Cryptocurrency  For Dummies

 

More than 2,000 cryptocurrencies currently exist at the time of writing. Cryptos gained a lot of mainstream hype, when Bitcoin’s value explode. This surge was nothing compared to the gains of some other digital assets.These returns are more than what a stock investor could normally make in a lifetime, and they generated enough interest to create a true frenzy.

However, the bubble burst at the beginning of 2018, leaving many late investors, who bought cryptocurrencies at a very high price, at a loss. That was enough for some newbie investors to label the whole industry a scam and either give up on investing altogether or go back to traditional financial assets like stocks. Regardless, the cryptocurrency market continued evolving, became more stable, and caught the attention and support of many major financial institutions globally and in the United States. As more people get their hands on cryptocurrencies, more sellers feel comfortable accepting them as a payment method, and that’s how the whole industry can flourish.

What is blockchain?

Blockchain it’s the infrastructure that cryptocurrencies are built on.

A blockchain is a distributed database that is shared among the nodes of a computer network. As a database, a blockchain stores information electronically in digital format. One difference between a database and a blockchain is how the data is structured. A blockchain collects information together in groups, known as blocks, that hold sets of information. Blocks have certain storage capacities and, when filled, are closed and linked to the previously filled block, forming a chain of data known as the blockchain. All new information that follows that freshly added block is compiled into a newly formed block that will then also be added to the chain once filled.

 

Assumptions

I’ve made some assumptions about you and your basic knowledge of investing and the cryptocurrency market: You may have heard of or even own some cryptocurrencies, but you don’t really know how they work.

Though you may have invested in other markets like the stock market before, you aren’t necessarily familiar with the terminology and the technical aspects of trading and investing cryptocurrencies.

You know how to operate a computer and use the Internet. If you don’t have high-speed access to the Internet now, be sure you have it before trying to get involved in the cryptocurrency market. You need high-speed access to be able to work with many of the valuable online tools I recommend in this article.

Risks

Just like anything else in life, cryptocurrencies come with their own baggage of risk. Whether you trade cryptos, invest in them, or simply hold on to them for the future, you must assess and understand the risks beforehand. Some of the most talked-about cryptocurrency risks include their volatility and lack of regulation. Volatility got especially out of hand in 2017, when the price of most major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, skyrocketed above 1,000 percent and then came crashing down. However, as the cryptocurrency hype has calmed down, the price fluctuations have become more predictable and followed similar patterns of stocks and other financial assets. Regulations are another major topic in the industry. The funny thing is that both lack of regulation and exposure to regulations can turn into risk events for cryptocurrency investors. I will create a new article talking more in details about Risks

cryptocurrency price today

Key crypto benefits

Here are a number of solutions that cryptocurrencies may be able to provide through their decentralized nature.

Reducing corruption:

With great power comes great responsibility. But when you give a ton of power to only one person or entity, the chances of their abusing that power increase. The 19th-century British politician Lord Acton said it best: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Cryptocurrencies aim to resolve the issue of absolute power by distributing power among many people or, better yet, among all the members of the network. That’s the key idea behind blockchain technology.

 

Eliminating extreme money printing:

Governments have central banks, and central banks have the ability to simply print money when they’re faced with a serious economic problem. This process is also called quantitative easing.

By printing more money, a government may be able to bail out debt or devalue its currency. However, this approach is like putting a bandage on a broken leg. Not only does it rarely solve the problem, but the negative side effects also can sometimes surpass the original issue.

For example, when a country like Iran or Venezuela prints too much money, the value of its currency drops so much that inflation skyrockets and people can’t even afford to buy everyday goods and services. Their cash becomes barely as valuable as rolls of toilet paper. Most cryptocurrencies have a limited, set amount of coins available. When all those coins are in circulation, a central entity or the company behind the blockchain has no easy way to simply create more coins or add on to its supply.

 

Giving people charge of their own money:

With traditional cash, you’re basically giving away all your control to central banks and the government. If you trust your government, that’s great, but keep in mind that at any point, your government is able to simply freeze your bank account and deny your access to your funds. For example, in the United States, if you don’t have a legal will and own a business, the government has the right to all your assets if you pass away. Some governments can even simply abolish bank notes the way India did in 2016. With cryptocurrencies, you and only you can access your funds.

Cutting out the middleman:

With traditional money, every time you make a transfer, a middleman like your bank or a digital payment service takes a cut. With cryptocurrencies, all the network members in the blockchain are that middleman; their compensation is formulated differently from that of fiat money middlemen’s and therefore is minimal in comparison. A vast portion of the world’s citizens has no access or limited access to payment systems like banks. Cryptocurrencies aim to resolve this issue by spreading digital commerce around the globe so that anyone with a mobile phone can start making payments. And yes, more people have access to mobile phones than to banks. In fact, more people have mobile phones than have toilets, but at this point the blockchain technology may not be able to resolve the latter issue.

 

Common crypto and blockchain myths

During the 2017 Bitcoin hype, a lot of misconceptions about the whole industry started to circulate. These myths may have played a role in the cryptocurrency crash that followed the surge. The important thing to remember is that both the blockchain technology and its byproduct, the cryptocurrency market, are still in their infancy, and things are rapidly changing. Let me get some of the most common misunderstandings out of the way:

Cryptocurrencies are good only for criminals.

Some cryptocurrencies boast anonymity as one of their key features. That means your identity isn’t revealed when you’re making transactions. Other cryptocurrencies are based on a decentralized blockchain, meaning a central government isn’t the sole power behind them. These features do make such cryptocurrencies attractive for criminals; however, law-abiding citizens in corrupt countries can also benefit from them. For example, if you don’t trust your local bank or country because of corruption and political instability, the best way to store your money may be through the blockchain and cryptocurrency assets.

 

You can make anonymous transactions using all cryptocurrencies.

For some reason, many people equate Bitcoin with anonymity. But Bitcoin, along with many other cryptocurrencies, doesn’t incorporate anonymity at all. All transactions made using such cryptocurrencies are made on public blockchain. Some cryptocurrencies, such as Monero, do prioritize privacy, meaning no outsider can find the source, amount, or destination of transactions. However, most other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, don’t operate that way.

Cryptocurrency wallets

There are two type of Wallets one Software which is digital one Hardware Wallets.

The digital one most Exchanges offers them but there are others as well.

Good wallet software has more functionality, including the ability to back up private keys (encrypted with a passphrase) either to a user’s hard drive or to a cloud storage server somewhere, to generate one-time use addresses for privacy, to hold addresses and private keys for multiple cryptocurrencies. Some are even integrated with exchanges to allow userscryptocurrencies. Some are even integrated with exchanges to allow users to convert between one cryptocurrency and another directly from within the wallet software. But generally, they’re different from traditional wallets and come in different formats and levels of security.

The Hardware Wallet

Private keys are stored in chips on small handheld devices. Two popular hardware wallets are called ‘Trezor’ and ‘Ledger Nano,’ but there are others.

These devices are specifically designed to store private keys securely and only respond to certain pre-programmed requests, for example, ‘Please sign this transaction,’ and not, ‘Show me the private key you are storing’. Because the private key is stored on hardware that is not connected to the internet and can communicate with the outside world only via a limited set of pre-programmed interfaces, it is much harder for a hacker to gain access to the private keys.

You can’t get involved in the cryptocurrency market without a crypto wallet.

how to buy cryptocurrency?

Exchanges

After you get yourself a crypto wallet, you’re ready to go crypto shopping, and one of the best destinations is a cryptocurrency exchange. These online web services are where you can transfer your traditional money to buy cryptocurrencies, exchange different types of cryptocurrencies, or even store your cryptocurrencies(wallets).

Storing your cryptocurrencies on an exchange is considered high risk because many such exchanges have been exposed to hacking attacks and scams in the past. When you’re done with your transactions, your best bet is to move your new digital assets to your personal, secure wallet.

Exchanges come in different shapes and forms. Some are like traditional stock exchanges and act as a middleman — something crypto enthusiasts believe is a slap in the face of the cryptocurrency market, which is trying to remove a centralized middleman. Others are decentralized and provide a service where buyers and sellers come together and transact in a peer-to-peer manner, but they come with their own sets of problems, like the risk of locking yourself out.

 

cryptocurrency to buy

 

Making a Plan Before You Jump In

You may just want to buy some cryptocurrencies and save them for their potential growth in the future. Or you may want to become more of an active investor and buy or sell cryptocurrencies more regularly to maximize profit and revenue. Regardless, you must have a plan and a strategy. Even if your transaction is a one-time thing and you don’t want to hear anything about your crypto assets for the next ten years, you still must gain the knowledge necessary to determine things like the following: What to buy, When to buy, How much to buy, When to sell. I will make an article regarding that. Always with Crypto is important to watch the latest news and check daily price chart likely we offer that.

cryptocurrency news

---

 

Sign up now: Get Smarter about Cryptocurrency with our weekly Free newsletter

Do you have any question?  Reach out to us in any other social media, we will do our best to respond After you are Following Us  🙂

Instagram ——Twitter——-Facebook——Quora—Medium

Do you like the Article?  Please share   Thank you…

**this post contains affiliate links that will help me create new content without additional cost for you **

**I’m not a financial advisor **

  Here we will Share others post you might like

 

 

Next Article: Different Ways to make money with Cryptocurrency

Next Article: Best Crypto Exchanges of 2021?

Next Article: Cryptocurrency Scams and how to avoid them