Ripple is a distributed ledger system that was founded in 2012.

This currency is most similar to bitcoin but has moved more quickly to develop new innovations, including faster payments and processes to allow more transactions. It is the most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. The currency was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto – widely believed to be a pseudonym for an individual or group of people whose precise identity remains unknown.ĭeveloped in 2015, Ethereum is a blockchain platform with its own cryptocurrency, called Ether (ETH) or Ethereum. Some of the best known include:įounded in 2009, Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and is still the most commonly traded. Transactions including bonds, stocks, and other financial assets could eventually be traded using the technology. What you own is a key that allows you to move a record or a unit of measure from one person to another without a trusted third party.Īlthough Bitcoin has been around since 2009, cryptocurrencies and applications of blockchain technology are still emerging in financial terms, and more uses are expected in the future. If you own cryptocurrency, you don’t own anything tangible. Users can also buy the currencies from brokers, then store and spend them using cryptographic wallets. Units of cryptocurrency are created through a process called mining, which involves using computer power to solve complicated mathematical problems that generate coins.

How does cryptocurrency work?Ĭryptocurrencies run on a distributed public ledger called blockchain, a record of all transactions updated and held by currency holders. Much of the interest in cryptocurrencies is to trade for profit, with speculators at times driving prices skyward. The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which was founded in 2009 and remains the best known today. The aim of encryption is to provide security and safety. This means advanced coding is involved in storing and transmitting cryptocurrency data between wallets and to public ledgers. Cryptocurrency is stored in digital wallets.Ĭryptocurrency received its name because it uses encryption to verify transactions. When you transfer cryptocurrency funds, the transactions are recorded in a public ledger. Instead of being physical money carried around and exchanged in the real world, cryptocurrency payments exist purely as digital entries to an online database describing specific transactions. It’s a peer-to-peer system that can enable anyone anywhere to send and receive payments. What is cryptocurrency?Ĭryptocurrency is a digital payment system that doesn't rely on banks to verify transactions. Cryptocurrencies don't have a central issuing or regulating authority, instead using a decentralized system to record transactions and issue new units. Cryptocurrency, sometimes called crypto-currency or crypto, is any form of currency that exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to secure transactions.

Need bitcoin expert