What is Cryptocurrency

A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. A cryptocurrency is difficult to counterfeit because of security feature. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized system based on blockchain technology.

The first blockchain based cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which still remains the most popular and most valuable. There are thousands of alternate’s cryptocurencies with various functions or specifications.

Cryptocurrencies are systems that allows for the secure payments of online transactions that are denominated in terms of a virtual token. The first cryptocurrency to capture the public attention was “Bitcoin” which was launched in 2009 by a group or a person named Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin’s success has created a number of competing cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin , Ethereum , Ripple and many more, Today, there are literally thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence.

Cryptocurrencies hold the promise of making it easier to transfer funds directly between two parties in a transaction, without the need for a trusted third party such as a bank. In modern cryptocurrency systems, a user’s “wallet”or account address , has the public key and private key is used to sign transactions. Funds transfers are done with minimal processing fees.

Cryptocurrencies’ Blockchains are secure, but other aspects of a cryptocurrency ecosystem are not immune to the threat of hacking. In Bitcoin’s 10-year history, several online exchanges have been the subject of hacking and theft, sometimes with millions of dollars worth of ‘coins’ stolen. Still, many observers look at cryptocurrencies as hope that a currency can exist that preserves value, facilitates exchange, is more transportable than hard metals, and is outside the influence of central banks and governments.