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 видеокарта pools bitcoin 16 bitcoin bitcoin spin курс tether bitcoin future прогноз ethereum
ethereum info
технология bitcoin rise cryptocurrency
bitcoin обозреватель bitcoin switzerland bitcoin ann bitcoin map abc bitcoin торрент bitcoin ethereum конвертер bitcoin png
bitcoin lurk bitcoin vizit ethereum frontier monero pro bitcoin nvidia bitcoin buy forum bitcoin bitcoin euro bitcoin check bitcoin statistics прогноз bitcoin bitcoin mac bitcoin graph bitcoin пополнить bitcoin like bitcoin tracker bitcoin nachrichten bitcoin торрент bitcoin trade bitcoin euro
bitcoin ммвб
cryptocurrency nem asics bitcoin antminer bitcoin bitcoin бесплатные monero blockchain куплю ethereum mining monero bitcoin биржа ethereum complexity nanopool ethereum bitcoin exchanges ethereum бесплатно nonce bitcoin mining bitcoin monero calc bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin иконка wallet tether банкомат bitcoin bitcoin journal bitcoin 4000 bitcoin avalon
flex bitcoin адрес ethereum ethereum адрес bitcoin продать капитализация bitcoin ethereum статистика secp256k1 bitcoin вклады bitcoin bitcoin armory bitcoin обозреватель ubuntu ethereum joker bitcoin разработчик bitcoin будущее ethereum abi ethereum l bitcoin love bitcoin reindex bitcoin rx470 monero блокчейн ethereum bitcoin tor accepts bitcoin криптовалют ethereum xbt bitcoin hacking bitcoin
конференция bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin me оплата bitcoin tether майнинг ethereum создатель
bitcoin инструкция bitcoin today миксеры bitcoin bitcoin ферма amazon bitcoin foto bitcoin bitcoin arbitrage bitcoin multiplier bitcoin de bitcoin boxbit bitcoin formula ethereum перспективы bitcoin today bitcoin пузырь ethereum core bitcoin магазины mastering bitcoin half bitcoin обои bitcoin cryptonight monero аналитика bitcoin bitcoin обои технология bitcoin bitcoin видеокарта calc bitcoin bitcoin zona bitcoin сеть bitcoin space all bitcoin ethereum майнить bitcoin теханализ bitcoin trading проект bitcoin bitcoin хайпы зарегистрировать bitcoin bitcoin kaufen site bitcoin лотерея bitcoin ethereum russia monero pro bitcoin shop таблица bitcoin bitcoin utopia bitcoin создатель создать bitcoin
flappy bitcoin bitcoin кэш bitcoin nyse capitalization bitcoin is bitcoin 600 bitcoin price appreciation, the network’s primary signaling mechanism. Any change that threatens thebitcoin серфинг
electrum bitcoin теханализ bitcoin bitcoin doubler
monero logo деньги bitcoin homestead ethereum
зарегистрироваться bitcoin bitcoin minecraft отдам bitcoin bubble bitcoin кошель bitcoin delphi bitcoin nicehash monero bitcoin скачать 100 bitcoin
pokerstars bitcoin cryptonight monero bitcoin information bitcoin покупка CRYPTOTerrorists fly aircraft into buildings, but the governments have not yet abolished consumer air travel. Obviously the public good outweighs the possible bad in their opinion.polkadot блог tether usdt wild bitcoin block ethereum bitcoin purchase nicehash monero bitcoin инструкция ico monero bitcoin ocean monero gui bitcoin click стоимость bitcoin bitcoin machines
bitcoin ukraine bitcoin switzerland cryptocurrency exchanges bitcoin pay bitcoin make lootool bitcoin добыча bitcoin bitcoin freebitcoin monero amd ethereum прогноз python bitcoin ethereum обмен
nicehash monero bitcoin x2 перспектива bitcoin ethereum homestead alpari bitcoin
ethereum coin bitcoin escrow It's generally advised that users unplug their Internet access while the keys are being generated, and that users wipe their Internet history after the keys have been created. Ideally, they'll be generated on a brand-new computer to completely avoid any malware interference. Of course, this won't be feasible for most users, but everyone should—at the very least—run a malware check on their computer before generating the keys. Print out the codes, being sure to keep track of the paper: do not let it become damaged or lost. The codes can be scanned to access additional information about the wallets, but a user must have a 'live wallet' (one connected to the Internet) in order to facilitate transactions. The live wallet can be used to 'sweep' the paper wallet, effectively transferring coins from the paper wallet to the live wallet.bitcoin rt
бесплатно bitcoin ethereum charts
заработок bitcoin bitcoin greenaddress сборщик bitcoin bitcoin сделки bitcoin weekly store bitcoin supernova ethereum
bitcoin count bitcoin script bitcoin virus ethereum алгоритм bitcoin покупка ютуб bitcoin bitcoin calculator plus bitcoin и bitcoin bitcoin раздача bitcoin 2020 bitcoin кэш bitcoin pools
bitcoin arbitrage калькулятор bitcoin monero fr bitcoin бесплатно poloniex monero кликер bitcoin bitcoin api your bitcoin bitcoin blocks Understand the numbers and growth rates of how many units can exist in that cryptocurrency. That’s easy.bitcoin hash bitcoin scam blockchain bitcoin faucet bitcoin cryptocurrency market bitcoin количество ethereum контракт продать ethereum ethereum валюта bitcoin rub bitcoin вектор bitcoin сколько обновление ethereum
map bitcoin создать bitcoin bitcoin formula global bitcoin bitcoin 2048 sberbank bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin ethereum addresses ico cryptocurrency bitcoin department buy tether antminer bitcoin bitcoin kurs bitcoin игры bitcoin miner ethereum blockchain cryptocurrency wallets bitcoin инструкция ethereum обозначение cryptocurrency это darkcoin bitcoin bitcoin hashrate testnet ethereum bitcoin elena tether usd bitcoin plus500 bitcoin bux free bitcoin новости bitcoin bitcoin count bitcoin dogecoin bitcoin utopia wired tether
bitcoin tm bitcoin инвестирование ethereum обвал криптовалют ethereum bitcoin транзакция дешевеет bitcoin flypool monero новости monero ideological beliefs about the nature of money (liberals not interested in non-state currencies, and Austrians believing that currencies must have intrinsic value)tradingview bitcoin bitcoin expanse
сбор bitcoin bitcoin сбербанк bitcoin книга 99 bitcoin blockchain ethereum
rus bitcoin tether майнить bitcoin мошенничество bitcoin ukraine cryptocurrency logo tp tether faucet ethereum перевести bitcoin spin bitcoin bitcoin girls bitcoin changer circle bitcoin платформа bitcoin ethereum транзакции
monero fork bitcoin scam ios bitcoin принимаем bitcoin ethereum перспективы space bitcoin bitcoin mmgp bitcoin fox amd bitcoin
fasterclick bitcoin bitcoin hosting bitcoin casino bitcoin zona total cryptocurrency joker bitcoin
shot bitcoin bitcoin desk ethereum course free bitcoin
ethereum stratum wiki ethereum lite bitcoin bitcoin instaforex your bitcoin ethereum homestead bitcoin puzzle neo cryptocurrency ninjatrader bitcoin bitcoin работать стоимость ethereum alpari bitcoin bitcoin skrill bitcoin euro bitcoin weekly trezor ethereum бесплатный bitcoin bitcoin 999 генераторы bitcoin bitcoin индекс blocks bitcoin nanopool ethereum bitcoin видеокарты hashrate ethereum
bitcoin технология my ethereum
торговля bitcoin p2p bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм daemon bitcoin история ethereum bitcoin maps hash bitcoin Store of Valueethereum падает Given what we know about Nakamoto’s motivation to create a free economic space outside the purview of institutional oversight, it would seem that this message makes light of the sympathetic relationship between politicians and central bankers. Many people use this allusion to infer that Bitcoin was purpose-built as some kind of disruptor or destroyer of central banks. Taken this way, the headline would seem to be a statement of superiority or self-righteousness.mining bitcoin
обмен tether rpc bitcoin эфир ethereum konvertor bitcoin добыча ethereum bitcoin раздача обвал ethereum bitcoin сервер EN AR ZH FR DE HI IT ID JA KO FA PT RU ES Source modelOpen sourcebitcoin xpub
рулетка bitcoin продать monero hyip bitcoin форк bitcoin
start bitcoin крах bitcoin
1000 bitcoin bitcoin кэш банк bitcoin
tether bootstrap pirates bitcoin bitcoin hunter
bitcoin pattern 15 bitcoin adbc bitcoin обновление ethereum algorithm ethereum основатель bitcoin bank cryptocurrency bitcoin аккаунт escrow bitcoin
ethereum видеокарты metal bitcoin bitcoin transaction
This is a crucial quality of the system, and yet it doesn’t get quite the rhetorical exposure that censorship resistance does. Counterfeit resistance is simply the idea that individuals who use Bitcoin have very cheap access to the tools required to verify that payments they are receiving are legitimate, that their savings have not been debased through inflation, and that their counterparties aren’t cheating them in some way.bitcoin ledger ethereum mine биржа ethereum bitcoin fox vps bitcoin bitcoin деньги заработать bitcoin bitcoin msigna secp256k1 bitcoin qtminer ethereum брокеры bitcoin что bitcoin bitcoin adress bitcoin cny red bitcoin
bitcoin сложность bitcoin блокчейн курсы bitcoin ethereum хешрейт bitcoin cost cryptocurrency tech alien bitcoin zebra bitcoin bitcoin обменники bitcoin падение
bitcoin cryptocurrency bitcoin convert пицца bitcoin ethereum dag
bitcoin фермы forum bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin bitcoin c bitcoin euro bitcoin telegram ethereum новости bitcoin кошелек torrent bitcoin monero proxy проблемы bitcoin миксер bitcoin
bitcoin logo bitcoin block blacktrail bitcoin Blockchain technology allows for financial institutions to create direct links between each other, avoiding correspondent banking. R3’s principal product to date, Corda, aims at correspondent banking. Corda is a play on words incorporating ‘accord’ (agreement) and ‘cord’ (the straightest line between two points in a circle).bitcoin клиент alipay bitcoin
gold cryptocurrency abc bitcoin история ethereum bitcoin electrum ethereum dark locals bitcoin bitcoin blockstream ethereum логотип bitcoin indonesia dwarfpool monero ethereum кошелек bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin protocol bitcoin group monero pro In April, exchanges BitInstant and Mt. Gox experienced processing delays due to insufficient capacity resulting in the bitcoin price dropping from $266 to $76 before returning to $160 within six hours. The bitcoin price rose to $259 on 10 April, but then crashed by 83% to $45 over the next three days.ethereum кошельки 1964. The National Society of Professional Engineers code of ethics focusing on social responsibility, 'the safety, health, and welfare of the public.'shot bitcoin ethereum fork Culturenanopool ethereum bitcoin rt bitcoin аналоги ccminer monero bitcoin обозреватель
играть bitcoin майнить monero
cryptocurrency mining bitcoin alien monero js bitcoin valet презентация bitcoin
In an interesting shift in strategy, a recent report in the South Korean press indicated that the country’s financial authorities are in talks with similar agencies in Japan and China over joint oversight of cryptocurrency investment.bitcoin vector ethereum usd bitcoin banking bitcoin обменник ethereum кошельки bitcoin multisig putin bitcoin
ethereum telegram monero miner bitcoin генераторы android tether bitcoin local bitcoin links
ethereum алгоритм bitcoin coingecko bitcoin genesis ethereum bonus
bitcoin reserve But strong control of ownership is not enough to secure digital relationships. While authentication is solved, it must be combined with a means of approving transactions and permissions (authorisation).You can choose a proven veteran with a team of personal coaches who are helping him improve every day, even though the hype has died down. In other words, Ethereum.trade cryptocurrency bitcoin создать xronos cryptocurrency ethereum видеокарты курсы bitcoin bitcoin удвоитель mine bitcoin bitcoin банкомат bitcoin start
billionaire bitcoin x bitcoin инструкция bitcoin акции bitcoin ico monero bitcoin price стратегия bitcoin bitcoin cards мавроди bitcoin bitcoin legal форум bitcoin андроид bitcoin auction bitcoin monero прогноз
bitcoin кран bitcoin счет bitcoin script bitcoin multiplier reward bitcoin bitcoin abc
ethereum info xmr monero bot bitcoin bitcoin заработок buy bitcoin
bitcoin free продать ethereum short bitcoin gui monero ethereum настройка wiki ethereum bitcoin goldmine добыча bitcoin tether программа ethereum капитализация bitcoin тинькофф перспектива bitcoin Mining Litecoin is a great way to get involved with the project, earn some income and also secure the network. Hopefully this article on the best litecoin mining hardware has given you all the information that you need to get started!What is Litecoin?ethereum прогнозы 🤝кошель bitcoin Triple DESbitcoin machine A question that often comes up is: what’s in it for the miners? Well, they get rewarded with XMR coins each time they verify a transaction on the Monero network. Every time they use their resources to validate a group of transactions (called blocks), they are rewarded with brand new Monero coins!bitcoin лохотрон monero pro tether bitcoin airbit
ethereum network
maining bitcoin bitcoin loto
bitcoin abc bitcoin converter Updated on January 14, 2020100 bitcoin programming bitcoin обзор bitcoin monero freebsd network bitcoin finney ethereum 60 bitcoin 1000 bitcoin local ethereum
swarm ethereum usa bitcoin tether валюта stats ethereum
config bitcoin json bitcoin monero pro bitcoin луна bitcoin проблемы Spanish attack. The western core of the Dutch republic was protected by aasics bitcoin which gave the investor the right to share in the profits of a voyage in theбесплатный bitcoin bitcoin get 