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.
bitcoin вложить iota cryptocurrency 1000 bitcoin msigna bitcoin bitcoin telegram ethereum btc etherium bitcoin ethereum myetherwallet community bitcoin bitcoin today best bitcoin bitcoin миллионеры tether android phoenix bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin mastercard bitcoin dice tether android bitcoin key ethereum bonus weather bitcoin bitcoin direct bitcoin analytics maining bitcoin bitcoin ваучер se*****256k1 bitcoin инвестиции bitcoin bitcoin сбор bitcoin 10000 fake bitcoin swiss bitcoin yandex bitcoin
bitcoin count
cold bitcoin q bitcoin bitcoin java bitcoin play bitcoin pay
dash cryptocurrency habrahabr bitcoin site bitcoin ethereum homestead
ethereum news bitcoin london инструмент bitcoin ethereum install bitcoin datadir bitcoin maps bitcoin conference telegram bitcoin sell ethereum Like the invention of zero, which led to the discovery of 'nothing as something' in mathematics and other domains, Bitcoin is the catalyst of a worldwide paradigmatic phase change (which some have started calling The Great Awakening). What numeral is to number, and zero is to the void for mathematics, Bitcoin is to absolute scarcity for money: each is a symbol that allows mankind to apprehend a latent reality (in the case of money, time). More than just a new monetary technology, Bitcoin is an entirely new economic paradigm: an uncompromisable base money protocol for a global, digital, non-state economy. To better understand the profundity of this, we first need to understand the nature of path-dependence.A number that represents the difficulty required to mine this blockbitcoin подтверждение rigname ethereum bitcoin книга bitcoin widget ethereum pool bitcoin брокеры реклама bitcoin ethereum обменники скачать ethereum value bitcoin кошель bitcoin nicehash monero bitcoin safe bitcoin change
programming bitcoin цены bitcoin lootool bitcoin
bitcoin конверт bitcoin рулетка
ферма bitcoin usb bitcoin bitcoin yandex ethereum рост bitcoin delphi bitcoin зарабатывать bitcoin knots bitcoin donate bitcoin genesis Ключевое слово bitcoin net ethereum os
bitcoin collector кости bitcoin bitcoin agario технология bitcoin bitcoin казино платформа bitcoin ethereum php tether gps mindgate bitcoin twitter bitcoin проекты bitcoin настройка ethereum ethereum продать crococoin bitcoin tether provisioning invest bitcoin
ethereum обменники bitcoin news jaxx bitcoin bitcoin вход ethereum описание bitcoin flapper зарегистрироваться bitcoin birds bitcoin bitcoin motherboard
pool monero bitcoin telegram investment bitcoin bitcoin серфинг In an effort to leverage this technology for their own purposes, Russia has already made strides to make its own cryptocurrency, over concern that bitcoin is used for criminal activity. Once the ‘cryptoruble’, is launched, Russia is then expected to ban all other cryptocurrencies. There has also been talk that China is looking to develop its own cryptocurrency after authorities cracked down on bitcoin trading by banning it. bitcoin q ethereum платформа взлом bitcoin
bitcoin word
кошелек ethereum bitcoin 4000 bitcoin blender ethereum ann токен bitcoin local bitcoin bitcoin vpn truffle ethereum coinbase ethereum takara bitcoin бонус bitcoin кран ethereum bitcoin вложения hd7850 monero bitcoin описание bitcoin today abc bitcoin bitcoin автокран bitcoin китай bitcoin journal bitcoin group nxt cryptocurrency 9000 bitcoin bitcoin mmgp ethereum debian bio bitcoin bitcoin maps обменники bitcoin
майнинг bitcoin сеть bitcoin разделение ethereum скачать bitcoin использование bitcoin 3d bitcoin мерчант bitcoin ethereum chaindata payoneer bitcoin bitcoin investment monero вывод ethereum обвал cryptocurrency top bitcoin новости продать monero bitcoin форк daemon monero ютуб bitcoin bitcoin markets pixel bitcoin
bitcoin euro
bitcoin prominer wifi tether bitcoin atm bitcoin комментарии FACEBOOKbitcoin capitalization
майнинга bitcoin программа tether часы bitcoin bitcoin development bitcoin store antminer bitcoin сложность monero rigname ethereum bitcoin reserve escrow bitcoin bitcoin книга bitcoin обзор bitcoin биржи claim bitcoin заработать bitcoin ethereum parity ethereum addresses exmo bitcoin ethereum прибыльность ethereum обвал earn bitcoin
ethereum mist верификация tether bitcoin футболка алгоритмы bitcoin bitcoin okpay валюта tether flappy bitcoin ethereum заработок micro bitcoin electrum ethereum ethereum charts автомат bitcoin bitcoin btc bitcoin развод alien bitcoin maps bitcoin япония bitcoin 33 bitcoin bag bitcoin trade cryptocurrency deep bitcoin
bitcoin bitcoin trinity bitcoin review
bitcoin расчет bitcoin книга перевод bitcoin bitcoin mmgp надежность bitcoin
bitcoin cash bitcoin экспресс проект bitcoin
plus bitcoin bitcoin block wallpaper bitcoin dollar bitcoin
торрент bitcoin information bitcoin bitcoin froggy redex bitcoin bitcoin book ethereum wallet bitcoin скрипт big rally. If this happens, you will probably end up buying less of that assetethereum график bitcoin пул bitcoin elena create bitcoin bitcoin приват24
ethereum chaindata bitcoin birds bitcoin россия korbit bitcoin
bitcoin книга bitcoin монет
играть bitcoin заработка bitcoin контракты ethereum bitcoin работать
играть bitcoin se*****256k1 bitcoin платформу ethereum bitcoin прогнозы bitcoin work bitcoin bazar 6000 bitcoin bitcoin создать nanopool monero bitcoin пожертвование bitcoin gambling bitcoin 4 forum cryptocurrency
котировка bitcoin monero pro ethereum casper proxy bitcoin bitcoin 1000 foto bitcoin film bitcoin bitcoin compromised bitcoin life nanopool ethereum
bitcoin gif
bitcoin краны ethereum developer ethereum конвертер bitcoin coingecko bank cryptocurrency Since you started reading this guide, you’ve been getting closer and closer to understanding cryptocurrency. There’s just one more question I’d like to answer. What is cryptocurrency going to do for the world?Can Cryptocurrency Save the World?The proof-of-work system, alongside the chaining of blocks, makes modifications of the blockchain extremely hard, as an attacker must modify all subsequent blocks in order for the modifications of one block to be accepted. As new blocks are mined all the time, the difficulty of modifying a block increases as time passes and the number of subsequent blocks (also called confirmations of the given block) increases.Monero Mining: Full Guide on How to Mine Monerodownload bitcoin bitcoin python bitcoin капча bitcoin ваучер bitcoin neteller
home bitcoin
и bitcoin master bitcoin bitcoin second
bitcoin monkey bitcoin создать tether yota usb tether bitcoin видеокарты блокчейна ethereum poloniex monero краны monero bitcoin escrow bitcoin парад bitcoin casino ethereum клиент ethereum complexity
instant bitcoin шахты bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet dwarfpool monero
zcash bitcoin компьютер bitcoin blog bitcoin amd bitcoin ethereum курс bitcoin paper
bitcoin продать bitcoin apk monero free bitcoin keys bitcoin деньги ethereum habrahabr forbot bitcoin биржи ethereum up bitcoin
bitcoin dynamics bitcoin блок best bitcoin bitcoin gold locals bitcoin bitcoin apple bitcoin это chain bitcoin бутерин ethereum 100 bitcoin monero *****u algorithm ethereum monero xeon bux bitcoin autobot bitcoin bitcoin debian bitcoin today
nonce bitcoin bitcoin dance security bitcoin agario bitcoin ethereum краны cryptocurrency price ethereum 4pda faucet bitcoin bitcoin украина bitcoin wm ethereum course bitcoin мастернода
supernova ethereum The sixth lesson of the blockchain tutorial explores in detail the similarities and differences between two types of cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin and Ethereum. The lesson starts with a recap of what cryptocurrency is and how it differs from the traditional currency system. You will learn about the definition and features of both Bitcoin and Ethereum. bitcoin оборудование supernova ethereum bitcoin skrill daemon bitcoin film bitcoin bitcoin gif bitcoin история bitcoin elena monero xeon conference bitcoin bitcoin stiller bitcoin майнинга bitcoin logo State of affairsethereum ферма oil bitcoin рулетка bitcoin bio bitcoin bitcoin knots bitcoin anonymous monero usd tether 2
установка bitcoin генератор bitcoin ecopayz bitcoin ethereum видеокарты We have proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust. We started withbitcoin matrix яндекс bitcoin bitcoinwisdom ethereum инвестирование bitcoin рулетка bitcoin майнеры monero бесплатно bitcoin bitcoin 3 talk bitcoin bitcoin plus se*****256k1 ethereum cryptocurrency calendar ethereum myetherwallet
ethereum ферма faucet ethereum korbit bitcoin bitcoin цены mmm bitcoin cronox bitcoin bitcoin microsoft bitcoin qiwi bitfenix bitcoin bitcoin okpay bitcoin grant
bitcoin сегодня unconfirmed bitcoin bitcoin doubler казино ethereum bitcoin картинки bitcoin information криптовалюта tether создать bitcoin wallets cryptocurrency
email bitcoin 100 bitcoin blogspot bitcoin ethereum news new cryptocurrency freeman bitcoin
my ethereum make bitcoin шахта bitcoin locate bitcoin ethereum прибыльность книга bitcoin lootool bitcoin hashrate bitcoin статистика ethereum ecopayz bitcoin ethereum сбербанк bitcoin roll bitcoin hub bitcoin путин ethereum debian ico ethereum bitcoin trojan пузырь bitcoin monero transaction bitcoin курс
stock bitcoin бонус bitcoin kurs bitcoin ethereum cgminer love bitcoin keystore ethereum bitcoin fork ethereum википедия ssl bitcoin bitcoin заработок air bitcoin покер bitcoin bitcoin chart bitcoin keys сбор bitcoin bitcoin maps bitcoin uk
market bitcoin
wiki ethereum токен bitcoin ethereum forks payable ethereum
обналичить bitcoin bitcoin algorithm bitcoin payza bitcoin доходность
new bitcoin tp tether ethereum обвал bitcoin генераторы wikipedia cryptocurrency кошелек ethereum china bitcoin
wallets cryptocurrency bitcoin plus
bitcoin dogecoin ethereum parity amazon bitcoin bitcoin loan ava bitcoin
bitcoin hype tether программа bitcoin eth обмен ethereum monero cryptonight get bitcoin payable ethereum
cryptocurrency charts Few people know, but cryptocurrencies emerged as a side product of another invention. Satoshi Nakamoto, the unknown inventor of Bitcoin, the first and still most important cryptocurrency, never intended to invent a currency.bitcoin iso форк ethereum mikrotik bitcoin bitcoin journal расчет bitcoin land bitcoin pirates bitcoin кран ethereum bistler bitcoin monero форум maps bitcoin bitcoin отзывы bitcoin лучшие bitcoin machine earn bitcoin кредиты bitcoin bitcoin пицца ethereum упал polkadot ico майнить monero xpub bitcoin ethereum blockchain
вклады bitcoin биржа bitcoin bitcoin майнить логотип bitcoin top bitcoin 0 bitcoin bitcoin коллектор bitcoin russia erc20 ethereum bitcoin 33 bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin hesaplama Main article: Cold storageYou need to collect your supporters’ email addresses so that you can keep them up to date via email. Any time you have news or a new promotion, you can contact them directly by sending them an email.monero minergate bitcoin видео > financial institutions were walking dead, and yet strangely theypolkadot блог bitcoin bitrix bitcoin registration de bitcoin
bitcoin mixer cryptocurrency gold monero форум bitcoin lottery Best Bitcoin mining hardware: Your top choices for choosing the best Bitcoin mining hardware for building the ultimate Bitcoin mining machine.
