Crypto Currencies for Beginners

What is Crypto Currency ?

To start things off, you may have heard of something called Bitcoin on the news or on channels about the stock market in recent years, and you may be wondering what exactly it is. Bitcoin is a type of, and the first notable form of a crypto currency. Crypto currencies are virtual currencies that are secured by the use of cryptography, which makes them nearly impossible to counterfeit. The main purpose of cryptocurrencies is to provide anonymity through decentralized (does not require a middle-man, such as the bank) networks that run on blockchain technologies. Crypto currencies also fight inflation. As of recent, the US has been printing trillions of dollars at an alarming rate, which inflates the current world currency, the US Dollar. Many Crypto currencies have a limit on how many coins can be made available through the process of Mining.

What The Future Holds

Now that you know some of the basics on what crypto currency is, you may ask why is it important? or you may have your doubts on whether it will take off, and truly change the world. Obviously, nobody has the power to accurately tell us what the future holds, but I believe that we are at the beginning of something that will change the world, and rebuild the internet. Taking a look at previous tech giants as they were starting off, many people doubted the use of personal computers, then doubted the mainstream use of the internet, and finally doubted the move to fully digitizing everyday activities, such as shopping online at Amazon, or streaming content on Netflix or Spotify. The people that believed in technology were heavily rewarded, and live lavish lifestyles. The use of crypto currencies can also help third world countries become stronger economies, as they would no longer need to inflate their current currencies, or worry about a corrupt government hoarding all the money. Just this year (2021), El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, and many more countries are thinking of following in their footsteps, such as Paraguay. This is major news that will be recorded in the history books, and I firmly believe that this is only the beginning.

The Blockchain

You may have heard of the term "Blockchain" or "Blockchain Technology," but what is it? For starters, it is the technology that allows Bitcoin to be anti-counterfeit, and verifies the transactions without a middle-man. The blockchain is like a database, except it stores its information in blocks that are chained together, hence the name "Blockchain." Newly entered data is stored into a new block, and once the block is filled, it links or chains onto the previous block. This allows the data to be placed in chronological order. The blockchain can be used for many purposes, but it is most commonly used as a ledger to keep track of crypto transactions. In the crypto currency space, the blockchain is used as a decentralized platform where no one is in complete control, but rather everyone has to collectively retain that control (Sort of like how email works, where no one "controls" email, but everyone can collectively use it.