Basically, cryptocurrency is digital money. Although Bitcoin is one of the more well-known forms it, various others exist. It has its share of benefits as opposed to paper money or even credit or debt cards.
Rather than actual money, cryptocurrency is money exchanged via the Internet. Unlike standard money, it’s not backed by the government. In fact, it doesn’t have any affiliation with government or banks. Although Bitcoin is credited for the first true form of electronic currency, cryptographer David Chaum designed electronic money in 1983. He later perfected his design and changed it to Digicash in 1995. It required a specialized software to withdrawal it from the bank. Just like today’s cryptocurrency, it was untraceable. Other attempts at cryptocurrency were made during this time as well, none of which were successful.
In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto — who’s real name isn’t known — released Bitcoin to the public. At that point, users couldn’t trade it, only mine it. One year later, it had value, and people were able to trade it.
Later, more and more individuals saw the benefits of it. This led to several other forms of it emerging including Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dash. In fact, there are more than 1,000 different types in existence. Companies even arose that allow individuals to work for cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency is encripted; therefore, it’s not able of being tracked the way a bank card is. This means that it’s more secure than standard forms of currency. However, it doesn’t have any backing from the government or a bank, so if anything should happen to one’s investment, he or she does lose out. Buyers must be leery of investing in cryptocurrency and must understand they need to do their own research before investing. Not every form of cryptocurrency is equally as safe as one another. It’s important to research who owns the company. It also helps to see if there are major investors associated with a form of cryptocurrency. While it may seem like a business venture, it’s more risky to invest in startups and newer companies.
Many speculate cryptocurrency as the money of the future, which is caused quite a rise in the number of users. Not to mention, when investing in cryptocurrency, banks are removed from transactions. The process of it is anonymous, so it allows individuals to use it without government surveillance.
In the United States, Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency are legal. However, in China, they’re illegal. Other countries have laws regarding the legality of them as well.
