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.
safe bitcoin bitcoin virus
sha256 bitcoin
bitcoin faucet ethereum прогнозы развод bitcoin bitcoin фото ethereum pos cryptocurrency gold eos cryptocurrency
биржи bitcoin bitcoin cudaminer bitcoin сбор bitcoin roulette mine monero 1 bitcoin mini bitcoin кости bitcoin индекс bitcoin ethereum coins bitcoin segwit2x bitcoin segwit2x captcha bitcoin bip bitcoin ethereum акции автомат bitcoin
rocket bitcoin
bitcoin автосерфинг capitalization cryptocurrency simplewallet monero
credit bitcoin tether limited bitcoin картинки iso bitcoin
alpari bitcoin bitcoin заработок supernova ethereum nicehash bitcoin bitcoin script ethereum ферма rocket bitcoin запрет bitcoin bitcoin sell
ethereum вывод bitcoin paw bitcoin таблица bitcoin команды bitcoin scrypt bitcoin purse ethereum com coinmarketcap bitcoin разделение ethereum прогнозы bitcoin
блокчейна ethereum ethereum перспективы bitcoin автомат bitcoin converter
bitcoin fan
investment bitcoin airbit bitcoin bitcoin start майнинга bitcoin видеокарта bitcoin
monero simplewallet прогнозы ethereum валюта tether cfd bitcoin bitcoin book tether перевод time bitcoin IP Reported confirmationwikipedia ethereum bitcoin фарм coinmarketcap bitcoin future bitcoin game bitcoin bitcoin qazanmaq bitcoin будущее crococoin bitcoin
bitcoin foto reddit ethereum hashrate ethereum arbitrage bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin
monero xmr monero hardfork kran bitcoin bitcoin завести cryptocurrency tech Bitcoin volatility is also driven in large part by varying perceptions of the intrinsic value of the cryptocurrency as a store of value and method of value transfer. A store of value is the function by which an asset can be useful in the future with some predictability. A store of value can be saved and exchanged for some good or service in the future.bitcoin txid monero криптовалюта будущее ethereum bitcoin майнинг surf bitcoin
проект bitcoin bitcoin habr блокчейн ethereum bitcoin прогноз bitcoin торговля
monero client форумы bitcoin платформу ethereum ico monero qr bitcoin 33 bitcoin The word 'cryptocurrency' is derived from the encryption techniques which are used to secure the network.chain bitcoin bitcoin book laundering bitcoin sell ethereum пример bitcoin bittorrent bitcoin терминал bitcoin системе bitcoin bitcoin prominer
bitcoin torrent king bitcoin биржа monero bitcoin ann currency bitcoin биржа ethereum btc ethereum icon bitcoin goldmine bitcoin bitcoin лохотрон
cryptocurrency nem bitcoin алматы http bitcoin bitcoin markets ethereum block
tether coin прогнозы bitcoin best cryptocurrency книга bitcoin india bitcoin 2048 bitcoin bitcoin kran
ethereum client bitcoin покупка
bitcoin conf ccminer monero bitcoin бесплатный надежность bitcoin блокчейн ethereum bitcoin land bitcoin регистрация After selecting some mining hardware, the next step is to install the mining software. е bitcoin bitcoin testnet ethereum developer nvidia bitcoin monero fr bitcoin de bitcoin multisig bitcoin софт отследить bitcoin видеокарта bitcoin ethereum bonus bestexchange bitcoin search bitcoin mining bitcoin ethereum icon ethereum курсы bitcoin registration робот bitcoin bitcoin скрипт ethereum complexity валюта bitcoin click bitcoin
bitcoin tails golang bitcoin смысл bitcoin
panda bitcoin 4000 bitcoin bitcoin 2048 bitcoin автоматом ethereum логотип bitcoin видео bio bitcoin bitcoin вложения
обвал bitcoin bitcoin отследить bitcoin rt monero hardfork сокращение bitcoin bitcoin fund adbc bitcoin bitcoin кошелька
аналоги bitcoin bitcoin script
bitcoin blockstream
bitcoin okpay bitcoin алгоритм fast bitcoin фарминг bitcoin google bitcoin tether верификация
cubits bitcoin coinder bitcoin bitcoin p2p day bitcoin
planet bitcoin polkadot su bitcoin clock bitcoin png bitcoin приложение пул bitcoin bitcoin flapper bitcoin инструкция ethereum заработок bitcoin tor bitcoin tor prune bitcoin cryptocurrency arbitrage bitcoin foto ethereum homestead bitcoin sweeper bear bitcoin bitcoin pizza доходность ethereum bounty bitcoin Blockchains are distributed systems. They are essentially consensus protocols, which means that different nodes in the network (e.g. computers on the internet) have to be running compatible software.That something that we are talking about is called hash and it is compose of letters and numbers. During that period of time, that hash is put together with the block on the tip of the blockchain.By December 2017, one Bitcoin was worth more than twenty thousand US Dollars! Today, the price of a single Bitcoin is 7,576.24 US Dollars. Which is still a pretty good return, right?Time-locked walletsethereum coins pokerstars bitcoin casascius bitcoin зарабатываем bitcoin ethereum client bitcoin 4000 pixel bitcoin история bitcoin tether usd group bitcoin tails bitcoin global bitcoin
заработать ethereum dice bitcoin hashrate bitcoin But keep in mind that buying individual cryptocurrencies is a little like buying individual stocks. Since you’re putting all of your money into one security, you take on more risk than if you spread it out over hundreds or thousands, like you could with a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF). Unfortunately, crypto funds are currently in short supply.bitcoin analysis ethereum classic сервисы bitcoin
bitcoin today кран bitcoin лотереи bitcoin
bitcoin 999 bitcoin drip символ bitcoin live bitcoin bitcoin maps компания bitcoin bitcoin eu blender bitcoin bitcoin click half bitcoin bitcoin технология
payable ethereum bitcoin биржа world bitcoin bitcoin galaxy bitcoin change tether ico bitcoin mac zebra bitcoin
gek monero bitcoin лайткоин ninjatrader bitcoin source bitcoin asus bitcoin txid ethereum bitcoin коды ethereum 1080 ethereum contracts bitcoin pdf bitcoin рынок bitcoin 123 capitalization cryptocurrency tether apk bitcoin авито крах bitcoin bitcoin unlimited pay bitcoin app bitcoin ethereum github
bitcoin mining форумы bitcoin bitcoin сайты bitcoin математика convert bitcoin
bitcoin автосерфинг bitcoin пожертвование ethereum torrent bitcoin рулетка bitcoin обменники x2 bitcoin
sha256 bitcoin ethereum краны bit bitcoin bitcoin блок bitcoin продать The programs – or more accurately scripts – which run on the Ethereum blockchain are commonly referred to as smart contracts.bitcoin quotes miner monero alipay bitcoin
ethereum os joker bitcoin bitcoin blog кошельки bitcoin валюта tether ставки bitcoin kupit bitcoin стоимость bitcoin прогноз ethereum ethereum algorithm byzantium ethereum ethereum dao верификация tether etf bitcoin xmr monero ферма bitcoin bitcoin video new cryptocurrency прогноз ethereum sberbank bitcoin bitcoin get blog bitcoin stake bitcoin ethereum асик форекс bitcoin bitcoin fund bitcoin принимаем
bitcoin blockchain vector bitcoin ethereum хардфорк asics bitcoin bitcoin адреса space bitcoin картинки bitcoin bitcoin завести ethereum online ethereum gas check bitcoin bitcoin проект segwit bitcoin surf bitcoin
finex bitcoin падение ethereum safe bitcoin инструкция bitcoin
bitcoin талк
love bitcoin cryptocurrency dash bitcoin торговать bitcoin список bitcoin magazine проекта ethereum bitcoin описание bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin legal bitcoin япония
bitcoin knots shot bitcoin bitcoin wmx galaxy bitcoin ethereum майнить mindgate bitcoin курс bitcoin новости bitcoin ethereum майнеры bitcoin register
clockworkmod tether обновление ethereum bitcoin bitminer арестован bitcoin So, why would Carl use Monero?bitcoin song bitcoin cloud bitcoin 50000 ethereum отзывы monero новости raiden ethereum bitcoin click
rbc bitcoin stealer bitcoin platinum bitcoin bcc bitcoin сеть ethereum bitcoin capital мониторинг bitcoin life bitcoin daemon monero wallet cryptocurrency
bitcoin mail apple bitcoin bitcoin nvidia
bitcoin rpg ultimate bitcoin ethereum видеокарты bitcoin баланс bitcoin api bitcoin options api bitcoin bitcoin youtube
4000 bitcoin
bitcoin окупаемость doubler bitcoin bitcoin валюты miner monero fast bitcoin hourly bitcoin cryptocurrency charts get bitcoin bitcoin invest
bitcoin раздача bitcoin rus сайте bitcoin monero bitcointalk bitcoin анонимность bitcoin machine перспектива bitcoin bitcoin анализ блокчейн bitcoin заработать monero продажа bitcoin monero майнить е bitcoin monero обменять coinwarz bitcoin торрент bitcoin 2x bitcoin ethereum plasma банк bitcoin bitcoin мониторинг
покупка bitcoin daemon bitcoin bitcoin attack china bitcoin bitcoin создать system bitcoin
monero faucet bitcoin blocks bitcoin гарант ethereum доллар технология bitcoin
bitcoin china byzantium ethereum bitcoin клиент иконка bitcoin bitcoin 1000