What is Cryptocurrency? And why you should care?

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Crypto as a market is worth over a trillion dollars and has made over 100,000 millionaires. Plus the technology behind cryptocurrencies is being predicted to be as revolutionary as the internet and could revolutionize how we exchange value,  verify transactions, and transfer ownership of assets digital or otherwise.

In this article:-

  • What is cryptocurrency?
  • Some well-known Cryptocurrencies and their market caps.
  • What is Blockchain what is the hype?
  • Why you should care about Cryptocurrency?

What is Cryptocurrency?

A cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency based on Blockchain technology combined with Cryptography. A cryptocurrency is a decentralized form of money as a centralized entity does not manage it.

Instead of a centralized entity keeping records of things like transactions and ownership, It is done through a digital ledger the access to which is distributed among the authorized users, and it is also shared between users which makes it transparent and immutable meaning can never be tempered.

 

Some well-known Cryptocurrencies and their market caps.

Bitcoin(BTC):- When we talk about cryptocurrencies or digital money Bitcoin is the first thing most people think of and for good reasons, Bitcoin has the biggest market cap out of any coin at 377 billion dollars. Plus the mysterious creator makes Bitcoin at the very least an interesting topic of discussion in the crypto sphere.

Ethereum (ETH):- Ethereum is also one of the biggest cryptos with a market cap of around 178 billion dollars and the most interesting thing about ETH is the smart contract aspect of the ETH which has made it very popular.

Dogecoin (DOGE):- Dogecoin is the embodiment of meme coins type crypto which is usually made with inspiration from a famous meme or famous personality in most cases these coins are rug pool but DOGE surprisingly stuck around and now has a market cap of around 8 billion dollars.

Tether (USDT):- Tether is a type of cryptocurrency known as a stablecoin. The price of USDT is anchored at 1 dollar and the market cap of USDT is 68 billion dollars. Though some concerns have been raised that it might not be properly backed and is using a short form of unsecured debt instead of a dollar reserve.

What is Blockchain and what is the hype?

Blockchain is a type of technology used to record data or information in a way that in the worst-case scenario it is extremely difficult to cheat the system, hack the system, and temper the information in the system, best case all the above are impossible.

What is the hype around Blockchain technology? The hype comes from the fact that by using blockchain we can finally make digital currency without the risk of being cheated, with blockchain the only possible way you can get scammed is ignorance. All the info from who owns how much of the currency to all the info about transfers of the currency is available on the blockchain and cannot be changed or tempered.

Why you should care about Cryptocurrency?

If the fact that crypto has made over 100,000 millionaires is not enough to make you care about Cryptocurrencies, maybe the fact that Cryptocurrencies are essentially fraud-proof due to all the information being stored in the public ledgers and neither banks nor the government has any control over it.

Cryptocurrencies are also theft-proof since again all data is in public ledgers and also all the transactions are checked to make sure the coins that are spent are owned by the spender. You are your own bank with crypto because the coin you own is yours, not like a dollar that is American, you make your transactions using your own currency.

One of the best things yet very little talked about thing about is that Crypto is very much protected from artificial dilution of the value of the coin if they have a fixed cap on the number of coins.

Since it can not be just printed like dollars and bring about a recession in a country. The recession America is going through right now is largely attributed to the fact that a large number of dollar bills in circulation were printed recently hence diluting the value of the dolar.

 

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