**My journey into the cryptocurrency world started in 2021 when I wanted to buy a gift card for a friend on Amazon, but I couldn't. All my cards were blocked due to Nigerian government issues with anything called "crypto." This is where my journey into the world of cryptocurrency discoveries began.
All cryptocurrencies adhere to five attributes and three functions of money, and they attempt to solve one or more real-world problems.*
I was so desperate to know why cryptocurrencies had become a subject of concern for the Nigerian government and the significance they held. As I delved into the world of research for knowledge, I discovered that the main idea behind cryptocurrencies is to address the problems of traditional currencies by placing power and responsibility in the hands of currency holders. All cryptocurrencies adhere to five attributes and three functions of money, and they attempt to solve one or more real-world problems.
Four Key Reasons That Made Me Go Crazy About the Knowledge of Cryptocurrency:
My journey into how cryptocurrencies work and why more and more people are appreciating the next steps in the development of this type of currency has been a digital form of currency and a more secure medium of exchange due to the transactions being public, irreversible, mostly unbreakable, and controlled by individuals, users, and their digital finances are better protected. Of course, there are many benefits to using cryptocurrencies. Here are four discoveries that changed the game for me:
Lesson 1: Cryptocurrencies Are Owned by Everyone
No one owns or regulates a cryptocurrency. Its value is not subject to the political will of a country or the monetary policy of a central bank.
The functionality of cryptocurrencies is similar to any traditional national currency, but with some fundamental differences.
Current "fiat currencies" are created and regulated by government institutions and now represent debt. Anyone who possesses a national currency holds a "promissory note" issued by that country.
Cryptocurrencies do not represent debt. They strictly represent themselves, and their value is determined by what someone is willing to trade for them.
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized, which plays a crucial role in determining their currency value.
No one owns or regulates a cryptocurrency. Its value is not subject to the political will of a country or the monetary policy of a central bank.
Lesson 2: Cryptocurrencies Are Nearly Impossible to Counterfeit
[Source](https://gifer.com/en/g3Ka
Cryptocurrencies operate on a blockchain, which is the distributed ledger mentioned earlier. Understanding blockchain technology will help you not only understand how cryptocurrencies work but also why this is key to the power of digital currencies.
Understanding blockchain technology will help you not only understand how cryptocurrencies work but also why this is key to the power of digital currencies.*
A "block" is composed of large chunks of encrypted data. The "blockchain" is the public database where blocks are stored and linked together in sequence.
Each block in the blockchain has a specific code that distinguishes itself from all other existing blocks. This unique code is called a hash value. Information blocks added to the blockchain are added in chronological order. A new block is directly added after the last block, and it also has its unique hash value.
Lesson 3: Cryptocurrency Transactions (Mostly) Are Confidential
Nigeria government hates cryptocurrency transactions because the setup is somehow difficult and too complex to manipulate. For the Normal government-issued fiat currencies, you can make private transactions using physical cash or make in-person payments. Large withdrawals of physical cash get flagged quickly and scrutinized by central entities like governments and financial regulatory agencies.
By definition, cryptocurrencies exist in digital wallets. The owner is the holder of the wallet's private key. The currency is digitally exchanged from mostly anonymous wallets owned by users.*
However, in the world of crypto, it's another ball game entirely because Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, rely on well-designed mathematics to track transactions between two individuals or entities. This is mostly done anonymously. While the ledger or transaction list is publicly viewable worldwide, the parties exchanging cryptocurrencies are more private. By definition, cryptocurrencies exist in digital wallets. The owner is the holder of the wallet's private key. The currency is digitally exchanged from mostly anonymous wallets owned by users.
Lesson 4: The Security of Cryptocurrencies Grows with Time and Value
Another mind-blowing discovery that got me hooked to crypto is for the fact that hacking or manipulation would require a tremendous amount of power and money, making it practically a futile effort. To be more specific, hackers would need to control more than 50% of the computers that make up the "consensus" network.
The consensus network is simply all the computers that receive copies of the blockchain or distributed ledger. For more mature cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, the cryptocurrency networks are so vast that the actions of hackers are mostly impossible.
In the early days of cryptocurrencies, when the networks were much smaller themselves, it was easier to gain control over a significant portion.
For investors or users of newer cryptocurrencies that have not grown to relatively large scales, this is an important fact to keep in mind. The smaller the network, the more susceptible it is to hacking attempts. This happened to me on Binance when a buyer was holding my USDT, and I got the case reported, my USDT was returned back to me immediately.
**Thanks so much for reading my post. I hope you have gained one or two insights here.****