Have We Appreciated Crypto-Currencies Enough?
Friday, 25 February 2022, 16:46 IST
The crypto industry had an incredible year in 2021. From Bitcoin and Ethereum reaching new all time highs to the widespread adoption of Non Fungible Tokens, almost every aspect of the industry experienced a surge. Previous year, India had the world's second highest number of cryptocurrency users, and India based crypto exchange platforms drew millions of users, with Coin Switch alone attracting over 15 million. This year, the cryptocurrency debate is already raging with calls for regulation causing a schism between jurisdictions that are ‘crypto friendly' and those that aren't. Which of the subsequent factors will have the greatest impact on the market's future? And how it can be helpful for day to day transactions in today's world.
Cryptocurrency: The Emergence
With the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009, cryptocurrency went from an academic concept to digital reality. While Bitcoin's popularity has grown in the years since, it received significant investor and media attention in April 2013, when it peaked at a record $266 per bitcoin after surging 10-fold in the previous two months. The currency had a market value of more than $2 billion at its peak, but a 50 percent drop shortly after sparked a raging debate about the future of cryptocurrencies in general, and Bitcoin in particular. But today, there are thousands of cryptocurrencies that are publicly traded, and more are constantly being added to the market. Many of these cryptocurrencies are unknown and have little trading volume such as Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash which are examples of popular and widely traded cryptocurrencies.
Enabling Payments: A Better Medium of Exchange
Cryptocurrency functions similarly to physical currency as a medium of exchange. It can be used to pay for goods and services, yet best known as a speculative investment asset. It uses blockchain technology to record transactions in a ledger system and the most important aspect of this technology is that it can be viewed publicly but cannot be changed or controlled by any single entity, making cryptocurrency safe for online transactions and nearly impossible to forge.
Blockchain Technology: A Clear Look
The term 'blockchain technology' first appeared in academic papers in 1982, in a dissertation on `the design of a distributed computer system that can be established, maintained, and trusted by mutually suspicious groups.' Today, bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity, and blockchain technology has promising applications in legal contracts, property sales, medical records, and any other industry that requires the authorization and recording of transactions. It is basically a digital ledger of transactions that is kept secure by a network of computers and is difficult to hack or alter. People can now transact directly with one another without the need for an intermediary such as a government, bank, or other third party.
How to Invest & Gain Value
Despite the fact that there are thousands of cryptocurrencies in circulation today, only a few trading platforms offer trading. Two examples of cryptocurrency trading platforms are Coin SwitchKuber and Coin DCX. The majority of platforms allow investors to buy Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies. Coinbase is yet another cryptocurrency purchasing option. It is a well known exchange where users can purchase, sell, transfer, and store digital currency.The value of cryptocurrency, like other currencies, is primarily determined by the currency's supply and demand in the market. Cryptocurrency, unlike traditional currencies, is not issued by a central bank or backed by a government. As a result, monetary policy, inflation, and economic growth have no effect on the value of cryptocurrency.
Other factors that may influence the value of a cryptocurrency include the cost of production or the mining process, the supply and demand for competing cryptocurrencies, the exchanges on which it trades, and any governing regulations or restrictions imposed on it.
Everything You should know About 'Crypto Mining'
If you've been investing in cryptocurrency and are a regular player, you've probably come across the term "Crypto Mining" which is a not at all an easy task. It requires the use of high-end computing resources, in which specialised computers, also known as nodes or mining rigs, validate blockchain transactions for a specific cryptocoin in exchange for a mining reward for their computational effort.
Miners compete to prove their computational work in exchange for a block reward in cryptocurrency mining. Following a series of transactions for a particular cryptocurrency, a block with associated cryptographic hash functions containing transaction data becomes visible to the blockchain's peer to peer network.
AltCoins to Look Forward this Year
Bitcoin:
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be created and is currently the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. BTC is the crypto industry's flagship product. Bitcoin, as the largest and most popular cryptocurrency in the crypto industry, has seen widespread institutional and national adoption. BTC is ideal for long term investment because it is the most trusted cryptocurrency on the market.
Ethereum:
Ethereum, which was launched in 2015, transformed the crypto industry by demonstrating the capabilities of blockchain technology, demonstrating to the world that blockchain can record massive amounts of data, code, and pretty much any other type of information. ETH is in charge of creating smart contracts, dApps, Defi, NFTs, and even massive amounts of new cryptocurrencies.
Cardano:
Cardano, which debuted in 2017, is a public blockchain platform that enables peer-to-peer transactions via its internal cryptocurrency ADA. Users can use the platform to create decentralised applications. The ADA network is home to a number of dApps, which are peer-to-peer software projects built on its blockchain. It also allows users to authenticate transactions in real time.
ShibInu:
SHIB is a token that was created as an Ethereum compatible alternative to Dogecoin. SHIB, like DOGE, is designed to be abundant, with an initial circulating supply of one quadrillion coins. The ShibaInu ecosystem also supports projects such as an NFT art incubator and Shibaswap, a decentralised exchange.
Ripple:
Ripple, which was founded in 2012, is a distributed ledger system. Ripple can be used to track more than just cryptocurrency transactions. It was developed in collaboration with a number of banks and financial institutions.
The Future
The appearance of Bitcoin has sparked debate about the future of it and other cryptocurrencies, and its success since its inception in 2009 has inspired the development of alternative cryptocurrencies such as Etherium, Litecoin, and Ripple. A cryptocurrency that aspires to be a part of the mainstream financial system must meet a number of criteria. While that seems unlikely, there is little doubt that Bitcoin's success or failure in dealing with the challenges it faces will have a significant impact on the fortunes of other crypto currencies in the coming years.
Cryptocurrency: The Emergence
With the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009, cryptocurrency went from an academic concept to digital reality. While Bitcoin's popularity has grown in the years since, it received significant investor and media attention in April 2013, when it peaked at a record $266 per bitcoin after surging 10-fold in the previous two months. The currency had a market value of more than $2 billion at its peak, but a 50 percent drop shortly after sparked a raging debate about the future of cryptocurrencies in general, and Bitcoin in particular. But today, there are thousands of cryptocurrencies that are publicly traded, and more are constantly being added to the market. Many of these cryptocurrencies are unknown and have little trading volume such as Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash which are examples of popular and widely traded cryptocurrencies.
The Appearance Of Bitcoin Has Sparked Debate About The Future Of It And Other Cryptocurrencies, And Its Success Since Its Inception In 2009 Has Inspired The Development Of Alternative Crypto currencies Such As Etherium, Litecoin, And Ripple
Enabling Payments: A Better Medium of Exchange
Cryptocurrency functions similarly to physical currency as a medium of exchange. It can be used to pay for goods and services, yet best known as a speculative investment asset. It uses blockchain technology to record transactions in a ledger system and the most important aspect of this technology is that it can be viewed publicly but cannot be changed or controlled by any single entity, making cryptocurrency safe for online transactions and nearly impossible to forge.
Blockchain Technology: A Clear Look
The term 'blockchain technology' first appeared in academic papers in 1982, in a dissertation on `the design of a distributed computer system that can be established, maintained, and trusted by mutually suspicious groups.' Today, bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity, and blockchain technology has promising applications in legal contracts, property sales, medical records, and any other industry that requires the authorization and recording of transactions. It is basically a digital ledger of transactions that is kept secure by a network of computers and is difficult to hack or alter. People can now transact directly with one another without the need for an intermediary such as a government, bank, or other third party.
How to Invest & Gain Value
Despite the fact that there are thousands of cryptocurrencies in circulation today, only a few trading platforms offer trading. Two examples of cryptocurrency trading platforms are Coin SwitchKuber and Coin DCX. The majority of platforms allow investors to buy Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies. Coinbase is yet another cryptocurrency purchasing option. It is a well known exchange where users can purchase, sell, transfer, and store digital currency.The value of cryptocurrency, like other currencies, is primarily determined by the currency's supply and demand in the market. Cryptocurrency, unlike traditional currencies, is not issued by a central bank or backed by a government. As a result, monetary policy, inflation, and economic growth have no effect on the value of cryptocurrency.
Other factors that may influence the value of a cryptocurrency include the cost of production or the mining process, the supply and demand for competing cryptocurrencies, the exchanges on which it trades, and any governing regulations or restrictions imposed on it.
Everything You should know About 'Crypto Mining'
If you've been investing in cryptocurrency and are a regular player, you've probably come across the term "Crypto Mining" which is a not at all an easy task. It requires the use of high-end computing resources, in which specialised computers, also known as nodes or mining rigs, validate blockchain transactions for a specific cryptocoin in exchange for a mining reward for their computational effort.
Miners compete to prove their computational work in exchange for a block reward in cryptocurrency mining. Following a series of transactions for a particular cryptocurrency, a block with associated cryptographic hash functions containing transaction data becomes visible to the blockchain's peer to peer network.
AltCoins to Look Forward this Year
Bitcoin:
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be created and is currently the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. BTC is the crypto industry's flagship product. Bitcoin, as the largest and most popular cryptocurrency in the crypto industry, has seen widespread institutional and national adoption. BTC is ideal for long term investment because it is the most trusted cryptocurrency on the market.
Ethereum:
Ethereum, which was launched in 2015, transformed the crypto industry by demonstrating the capabilities of blockchain technology, demonstrating to the world that blockchain can record massive amounts of data, code, and pretty much any other type of information. ETH is in charge of creating smart contracts, dApps, Defi, NFTs, and even massive amounts of new cryptocurrencies.
Cardano:
Cardano, which debuted in 2017, is a public blockchain platform that enables peer-to-peer transactions via its internal cryptocurrency ADA. Users can use the platform to create decentralised applications. The ADA network is home to a number of dApps, which are peer-to-peer software projects built on its blockchain. It also allows users to authenticate transactions in real time.
ShibInu:
SHIB is a token that was created as an Ethereum compatible alternative to Dogecoin. SHIB, like DOGE, is designed to be abundant, with an initial circulating supply of one quadrillion coins. The ShibaInu ecosystem also supports projects such as an NFT art incubator and Shibaswap, a decentralised exchange.
Ripple:
Ripple, which was founded in 2012, is a distributed ledger system. Ripple can be used to track more than just cryptocurrency transactions. It was developed in collaboration with a number of banks and financial institutions.
The Future
The appearance of Bitcoin has sparked debate about the future of it and other cryptocurrencies, and its success since its inception in 2009 has inspired the development of alternative cryptocurrencies such as Etherium, Litecoin, and Ripple. A cryptocurrency that aspires to be a part of the mainstream financial system must meet a number of criteria. While that seems unlikely, there is little doubt that Bitcoin's success or failure in dealing with the challenges it faces will have a significant impact on the fortunes of other crypto currencies in the coming years.
