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An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies – Trader Stacking –

An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies – Trader Stacking –

In a society where everything has been “digitized,” cash has become obsolete. When analyzing the extensive use of credit cards and online transfers, society still expects physical money to exist somewhere; whether that be in a bank or in your wallet. The true goal of cryptocurrencies is to change these outdated perceptions of third parties and physical cash by not existing anywhere except in a public ledger called a “blockchain.” Cyptocurrencies allow users to transfer money instantaneously, with relatively inexpensive transaction fees with no need for any third party involvement. Over the years, many cryptocurrencies have moved past this fundamental building block and built platforms, or Decentralized Applications (dApps). These dApps allow users to transfer anything of value on the blockchain. The “crypto” in “cryptocurrency” comes from the fact that transactions are encrypted for security purposes through a process known as cryptography. Cryptography is used to secure and protect transactions from being interfered with, while also protecting the identity of all parties involved. Cryptography also allows for the creation of digits tokens through a process known as “mining.”

Decentralization?

Trying to understand decentralization can be difficult at first. Foremost, we need to understand what the problem is with the idea of centralization. If we take a look at the world today, we can see a world of full of information and data about who we are and what we do. With that being said, we are able to conclude that sensitive and personal information is held by a few large institutions, both public and public. The databases containing your information (financial records, health records, facebook, emails, twitter) is located on centralized servers, meaning that all of your information exists in only one place. Some banks have multiple servers, but all this information still exists in only one location: your bank. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized because each user of a cryptocurrency holds a copy of every transaction that has ever taken place on that blockchain. The second you become a part of a blockchain, you receive the entire history of that blockchain. If a user disagrees with a transaction, a consensus will be met by the majority of the users on that network (at least 51%). The majority will decide what the correct amount shall be. This consensus method is the one of the great aspects of cryptocurrencies and the idea of decentralization. There is no one server that cybercriminals can breach to attack; cybercriminals would need to convince 51% of all users.

bitcoin

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency created. It was released on January 3, 2009. Since then, thousands of other coins have been created, with varying degrees of similarity to Satoshi Nakamoto’s riginal concept. These coins are known as alternative cryptocurrencies, or altcoins. The value of altcoins derives from the use cases of the underlying tech and services offered by these projects. ICOs and altcoins come hand in hand. For example, let’s say a company creates their own coin on the Wanchain blockchain and in order to raise funds, they conduct an ICO.

ICO

An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is the funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically through the Internet for cryptocurrency projects. The founders of these cryptocurrencies receive funds from investors to develop the project, in exchange for tokens at a later date. ICOs are unregulated fundraising methods where projects can sell their tokens in exchange for Bitcoin or Ethereum. They are a new phenomenon and have already become a controversial topic of discussion within the blockchain community.

How does Cryptocurrency help?

First and foremost, cryptocurrency helps prevent fraud. Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that cannot be counterfeited or reversed retroactively. In addition, using cryptocurrencies entails almost instanteous settlement of transfers. Bitcoin smart contracts are designed to eliminate third party approvals or to be completed at a future time for a percentage of the cost. There are also relatively inexpensive transaction fees associated with cryptocurrencies because the miners are compensated by the blockchain network. Cryptocurrencies also prevent identity theft because they utilize a push mechanism that allows the cryptocurrency user to send exactly what he wants without revealing any personal information. All cryptocurrencies are decentralized on a global network of computers that use the blockchain to collaborate. With that in mind, cryptocurrencies are acknowledged and accepted on a universal level. Since they are not bound to one specific country, they can be used anywhere in the world, a borderless currency.

How To Value These Coins

Bitcoin isn’t easy to valuate. It is a technology that’s also considered to be part fiat and also part commodity. Its price history is too infant to reliably test models to estimate accurate and reason pricings for these coins. Unlike traditional equities, bitcoin does not have cash flow reports or earning reports to inform the users what can be expected in the future. There is not a signle valuation model to indicate or forecast the value of bitcoin; not a single model is accepted by the majority of the market. With that being said, it is very difficult to value Bitcoin. Essentially, bitcoin’s value is determined by the people who trade it. However, there are some altcoins that have different qualities than bitcoin that make them much easier to value. Many cryptocurrencies work in an ecosystem that is powered by their respective token. However, cryptocurrencies can differ in structure from each other.

Published at Mon, 20 May 2019 11:39:43 +0000

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