Cryptocurrency
What Is Cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is a virtual or digital currency. Cryptocurrency is decentralized digital money, based on blockchain technology. The word “cryptocurrency” is derived from the encryption techniques which are used to secure the network. Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency, one that’s based on cryptography, using complex mathematical principles to create and analyze algorithms. A cryptocurrency is a form of digital asset based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. This decentralized structure allows them to exist outside the control of governments and central authorities. “Crypto” refers to the various encryption algorithms and cryptographic techniques that safeguard these entries, such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key pairs, and hashing functions.
What is Blockchain?
A blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data.
“Imagine a book where you write down everything you spend money on each day,” says Buchi Okoro, CEO, and co-founder of the African cryptocurrency exchange Quidax. “Each page is similar to a block, and the entire book, a group of pages, is a blockchain.”
With a blockchain, everyone who uses a cryptocurrency has their own copy of this book to create a unified transaction record.
Types of Cryptocurrency?
1.Bitcoin
Bitcoin was the first major cryptocurrency created, appearing in January 2009. Its creation has been credited to a developer named Satoshi Nakamoto, although it’s possible that multiple people participated in its development under the umbrella of this name. which still remains the most popular and most valuable. Today, there are thousands of alternate cryptocurrencies with various functions and specifications.
2. Bitcoin Cash
Introduced in 2017, Bitcoin Cash is one of the most popular types of cryptocurrency on the market. Its main difference with the original Bitcoin is its block size: 8MB. Compare that to the original Bitcoin’s block size of just 1MB. What that means for users — faster processing speeds.
3. Litecoin
Litecoin is increasingly used in the same breath as Bitcoin, and it functions practically the same way. It was created in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former employee of Google. He designed it to improve on Bitcoin technology, with shorter transaction times, lower fees, more concentrated miners. Initially, it was a strong competitor to bitcoin. However, as the cryptocurrency market has become more saturated in recent years with new offerings, Litecoin’s popularity has waned. Measured by market capitalization, Litecoin is the ninth-largest cryptocurrency.
4. Ethereum
Ethereum is an open-source computing platform and operating system. It enables smart contracts and Distributed Applications (ĐApps) to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party. It is not just a platform but also a programming language running on a blockchain, helping developers to build and publish distributed applications. The platform was first proposed in a white paper by Vitalik Buterin in 2013. In 2014, he and a team of developers raised money in a presale of ether that helped them raised about $18 million to establish the nonprofit Ethereum Foundation and start funding the development of the platform. That platform launched a year later in 2015. Actions on Ethereum are powered by a currency known as ether.
5. Ripple
Ripple is one type of cryptocurrency on the list, but it’s not blocked-based. It’s not meant so much for individual users as it is for larger companies and corporations, moving larger amounts of money across the globe. It’s more well-known for its digital payment protocol more than for its XRP crypto. That’s because the system allows for the transfer of monies in any form, be it dollars or even Bitcoin.
6. Stellar
It was designed by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb in 2014 and is operated by a non-profit organization called Stellar.org.Its goal is to assist developing economies that may not have access to traditional banks and investment opportunities. It doesn’t charge users or institutions for using its Stellar network, and covers operating costs by accepting tax-deductible public donations.
7. NEO
Neo (formerly Antshares) is an open-source decentralized blockchain decentralized application platform founded in 2014 by Da HongFei and Erik Zhang. Since its rebranding to Neo from Antshares in 2017, the project’s vision is to realize a “smart economy” by utilizing blockchain technology and smart contract to issue and manage the digitalized assets.
8. Cardano
Cardano aka ADA is used to send and receive digital funds. It claims to be a more balanced and sustainable ecosystem for cryptocurrencies and the only coin with a “scientific philosophy and research-driven approach.” It was founded by Charles Hoskinson, who is also the co-founder of Ethereum.
9. IOTA
Launched in 2016, IOTA stands for Internet of Things Application. Unlike most other Blockchain technologies, it doesn’t actually work with a block and chain; it works with smart devices on the Internet of Things (IoT).
All you need to do to use it is to verify two other previous transactions on the IOTA ledger, which is called the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), but IOTA creators call it The Tangle.
