By now a lot of you must be asking yourself this: What is a Cryptocurrency & Blockchain?
The answer to this is quite simple! The word; Cryptocurrency is basically a term used to describe a digital asset designed to function as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography as a form of security.
So, when you combine Money & Digital Currency, would that make it a Cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrencies are a type of digital currencies, alternative currencies and virtual currencies
The term itself is considered more of a marketing gimmick since Cryptography is not relatively new and not every digital Asset is considered a Cryptocurrency, some may find this confusing however you should be focusing your attention when it comes to the word, Blockchain!
Bitcoin is the first Blockchain based Cryptocurrency that got widely adopted around the world, and it’s based on the underlying Technology which we like to call ‘’Block Chain’’, which was invented by an anonymous inventors that goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.
If you’re interested in a precise definition of Cryptocurrencies, it can be defined as:
A digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds. A Cryptocurrency offers a Medium of Exchange that is self-governed by code in order to run it’s own Network
The term ''Cryptocurrency'' can be misleading, as it’s more of a Marketing Slang to explain a category of Digital Currency that is often used to particularly describe Digital Money which may not only be powered by Blockchain Technology. There are several types of the Cryptocurrencies, some are assets, some are “platforms” & some represent businesses.
We should be focusing our attention on the underlying technology that powers popular Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Steem. A Blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.
A blockchain, which is also originally known as block chain, according to Wikipedia is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.
When you send Bitcoin from one wallet to another, the transaction gets recorded and information itself will be made publicly available on the blockchain.
Instead of needing a Central Bank that issues money or some other institution to verify the transfer of money, you can now utilize blockchain technology to bypass central authorities, by eliminating the middle-man you’re essentially trusting a self-governed Network
State-of-the-Art Technology is what powers Bitcoin, this is exactly what got so many people interested in Blockchain Technology at the first place. Now, that we have a distributed Ledger based on high-level of Cryptography, the digital currency BTC has become a medium of exchange which has help the word ‘’Cryptocurrency’’ become more popular and often used when associated to Blockchain-based Digital Money
