epitome of time, and the zero-point of money.What Are Bitcoins?отзывы ethereum bitcoin сша Ключевое слово iso bitcoin вывод monero proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.tether программа bitcoin clock kran bitcoin pull bitcoin пицца bitcoin bitcoin yen bitcoin скрипт bistler bitcoin bitcoin paypal bitcoin multiplier stock bitcoin bitcoin коллектор bitcoin rt ico monero bitcoin 4000 iobit bitcoin скрипт bitcoin пузырь bitcoin bitcoin download покупка ethereum generator bitcoin blogspot bitcoin bitcoin reserve cz bitcoin
txid ethereum ethereum сегодня bitcoin приложение ico monero ethereum настройка ethereum сложность криптовалюты bitcoin майнинга bitcoin ethereum ann киа bitcoin кошелька bitcoin логотип bitcoin win bitcoin
bitcoin adress short bitcoin bitcoin scrypt
cryptocurrency forum bitcoin приват24 supernova ethereum видеокарта bitcoin cryptocurrency mining
tether кошелек bitcoin cap minergate bitcoin bitcoin icon форекс bitcoin bitcoin уязвимости брокеры bitcoin куплю ethereum
скрипты bitcoin сервисы bitcoin ethereum биржа
plus500 bitcoin tether обменник bitfenix bitcoin blogspot bitcoin kurs bitcoin bitcoin pattern bitcoin knots майнить bitcoin bitcoin slots bitcoin кошелек wallets cryptocurrency 33 bitcoin ethereum прибыльность настройка monero bitcoin visa inside bitcoin bitcoin save golden bitcoin tether wifi рост bitcoin bitcoin cny bitcoin приложения demo bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin халява bitcoin bitmakler ethereum monero pools bitcoin banks отзыв bitcoin bitcoin air
iobit bitcoin
abi ethereum генераторы bitcoin tether скачать bitcoin pdf bitcoin knots bitcoin airbit algorithm bitcoin tp tether bitcoin png bitcoin сервера алгоритм ethereum bitcoin путин bitcoin bounty parity ethereum bitcoin darkcoin bitcoin official видеокарты ethereum tor bitcoin пополнить bitcoin bitcoin etherium ethereum block
bitcoin карта ethereum пулы ethereum bitcoin habr алгоритмы bitcoin mt4 bitcoin китай bitcoin bitcoin hesaplama bitcoin etherium ethereum проблемы
ethereum краны wifi tether rx580 monero ethereum сбербанк download tether bitcoin script ethereum аналитика direct bitcoin monero client key bitcoin bitcoin перспективы играть bitcoin ethereum mine bitcoin ставки
новые bitcoin ethereum org bitcoin рейтинг bitcoin развитие lite bitcoin отзывы ethereum red bitcoin bitcoin портал bitcoin установка android tether wallets cryptocurrency bitcoin usa 1 ethereum
bitcoin prominer форк bitcoin bitcoin фото widget bitcoin tether купить
flex bitcoin адрес ethereum ethereum адрес bitcoin продать капитализация bitcoin ethereum статистика secp256k1 bitcoin вклады bitcoin bitcoin armory bitcoin обозреватель ubuntu ethereum joker bitcoin разработчик bitcoin будущее ethereum abi ethereum l bitcoin love bitcoin reindex bitcoin rx470 monero блокчейн ethereum bitcoin tor accepts bitcoin криптовалют ethereum xbt bitcoin hacking bitcoin
конференция bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin me оплата bitcoin tether майнинг ethereum создатель
bitcoin инструкция bitcoin today миксеры bitcoin bitcoin ферма amazon bitcoin foto bitcoin bitcoin arbitrage bitcoin multiplier bitcoin de bitcoin boxbit bitcoin formula ethereum перспективы bitcoin today bitcoin пузырь ethereum core bitcoin магазины mastering bitcoin half bitcoin обои bitcoin cryptonight monero аналитика bitcoin bitcoin обои технология bitcoin bitcoin видеокарта реклама bitcoin ethereum linux up bitcoin
bitcoin seed bitcoin hype bitcoin buying earn bitcoin coinder bitcoin bitcoin транзакция bitcoin conveyor терминал bitcoin
daily bitcoin tether mining bitcoin экспресс bitcoin hashrate ethereum обмен bitcoin service bitcoin запрет суть bitcoin monero dwarfpool bitcoin widget tether 4pda redex bitcoin ethereum вывод amd bitcoin ethereum blockchain bitcoin demo почему bitcoin bitcoin knots lite bitcoin segwit2x bitcoin arbitrage bitcoin
spin bitcoin system bitcoin bitcoin bow bitcoin 10 bitcoin download bitcoin multiplier ethereum farm
ethereum ios home bitcoin ethereum ротаторы bitcoin завести bitcoin презентация rub bitcoin bitcoin прогнозы sberbank bitcoin пополнить bitcoin pools bitcoin bitcoin start ethereum получить
терминал bitcoin bitcoin simple ethereum пулы bitcoin scam dog bitcoin bitcoin фарминг проекта ethereum bitcoin scam математика bitcoin bitcoin ротатор ethereum пул ethereum вывод bitcoin advcash bitcoin script hd7850 monero bitcoin mac bitcoin symbol forum ethereum ethereum хешрейт service bitcoin monero dwarfpool bitcoin ротатор видеокарты bitcoin cryptocurrency price android tether видеокарты ethereum bitcoin аналоги 2048 bitcoin bitcoin софт bitcoin бонус coinbase ethereum проверка bitcoin get bitcoin ethereum эфир bitcoin auto
bitcoin автоматически bitcoin hacking ccminer monero bitcoin loan
bitcoin 3 bitcoin сбербанк coinder bitcoin bitcoin страна сложность ethereum cpp ethereum amd bitcoin xpub bitcoin monero новости bitcoin loan bitcoin 10 mempool bitcoin работа bitcoin ethereum contracts metal bitcoin future bitcoin майнер ethereum direct bitcoin