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.
mt4 bitcoin
code bitcoin
avatrade bitcoin
bitcoin отзывы
ethereum виталий bitcoin ukraine
магазин bitcoin reddit cryptocurrency
blockstream bitcoin ставки bitcoin tp tether bitcoin capitalization monero обмен ethereum прибыльность bitcoin блокчейн
tether gps ethereum rotator bitcoin рухнул
bitcoin установка bitcoin презентация bitcoin seed асик ethereum цена ethereum кран ethereum monero client forbot bitcoin акции ethereum кошелька ethereum ethereum code
бесплатно bitcoin партнерка bitcoin ethereum асик view bitcoin best cryptocurrency будущее bitcoin курс ethereum bitcoin работа ethereum пул приложение tether monero калькулятор bitcoin стратегия faucet bitcoin bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin экспресс pos ethereum bitcoin блог
tether обменник
value bitcoin captcha bitcoin bitcoin game keystore ethereum криптовалюту monero алгоритм ethereum bitcoin cranes greenaddress bitcoin bitcoin шахты ethereum contract bitcoin cloud транзакции bitcoin трейдинг bitcoin
bitcoin etf 1070 ethereum bitcoin деньги love bitcoin перевод bitcoin credit bitcoin
bitcoin millionaire cryptocurrency chart bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin вебмани асик ethereum bonus bitcoin cudaminer bitcoin ethereum сайт stake bitcoin market bitcoin bitcoin банкнота hit bitcoin genesis bitcoin gift bitcoin lootool bitcoin виталик ethereum ethereum кошелек книга bitcoin download bitcoin bitcoin login bitcoin scrypt 1080 ethereum займ bitcoin bitcoin сервер monero dwarfpool ropsten ethereum ropsten ethereum обменники bitcoin bitcoin wmx the ethereum microsoft bitcoin bitcoin fpga monero hashrate bitcoin alien ethereum parity программа tether
bitcoin чат charts bitcoin ethereum fork wikipedia cryptocurrency bitcoin приложения bitcoin elena people bitcoin tether 2
monero сложность bitcoin статья пул ethereum ethereum telegram bitcoin sec
bitcoin лопнет bitcoin links pixel bitcoin bitcoin history bitcoin stealer bitcoin official bitcoin сатоши ethereum проекты bitcoin майнинга youtube bitcoin 33 bitcoin
форумы bitcoin ann bitcoin фри bitcoin отследить bitcoin bitcoin scan ethereum обменять nanopool monero
bitcoin автоматически криптовалюта tether
настройка monero decred cryptocurrency Litecoin PricesCharles Vollum also noticed the decline in volatility over Bitcoin’s existence, again as priced in gold (but it also applies roughly to dollars):bitcoin шахта bitcoin блог code bitcoin bitcoin фарм amazon bitcoin airbitclub bitcoin рубли bitcoin bcc bitcoin bitcoin stock автосерфинг bitcoin bitcoin client mine ethereum ethereum api bitcoin bittorrent
платформу ethereum nicehash bitcoin ethereum кран
collector bitcoin проект ethereum монета ethereum I wrote about Zerocoin several years ago and noted the technical challenges that it needed to overcome before the system could be useable. Since then, researchers have managed to make the proofs much more efficient and have solved the trust problem with the initial generation of the system parameters. We are now on the cusp of seeing Zerocoin’s vision realized with the release of Zcash, headed by Wilcox-O’Hearn.With numerous critical exchange failures, market participants increasingly shift to taking on the responsibility of holding their own bitcoin, independent from third-party service providers. The same is true in response to individual accounts at exchanges getting hacked. Not dissimilarly, as threats are identified for those that secure their own bitcoin, more secure wallets are developed and users opt toward more secure ways to safely secure their bitcoin by reducing or eliminating single points of failure. It is a constant evolution borne out of the reality that stressors exist everywhere. The network is not exposed to any critical failures because the entire network iterates through trial and error around the clock, with free competition and endless market opportunity incentivizing innovation. And, with each failure, everyone is on their own and personally accountable. The incentive structure dictates that everyone constantly seeks out better ways of securing bitcoin. Through this process of stress, the network very naturally and organically strengthens.polkadot stingray vector bitcoin swarm ethereum кошель bitcoin ethereum wallet bitcoin котировки
bitcoin fx
займ bitcoin форк ethereum bitcoin 99 casino bitcoin tether пополнение ethereum casino получение bitcoin bitcoin background
уязвимости bitcoin инструкция bitcoin монеты bitcoin bitcoin news bitcoin eobot
bitcoin reserve зарегистрироваться bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin bitcoin sberbank box bitcoin bitcoin обменять cryptocurrency law bitcoin продать
bitcoin icons ethereum erc20 golden bitcoin doge bitcoin bitcoin film хабрахабр bitcoin email bitcoin bitcoin кредит bitmakler ethereum ethereum доходность ethereum продать криптовалюта tether abi ethereum bitcoin icons
bitcoin co ethereum rotator bitcoin настройка
joker bitcoin escrow bitcoin
boxbit bitcoin bitcoin frog hashrate bitcoin token bitcoin bitcoin telegram ethereum упал happy bitcoin приложение bitcoin bitcoin services claymore ethereum bitcoin solo bitcoin отслеживание ethereum mine ethereum доходность
hashrate bitcoin запуск bitcoin home bitcoin
ethereum контракт куплю ethereum tether usd bitcoin haqida сложность ethereum розыгрыш bitcoin новости ethereum bitcoin отследить bitcoin mmgp bitcoin куплю bitcoin таблица bitcoin suisse bitcoin робот bitcoin flip Arbitrary rules can be imposed upon their users by the controllerscaptcha bitcoin credit bitcoin проверка bitcoin bitcoin status vizit bitcoin dash cryptocurrency monero купить bitcoin wmx ethereum купить
reddit cryptocurrency bitcoin school monero dwarfpool bitcoin price bitcoin взлом bitcoin converter ads bitcoin So, if you read my blockchain tutorial from start to finish, you should now know what the blockchain is and how it works. You should also have a good understanding of the technology, as well as all of the benefits it offers.ico ethereum poloniex monero bitcoin ruble film bitcoin криптовалют ethereum solidity ethereum monero price trezor ethereum bitcoin traffic bitcoin комментарии poloniex monero лотереи bitcoin card bitcoin future bitcoin cryptocurrency reddit global bitcoin
seed bitcoin bitcoin завести forum ethereum bitcoin переводчик bitcoin конвертер github ethereum nova bitcoin bitcoin usb importprivkey bitcoin network bitcoin
genesis bitcoin bitcoin bloomberg количество bitcoin it bitcoin
bitcoin конвертер rotator bitcoin bitcoin торговля bitcoin blockstream
cryptocurrency tech enterprise ethereum price bitcoin bitcoin golden salt bitcoin ethereum complexity bittorrent bitcoin bitcoin fan forex bitcoin bitcoin рухнул bitcoin airbit visa bitcoin blog bitcoin roboforex bitcoin android tether
bitcoin arbitrage
dat bitcoin взлом bitcoin download bitcoin bitcoin выиграть bitcoin center bitcoin кредит виталик ethereum reddit bitcoin пул monero 4 bitcoin value bitcoin abi ethereum bitcoin путин
bitcoin pizza
bitcoin london bitcoin investing claim bitcoin bitcoin обвал bitcoin usa фермы bitcoin monero logo
monero usd бесплатные bitcoin bux bitcoin
tether программа bitcoin go
bitcoin компьютер bitcoin баланс moon ethereum usa bitcoin tether clockworkmod monero 1060 proxy bitcoin ethereum вывод ethereum btc
coin bitcoin bitcoin история пулы monero electrodynamic tether bitcoin lurkmore новости bitcoin криптовалюта tether wisdom bitcoin bitcoin tm rpg bitcoin bitcoin symbol bitcoin фарминг bitcoin мошенничество bitcoin презентация ethereum заработок криптовалюта monero ethereum акции майнер bitcoin
agario bitcoin ico cryptocurrency китай bitcoin добыча bitcoin monero amd bitcoin ann bitcoin daily java bitcoin ethereum падает bitcoin convert перспективы bitcoin bitcoin работать 600 bitcoin bitcoin site сборщик bitcoin create bitcoin new bitcoin tether транскрипция ethereum pos
таблица bitcoin bitcoin take bitcoin пополнить поиск bitcoin
ethereum php майнинга bitcoin weekend bitcoin bitcoin 100 cryptocurrency gold alipay bitcoin обмен monero
monero новости hacking bitcoin ethereum получить finney ethereum
cms bitcoin bitcoin grafik bitcoin home bitcoin pizza wallet cryptocurrency client ethereum форумы bitcoin bitcoin биржа
And recall that a pre-defined number of bitcoin are issued in each valid block (that is, until the 21 million limit is reached). The bitcoin issued in each block combined with network transaction fees represent the compensation to miners for performing the proof-of-work function. The miners are paid in bitcoin to secure the network. As part of the block construction and proposal process, miners include the pre-defined number of bitcoin to be issued as compensation for expending tangible, real world resources to secure the network. If a miner were to include an amount of bitcoin inconsistent with the pre-defined supply schedule as compensation, the rest of the network would reject the block as invalid. As part of the security function, miners must validate and enforce the fixed supply of the currency in order to be compensated. Miners have material skin-in-the-game in the form of upfront capital costs (and energy expenditure), and invalid work is not rewarded.zcash bitcoin казино ethereum bitcoin tor se*****256k1 ethereum bitcoin rt презентация bitcoin ethereum miner
bitcoin server monero криптовалюта blogspot bitcoin bitcoin x2 king bitcoin пузырь bitcoin bitcoin dynamics bitcoin mine monero simplewallet bitcoin playstation neo bitcoin платформы ethereum bitcoin форумы ethereum wallet twitter bitcoin bitcoin services car bitcoin pizza bitcoin deep bitcoin
криптовалюта ethereum korbit bitcoin ethereum raiden алгоритм ethereum
bitcoin group bitcoin greenaddress monero gpu майнеры monero
ethereum habrahabr bitcoin client bitcoin blue bitcoin презентация bitcoin asic bitcoin nodes hack bitcoin монеты bitcoin картинки bitcoin яндекс bitcoin
machine bitcoin atm bitcoin torrent bitcoin io tether добыча monero to bitcoin ethereum pools chaindata ethereum
daily bitcoin биржи monero bitcoin bittorrent monero xeon dwarfpool monero bitcoin weekly bitcoin paypal bitcoin atm cold bitcoin pps bitcoin cryptocurrency faucet bitcoin casino 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
