A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is cryptographically secured. Because of this security feature, a fake cryptocurrency is difficult to forge. A defining feature of a cryptocurrency, and arguably its most endearing allure, is its organic nature; it is not issued by any central authority, rendering it theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized, global, and use peer-to-peer technologies. Their defining feature is their decentralized nature. Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, was created in 2009 by an anonymous person or group of people known as Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are often used as investments, but they can also be used to purchase goods and services. Cryptocurrencies are also used as a way to protect and store wealth.
What is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized, global, and use peer-to-peer technologies. Their defining feature is their decentralized nature.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, was created in 2009 by an anonymous person or group of people known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Cryptocurrencies are often used as investments, but they can also be used to purchase goods and services. Cryptocurrencies are also used as a way to protect and store wealth.
What is Blockchain?
A blockchain is a digital ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. It is constantly growing as “completed” blocks are added to it with a new set of recordings. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to differentiate legitimate Bitcoin transactions from attempts to re-spend coins that have already been spent elsewhere. Bitcoin Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and a payment system. It was the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes through the use of cryptography and recorded in a public dispersed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. As of February 2015, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepted bitcoin as payment.
Ethereum
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third-party interference. Ethereum is used to build decentralized applications (DApps) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). These DApps and DAOs are powered by ether, which is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform.
Litecoin
Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that enables instant, near-zero-cost payments to anyone in the world. Litecoin is an open-source, global payment network that is fully decentralized without any central authorities. Litecoin was created in October 2011 by former Google engineer Charles Lee. The Litecoin network went live on October 13, 2011. Since its launch, Litecoin has grown to become one of the largest cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization.
Ripple
Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), currency exchange, and remittance network by Ripple. Also called the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP) or Ripple protocol, it is built upon a distributed open-source Internet protocol, consensus ledger, and native cryptocurrency called XRP (ripples). Released in 2012, Ripple is built upon a distributed open-source Internet protocol, consensus ledger, and native cryptocurrency called XRP (ripples). Ripple enables banks to settle cross-border payments in real time, with end-to-end transparency, and at lower costs.
Monero
Monero is a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy, decentralization, and scalability. It was launched in April 2014 and is based on the CryptoNote protocol. Monero uses a public ledger to record transactions while new units are created through a process called mining. Monero aims to be a fungible and untraceable currency.
Dash
Dash is a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy and speed. It was released in January 2014 and is based on the CryptoNote protocol. Dash uses a two-tier architecture to provide a decentralized payment solution. The first tier consists of miners who secure the network and write transactions to the blockchain. The second tier consists of master nodes that enable PrivateSend, InstantSend, and Dash Governance.
IOTA
IOTA is a cryptocurrency that focuses on providing a scalable and decentralized solution for the Internet of Things (IoT). It was released in 2015 and is based on the Tangle, a new blockless distributed ledger technology. IOTA is different from other cryptocurrencies as it uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) instead of a blockchain. This allows it to have no fees and unlimited scalability.
Cardano
Cardano is a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy, security, and scalability. It was released in 2015 and is based on the Ouroboros proof-of-stake consensus protocol. Cardano is different from other cryptocurrencies as it is the first to use a proof-of-stake consensus protocol. This allows it to be more energy efficient than proof-of-work protocols like Bitcoin.
Bitconnect
Bitconnect is a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy and security. It was released in 2016 and is based on the BitConnect Coin. BitConnect is different from other cryptocurrencies as it uses a Proof-of-Work/Proof-of-Stake hybrid consensus protocol. This allows it to be more energy efficient than proof-of-work protocols like Bitcoin.
NEO
NEO is a cryptocurrency that focuses on smart contracts and digital assets. It was released in 2014 and is based on the NEO platform. NEO is different from other cryptocurrencies as it uses a delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT) consensus mechanism. This allows it to be more energy efficient and scalable than other cryptocurrencies.
NEM
NEM is a cryptocurrency that focuses on simplicity and security. It was released in 2015 and is based on the NEM platform. NEM is different from other cryptocurrencies as it uses an Eigentrust++ consensus mechanism. This allows it to be more secure and scalable than other cryptocurrencies.
NameCoin
NameCoin is a cryptocurrency that focuses on censorship-resistant domain names. It was released in 2011 and is based on the Bitcoin protocol. Namecoin is different from other cryptocurrencies as it uses a hybrid Proof-of-Work/Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. This allows it to be more energy efficient and resist 51% of attacks.
Qtum
Qtum is a cryptocurrency that focuses on smart contracts and decentralized applications. It was released in 2017 and is based on the Qtum platform. Despite some general similarities, bitcoin and Ethereum differ in the specifics of how their blockchains operate and how they record and update balances held by users.