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Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) have been favored by many as an avenue to purchase goods and services since these digital currencies utilize an online ledger alongside robust cryptography to secure such transactions. One of the drawbacks, however, is that folks who are new to this find it too complex, but in reality, it’s not that hard to understand the basics.
Cryptocurrency basics
In addition to crypto’s above-mentioned definition, these digital assets can be traded, transferred, and stored just like real-world cash, though the thing is, these can be done between digital wallets. In line with this, these cryptocurrencies use a new case of technology that is called a blockchain.
Understanding blockchain
Now, these blockchains are either databases or ledgers that stock blocks of data. The data on each of these blocks contains a record of all the transactions that happened on the network over some time. These blocks are created continuously and then chained together through the use of cryptographic methods hence the word blockchain.
Per Cryptonary, once these blocks are created and added to the blockchain, they can no longer be altered without tweaking all subsequent blocks around it as well. Additionally, these blockchains are decentralized, censorship-resistant, immutable, and permissionless. It’s also worth noting that all information stored on the blockchain is public and everyone can check on it making this fraud-resistant. Well, that is unless the said digital wallet is owned by a certain individual or entity, these activities are anonymous to outside viewers.
A very popular example of these cryptocurrencies is the granddaddy of it all – bitcoin. It went live in 2009 and was developed by an individual who goes by the moniker Satoshi Nakamoto. No one knows if this is the actual name of this mysterious person, not to mention no one has seen him/her. Another equally popular crypto is ether (ETH) which is the digital currency of the Ethereum network. Launched in 2015, this programmable blockchain supports smart contracts.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is also notable crypto even though it is deemed by many as a meme token. This was introduced back in 2013 as some sort of a joke by a couple of engineers over at IBM. The cryptocurrency community is well-acquainted when Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk promoted the said digital currency in a series of tweets in previous months that in turn prompted its value to skyrocket. Musk was so into it that he even proclaimed himself as the Dogefather.
Bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin now
Going back to bitcoin, its price continued to trade below the $40,000 zone as its market capitalization dropped by over two percent to $37,893 at the time of writing. For the uninitiated, BTC’s price has been hovering over $30,000-$40,000 for several months now.
The same thing is happening with both ether and dogecoin as the two currencies also dropped by almost two percent at $2,491 and $0.195 respectively as of writing. Other cryptocurrencies like litecoin, stellar, uniswap, and XRP have also dipped over the last 24 hrs.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
