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 zebra bitcoin novosti bitcoin synchronization bitcoin доходность bitcoin компьютер bitcoin работа bitcoin haqida reward bitcoin bitcoin xpub ethereum прогнозы 1 ethereum bitcoin generate инвестиции bitcoin cryptocurrency dash ethereum история bitcoin magazin bitcoin project подтверждение bitcoin bitcoin electrum ethereum статистика bitcoin motherboard bitcoin fun simplewallet monero bitcoin conf monero simplewallet king bitcoin box bitcoin ethereum transaction ethereum контракты
ethereum курсы
bitcoin 2017 bitcoin knots bitcoin пул фермы bitcoin bitcoin nodes ethereum прогнозы bitcoin community locals bitcoin bitcoin venezuela bitcoin шахты
alipay bitcoin ann ethereum
buy ethereum qr bitcoin bitcoin котировка надежность bitcoin bitcoin redex ethereum contract bitcoin online bitcoin donate
bitcoin cli пул monero
bitcoin сети андроид bitcoin bitcoin экспресс logo bitcoin As we will see, wallet-users are just one group of stakeholders in the Bitcoin network. Software for technical users also exists in several forms; it can be downloaded directly from the Bitcoin code repository, from your Terminal (in macOS or Linux).than is typical.bitcoin proxy bitcoin gambling bitcoin compromised bitcoin development ethereum логотип pro bitcoin 1024 bitcoin
bitcoin продам ethereum gold bitcoin accelerator bitcoin direct сеть bitcoin bitcoin проект 1080 ethereum tails bitcoin trade cryptocurrency wisdom bitcoin multi bitcoin matrix bitcoin bitcoin вход bitcoin получить polkadot stingray
jaxx bitcoin love bitcoin bitcoin автоматически free monero bitcoin paper satoshi bitcoin Record keeping of data and transactions are a crucial part of the business. Often, this information is handled in house or passed through a third party like brokers, bankers, or lawyers increasing time, cost, or both on the business. Fortunately, Blockchain avoids this long process and facilitates the faster movement of the transaction, thereby saving both time and money.основатель ethereum crypto bitcoin сложность bitcoin bitcoin box криптокошельки ethereum swiss bitcoin bitcoin комментарии создать bitcoin покупка bitcoin bitcoin safe
coinder bitcoin
bitcoin генератор ethereum network bitcoin казахстан bitcoin разделился bitcoin инвестиции wisdom bitcoin Fortunately, since Blockchain technology employs a shared ledger, distributed ledger, or any other decentralized network, the parties can quickly gain answers to these exchange relation queries.bitcoin marketplace bitcoin 0
email bitcoin приват24 bitcoin bitcoin casino bitcoin go mooning bitcoin покупка bitcoin bitcoin 2 monero график bitcoin matrix bank bitcoin pirates bitcoin
testnet bitcoin bitcoin favicon bitcoin neteller adc bitcoin 4 bitcoin film bitcoin bitcoin q bitcoin заработок казино bitcoin login bitcoin keepkey bitcoin bitcoin россия cryptocurrency reddit ethereum zcash trezor bitcoin wmx bitcoin казино bitcoin bitcoin сша bitcoin монет bitcoin motherboard
bcc bitcoin gas ethereum ethereum php фарм bitcoin bitcoin get
bitcoin nedir блок bitcoin казахстан bitcoin ethereum supernova bitcoin mempool bitcoin пул курс bitcoin ethereum online monero news новости bitcoin amazon bitcoin
ethereum пул bitcoin ira bitcoin скрипт bitcoin сервера msigna bitcoin bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin betting взломать bitcoin bitcoin server bitcoin metal bitcoin roll genesis bitcoin production cryptocurrency
скачать bitcoin майнинга bitcoin проблемы bitcoin vps bitcoin
Let’s go back to the example of a decentralized online notebook. To post, delete or modify a note, you need to pay a transaction fee in ether to get the network to process the change.bitcoin pdf ethereum stratum
bitcoin msigna bitcoin скачать bitcoin биржи Many experts see blockchain technology as having serious potential for uses like online voting and crowdfunding, and major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM) see the potential to lower transaction costs by streamlining payment processing.4 However, because cryptocurrencies are virtual and are not stored on a central database, a digital cryptocurrency balance can be wiped out by the loss or destruction of a hard drive if a backup copy of the private key does not exist. At the same time, there is no central authority, government, or corporation that has access to your funds or your personal information.bitcoin сложность bitcoin майнить bitcoin перевести bitcoin монета ethereum bonus china bitcoin ethereum io bitcoin работа xpub bitcoin kong bitcoin bitcoin котировка email bitcoin ethereum coin
форумы bitcoin логотип bitcoin ethereum монета otc bitcoin king bitcoin ethereum получить monero 1070 bitcoin лого ethereum бесплатно bcn bitcoin
bitcoin xyz ethereum game usb bitcoin analysis bitcoin bitcoin testnet сбербанк ethereum
bitcoin register bitcoin статистика bitcoin uk receipts (receiptsRoot)Software Release codenames: Frontier / Homestead / Metropolis / SerenityIs It Worth It to Mine Cryptocoins?котировки bitcoin bistler bitcoin bitcoin office автомат bitcoin tether wifi usd bitcoin ethereum com ethereum пулы bitcoin генератор bitcoin games monero кран vpn bitcoin теханализ bitcoin plus500 bitcoin bitcoin расшифровка wallet tether In short, the size of the network is important to secure the network.zebra bitcoin gain bitcoin
linux bitcoin bitcoin оборот bitcoin проект bitcoin cny bitcoin token bitcoin poloniex
bitcoin p2pool bitcoin торрент cold bitcoin ethereum btc bitcoin machine bitcoin linux ru bitcoin
decred ethereum ethereum stratum bitcoin банкнота bitcoin кредиты bitcoin box segwit2x bitcoin amazon bitcoin bitcoin 2018 cryptocurrency tech bitcoin бизнес king bitcoin monster bitcoin bitcoin journal bitcoin iphone logo bitcoin карты bitcoin bitcoin перевод
bitcoin indonesia bitcoin выиграть micro bitcoin bitcoin расчет car bitcoin ethereum clix платформу ethereum bitcoin arbitrage виталик ethereum bitcoin торрент bitcoin шахты
монета ethereum bitcoin media bitcoin отслеживание cryptocurrency gold bitcoin форк bitcoin видео bitcoin fees ethereum faucets windows bitcoin bitcoin порт bitcoin oil mmm bitcoin ethereum homestead hd7850 monero zcash bitcoin scrypt bitcoin 5 bitcoin bitcoin book котировка bitcoin bitcoin daemon краны monero
алгоритм monero captcha bitcoin bitcoin работать
hit bitcoin claymore monero bitcoin ann bitcoin monkey local ethereum pull bitcoin консультации bitcoin вебмани bitcoin 2 bitcoin
bitcoin bitrix bitcoin 2017 bitcoin foto стоимость bitcoin While it’s impractical for the average person to earn crypto by mining in a proof of work system, the proof of stake model requires less in the way of high-powered computing as validators are chosen at random based on the amount they stake. It does, however, require that you already own a cryptocurrency to participate. (If you have no crypto, you have nothing to stake.)bitcoin reklama tp tether
cryptocurrency arbitrage 1080 ethereum monero криптовалюта bitcoin life ethereum заработать blockchain monero кошель bitcoin charts bitcoin bitcoin abc Listsbitcoin cache cranes bitcoin bitcoin foto
ethereum developer настройка monero bitcoin бесплатно bitcoin суть avto bitcoin bubble bitcoin iphone tether bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin часы boom bitcoin депозит bitcoin loan bitcoin config bitcoin mainer bitcoin
платформа bitcoin blender bitcoin
андроид bitcoin cms bitcoin bitcoin count qiwi bitcoin bitcoin fire bitcoin services полевые bitcoin криптовалюта tether bitcoin игры ico cryptocurrency bitcoin spinner monero биржи bitcoin вклады приложение tether flappy bitcoin mikrotik bitcoin ubuntu bitcoin
яндекс bitcoin
биржа monero bitcoin cc bitcoin россия bitcoin cloud бесплатные bitcoin bitcoin отследить bitcoin lucky bitcoin сбор bitcoin carding top bitcoin bitcoin blockchain rigname ethereum bitcoin block san bitcoin monero майнинг bitcoin блок mine ethereum
investment bitcoin ethereum статистика video bitcoin monero *****uminer monero amd депозит bitcoin ethereum core bitcoin эмиссия monero blockchain bitcoin casino wikileaks bitcoin bitcoin x курсы bitcoin
bitcoin доллар bounty bitcoin bitcoin api attack bitcoin bitcoin income bitcoin ecdsa транзакция bitcoin депозит bitcoin
hashrate bitcoin bonus bitcoin konvertor bitcoin
monero обмен amazon bitcoin bitcoin client webmoney bitcoin In 2014, researchers at the University of Kentucky found 'robust evidence that computer programming enthusiasts and illegal activity drive interest in bitcoin, and find limited or no support for political and investment motives'. Australian researchers have estimated that 25% of all bitcoin users and 44% of all bitcoin transactions are associated with illegal activity as of April 2017. There were an estimated 24 million bitcoin users primarily using bitcoin for illegal activity. They held $8 billion worth of bitcoin, and made 36 million transactions valued at $72 billion.пулы bitcoin bitcoin 5 loco bitcoin flash bitcoin bitcoin banking adbc bitcoin часы bitcoin withdraw bitcoin bitcoin keywords обменники bitcoin total cryptocurrency пример bitcoin bitcoin cny cubits bitcoin
4 bitcoin tether обзор bitcoin clock bitcoin easy bitcoin markets 50 bitcoin ann ethereum казино ethereum bitcoin таблица
андроид bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin исходники bitcoin land short bitcoin adc bitcoin tether usd bitcoin master mastering bitcoin ecopayz bitcoin биржи ethereum сбор bitcoin рейтинг bitcoin ethereum ios bitcoin bloomberg программа bitcoin bitcoin расшифровка cryptocurrency exchanges local ethereum app bitcoin rise cryptocurrency
bitcoin png bitcoin casino bitcoin scan партнерка bitcoin reddit cryptocurrency cryptocurrency trading bitcoin математика bitcoin лотерея ethereum course wallet cryptocurrency капитализация bitcoin fork ethereum lealana bitcoin moneypolo bitcoin bitcoin знак bitcoin investing clame bitcoin bitcoin machines bux bitcoin cryptocurrency forum bitcoin сигналы accepts bitcoin ethereum logo bitcoin payoneer bitcoin код bitcoin вход bitcoin scripting бот bitcoin bitcoin мастернода bitcoin андроид people bitcoin tradingview bitcoin куплю ethereum georgia bitcoin bitcoin space apple bitcoin nodes bitcoin tether майнить bitcoin fork bitcoin терминал bitcoin count monero обмен bitcoin dogecoin отдам bitcoin calculator ethereum bitcoin заработать
карты bitcoin бот bitcoin fast bitcoin ethereum акции ethereum заработок кран ethereum xpub bitcoin weekend bitcoin кран bitcoin
конец bitcoin фото bitcoin
keys bitcoin king bitcoin prune bitcoin bitcoin bloomberg nicehash monero bitcoin it bitcoin protocol pixel bitcoin майнить bitcoin nanopool monero bonus bitcoin пул bitcoin drip bitcoin monaco cryptocurrency ethereum siacoin forex bitcoin asus bitcoin But.4 bitcoin bitcoin завести bitcoin кошельки капитализация ethereum bitcoin waves добыча monero hack bitcoin bitcoin rotator ethereum доллар gek monero bitcoin system пример bitcoin bitcoin bitcointalk lamborghini bitcoin bitcoin pro bitcoin investment сколько bitcoin kran bitcoin bitcoin упал
проверка bitcoin bitcoin инвестирование bitcoin community bitcoin nvidia bitcoin обмена bitcoin timer лотерея bitcoin bitcoin p2p bitcoin fees erc20 ethereum bitcoin half bitcoin suisse bitcoin автоматически bitcoin timer
java bitcoin bitcoin выиграть bitcoin talk
