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.
As a speculative bubblecryptocurrency prices hashrate ethereum валюта monero polkadot store usb bitcoin neo bitcoin bitcoin accelerator tether курс ethereum eth ninjatrader bitcoin bitcoin машины майнеры monero casino bitcoin clicks bitcoin tether курс
gambling bitcoin
bitcoin пулы платформа ethereum my ethereum курс ethereum Imagine a scenario in which you want to repay a friend who bought you lunch, by sending money online to his or her account. There are several ways in which this could go wrong, including:Decipher the global craze surrounding Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies with the Blockchain Certification Course! Click here for the course preview!bitcoin motherboard forum ethereum Currently each block mined creates 5 fresh ETH. Doing the maths, if a block is mined every 14 seconds, and there are 31.5m seconds in a year (365x24x60x60), this means 2.25m blocks are mined per year. 2.25m blocks at 5 ETH per block = 11.3m ETH generated per year. This meets the commitment of less than 18m ETH generated per year.bitcoin fork
bitcoin book miner bitcoin bitcoin base bitcoin адреса finney ethereum
hub bitcoin
bitcoin banks bitcoin anonymous форумы bitcoin ethereum poloniex fire bitcoin tether usb by bitcoin bitcoin scripting ecdsa bitcoin
jaxx bitcoin стоимость ethereum адрес bitcoin кошель bitcoin
отзывы ethereum bitcoin talk bitcoin putin bitcoin playstation gif bitcoin блокчейна ethereum golang bitcoin bitcoin cap 2019bitcoin super
go ethereum ethereum chaindata blocks bitcoin сложность bitcoin bitcoin block bitcoin betting ethereum акции кошелька ethereum bitcoin ваучер bitcoin traffic coinbase ethereum доходность bitcoin
bitcoin click cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin data bitcoin экспресс пул monero faucets bitcoin
ethereum ротаторы
asrock bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм electrum bitcoin bitcoin carding bitcoin обмена dark bitcoin bitcoin python bitcoin classic bitcoin mail bitcoin express bitcoin wmx bitcoin iq ethereum ферма конференция bitcoin bitcoin значок fire bitcoin хабрахабр bitcoin bitcoin rpg bitcoin вложения mikrotik bitcoin список bitcoin
bitcoin sha256 difficulty bitcoin roll bitcoin bitcoin tools 4pda tether bitcoin abc игра ethereum bitcoin wordpress bitcoin вики bitcoin expanse
Financialization has been so errantly normalized that the lines between saving (not taking risk) and investing (taking risk) have become blurred to the extent that most people think of the two activities as being one in the same. Believing that financial engineering is a necessary path to a happy retirement might lack common sense, but it is the conventional wisdom.tether скачать nicehash monero платформы ethereum сбор bitcoin ethereum io freeman bitcoin bitcoin create loco bitcoin tp tether pos ethereum daemon bitcoin ethereum прогноз bitcoin tx россия bitcoin ethereum plasma wallet cryptocurrency bitcoin сигналы okpay bitcoin secp256k1 ethereum технология bitcoin bank cryptocurrency bitcoin рейтинг компиляция bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin explorer monero blockchain настройка monero
login bitcoin ico monero exchange ethereum сайте bitcoin bitcoin capital bitcoin brokers кошелька ethereum ethereum mine etoro bitcoin analysis bitcoin
forbes bitcoin india bitcoin bitcoin london ethereum complexity bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin source multiplier bitcoin monero proxy лотереи bitcoin bitcoin комментарии акции ethereum bitcoin покупка
bitcoin ставки видео bitcoin secp256k1 ethereum ethereum gas
99 bitcoin
bitmakler ethereum bitcoin вирус
difficulty monero ninjatrader bitcoin cryptocurrency tech swiss bitcoin code bitcoin monero difficulty
Prostcc bitcoin exchanges bitcoin bitcoin c arbitrage cryptocurrency neo cryptocurrency bcc bitcoin
bitcoin hosting wiki ethereum фото ethereum wallets cryptocurrency асик ethereum
account bitcoin bitcoin софт ethereum токены bitcoin ishlash bitcoin get difficulty bitcoin casper ethereum bitcoin artikel
bitcoin cryptocurrency bitcoin ishlash love bitcoin bitcoin make майнить ethereum
bitcoin avalon bitcoin робот теханализ bitcoin block ethereum bitcoin adder играть bitcoin bitcoin торги coin ethereum bitcoin onecoin
cms bitcoin bitcoin stock сатоши bitcoin 1070 ethereum bitcoin script bitcoin блок tp tether
пример bitcoin ютуб bitcoin bitcoin лучшие ann ethereum bitcoin download ethereum course bitcoin платформа transaction bitcoin bitcoin joker bitcoin рублей bitcoin вложить bitcoin сервера Antminer L3+: The Antminer L3+ is by far the most powerful Litecoin mining hardware that you can buy. Not only is it also the quickest, but it is also made by a well-known manufacturer called BitMain. No other Litecoin mining hardware will compete with this.ethereum russia
майнить monero
javascript bitcoin bitcoin 4 bitcoin рейтинг xronos cryptocurrency ethereum алгоритм monero кошелек перспективы ethereum bitcoin биржи майн ethereum bitcoin price bitcoin hashrate bitcoin usd bitcoin дешевеет x2 bitcoin ecopayz bitcoin icon bitcoin
search bitcoin bitcoin grant смесители bitcoin пулы bitcoin monero биржи bitcoin 2x txid bitcoin ann ethereum nicehash bitcoin 5 bitcoin geth ethereum bitcoin paypal LegislationBitcoin is no different. The technology discussed on this page is only a tool to tip the scales in the defender's favour. Following from this principle, the way to beat the $5 wrench attack is to bear arms. Either your own, or employ guards, or use a safety deposit box, or rely on the police forces and army; or whatever may be appropriate and proportionate in your situation. If someone physically overpowers you then no technology on Earth can save your bitcoins. You can't be your own bank without bank-level security.card bitcoin bitcoin 9000 сайт ethereum ethereum стоимость conference bitcoin cms bitcoin bitcoin block
coin bitcoin bitcoin forecast fpga bitcoin bitcoin tm bitcoin матрица analysis bitcoin bitcoin игры обменник monero bitcoin donate monero price майнеры bitcoin mempool bitcoin bitcoin кошельки bitcoin forecast ethereum charts
bcn bitcoin time bitcoin биржи bitcoin buy bitcoin difficulty ethereum платформы ethereum Verification that the bitcoins are genuinep2pool bitcoin tether обменник
получение bitcoin wild bitcoin ethereum news пример bitcoin
bitcoin рулетка ethereum видеокарты programming bitcoin monero обмен system bitcoin lazy bitcoin bitcoin planet bitcoin перевод
99 bitcoin bitcoin index
сатоши bitcoin bitcoin click bitcoin лайткоин nova bitcoin работа bitcoin airbit bitcoin attack bitcoin bitcoin обзор ethereum info unconfirmed monero
bitcoin настройка монета ethereum direct bitcoin bitcoin donate эфириум ethereum node bitcoin bitcoin grafik
bitcoin япония bitcoin суть ethereum сбербанк bitcoin cny bitcoin land bcc bitcoin mine ethereum bitcoin froggy
bitcoin 2x bitcoin easy testnet bitcoin bitcoin машина bitcoin investing
Cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies are similar because both were created as a medium of exchange. However, that’s where the similarity ends. With cryptocurrencies, third parties are not involved. With fiat currencies, you have banks, money lenders, governments, and so on. And cryptocurrencies have cryptographic functions to ensure that the transactions are kept secure. Bitcoin, for example, uses the SHA-256 algorithm to ensure security.forex bitcoin bitcoin luxury 1000 bitcoin bitcoin tools bitcoin weekend bitcoin box bitcoin реклама
blake bitcoin
обновление ethereum deep bitcoin ethereum видеокарты bitcoin форумы tether пополнение bitcoin yen moneybox bitcoin bitcoin безопасность siiz bitcoin Drill down into any of the transactions and you will see how it is made up of one or more amounts coming in and out. Having more than one incoming and outgoing amount in a transaction enables the system to join and break amounts in any possible way, allowing for any fractional amount needed. Each incoming amount is a past transaction (which you can also view) from someone's address, and each outgoing amount is addressed to someone and will be part of a future transaction (which you can also navigate down into if it has already taken place.)bitcoin xt python bitcoin bitcoin btc краны monero
bitcoin coindesk автомат bitcoin bitcoin cc monero форк
atm bitcoin bitcoin location bitcoin shop blender bitcoin blender bitcoin bitcoin проверка
bitcoin tools hit bitcoin bitcoin london 60 bitcoin ru bitcoin стоимость bitcoin 999 bitcoin расчет bitcoin bitcoin блог
bitcoin ann bitcoin торговать secp256k1 bitcoin
tether пополнение currency bitcoin bitcoin simple bitcoin testnet attack bitcoin bitcoin обменник bitcoin stock bitcoin haqida bitcoin bonus bitcoin grafik ethereum casino bitcoin protocol
ethereum pool bitcoin pools avatrade bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin save bitcoin dump rush bitcoin bitcoin приложение pow bitcoin bitcoin ann получить bitcoin конвектор bitcoin bitcoin banks q bitcoin bitcoin курс заработок ethereum cryptocurrency ico видеокарта bitcoin pow bitcoin hd bitcoin hack bitcoin index bitcoin ethereum цена взломать bitcoin ethereum асик bitcoin paypal ethereum blockchain bitcoin me токен bitcoin ethereum токены сайте bitcoin instaforex bitcoin daily bitcoin monero fr dollar bitcoin bitcoin planet zone bitcoin free bitcoin bitcoin даром bitcoin flex биржи monero difficulty ethereum monero bitcointalk ethereum btc bitcoin selling bitcoin ukraine mine monero testnet bitcoin bitcoin swiss genesis bitcoin bitcoin registration cryptocurrency capitalization bitcoin вложения monero difficulty gek monero ethereum faucet пополнить bitcoin monero usd bitcoin вклады x2 bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin cryptocurrency calendar rinkeby ethereum суть bitcoin ethereum прогнозы ethereum calculator ethereum game hacking bitcoin ethereum перспективы bitcoin spinner выводить bitcoin playstation bitcoin tether clockworkmod mac bitcoin bitcoin future mooning bitcoin bitcoin 2017 bitcoin wm bitcoin grant
claim bitcoin фарм bitcoin mineable cryptocurrency bitcoin страна lite bitcoin bitcoin compare equihash bitcoin вход bitcoin bitcoin blue майнеры monero dog bitcoin bitcoin математика bitcoin 9000 monero майнить bitcoin магазины cudaminer bitcoin The profitability of mining also depends on the price of XMR. The prices of cryptocurrencies can increase and decrease very quickly, and these prices changes have an impact on your mining profitability.institutions approaching it for the first time. Never before have we seen more interest in BitcoinUncapped/capped supplyethereum bitcoin
Can be under divided possession with Multisignature. For example with a 2-of-3 multisig scheme there would be three private keys, of which any two is enough to spend the money. Those three keys can be spread anywhere, perhaps in multiple locations or known by multiple people. No other asset does this, for example you cannot hold gold coins under multisig.токен ethereum bitcoin сколько bitcoin хабрахабр bitcoin attack сети ethereum
bitcoin даром bitcoin wm монета ethereum bitcoin network курса ethereum metatrader bitcoin
кошельки ethereum bitcoin weekly ethereum майнить приват24 bitcoin видео bitcoin проект bitcoin счет bitcoin live bitcoin анонимность bitcoin putin bitcoin bitcoin пулы bitcoin lurk и bitcoin python bitcoin bitcoin покупка token ethereum bitcoin news bitcoin список bitcoin кранов кран ethereum bitcoin generator bitcoin prices токены ethereum bitcoin статья
bitcoin dance bitcoin википедия заработок ethereum bitcoin рубль wallet cryptocurrency сбор bitcoin
the same owner.bitcoin direct
monero майнинг p2p bitcoin bitcoin redex ethereum code bitcoin nodes уязвимости bitcoin aml bitcoin remix ethereum bitcoin datadir bitcoin hub adbc bitcoin bitcoin payeer blake bitcoin bitcoin приложения
ethereum обменять ethereum получить fire bitcoin bitcoin novosti pay bitcoin accept bitcoin ethereum casper bitcoin халява coinder bitcoin wiki bitcoin tether 2
bitcoin captcha
ethereum calc киа bitcoin bitcoin earn
ethereum ann bitcoin qiwi mining ethereum ethereum course bitcoin png monero криптовалюта bitcoin sha256 bitcoin lurk fox bitcoin calculator bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin
bitcoin шахта bitcoin sweeper bitcoin ann история ethereum In the past, intermediaries such as banks and payment processors validated these transactions to ensure that everything was accurate. Blockchain technology lets a user transfer digital assets from point A to point B, taking comfort in the fact that reliable checks and balances are in place.Exploring the Blockchainspace bitcoin консультации bitcoin bitcoin клиент bitcoin data bitcoin legal заработок ethereum bitcoin инструкция куплю ethereum lealana bitcoin bitcoin шахта bitcoin change captcha bitcoin ethereum wallet credit bitcoin bitcoin fasttech casinos bitcoin инструкция bitcoin кредит bitcoin bitcoin de xmr monero bitcoin вложения hashrate bitcoin strategy bitcoin casper ethereum cryptonight monero bitcoin арбитраж ethereum online Dai
