What is Crypto Currency ?
A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology – a distributed ledger implemented by a separate network of computers. A defining characteristic of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, which makes them theoretically immune from government interference or manipulation.
Cryptocurrency means a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than a centralized authority.
Key Takeaways :
🔘 A cryptocurrency is a form of digital asset based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. This decentralised structure of crypto currency allows them to remain outsight of the governments and central authorities.
🔘 The word “cryptocurrency” is evolved from the encryption techniques which are used to secure the network.
🔘 Many experts believe that blockchain and related innovation will disturb numerous ventures, including money and law.
🔘Cryptocurrencies have faced criticism for variety of reasons, including their use for illegal activities, rate of exchange volatility, and therefore the vulnerabilities of their underlying infrastructure. However, they have also been praised for their portability, divisibility, inflation resistance and transparency.
Types of Cryptocurrency / Cryptocurrency Types
1. Bitcoin
The first blockchain-based cryptocurrency was bitcoin, which still remains the foremost popular and most precious . Today, there are thousands of other cryptocurrencies with different functions and specifications. Some of these are clones or forks of bitcoin, while others are new currencies that were created from scratch.
Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by a personal or group known under the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto". As of March 1, 2021, there are over 18.6 million bitcoins in circulation with an entire market cap of roughly $927 billion.
2. Ethereum
Ether (ETH) is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, an open-source blockchain on which developers can build their own apps and other cryptocurrencies. By Market capitalization , it is the second largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin The value of ether has risen rapidly since its creation in 2013, around $3,000 for a coin as of the end of May, but is still well behind bitcoin's value of around $40,000 per coin.
Ethereum is a decentralized software platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control or interference from any third party. The goal behind Ethereum is to create a decentralized suite of financial products that can be freely accessed by anyone in the world, regardless of nationality, ethnicity or belief. This aspect makes the impact more compelling for those in some countries, as people without s metate infrastructure and state identities can access bank accounts, loans, insurance, or many other financial products.
Ethereum was proposed by a programmer Vitalik Buterin in 2013 and in 2014 the development of ethereum was crowdfunded and launched on 30 July 2015.
Ethereum is the most actively used blockchain.
As of January 2021, Ether's market cap is around 19% the size of Bitcoin.
As of January 2021, Ethereum (ETH) has a market capitalization of $138.3 billion and a token value of $1,218.5
3. XRP
XRP is also a cryptocurrency by Ripple Digital Payment Network.
It is built for digital payments.
XRP praise itself as a faster and more efficient way to power global payments. XRP and Ripple also allow third party developement on other uses of XRP.
XRP was created by Ripple Labs Inc. which is a U.S. based technology company.
XRP Cryptocurrency was released in 2012.
4. Cardano
Cardano (ADA) which is a also a cryptocurrency ,uses a technology called Ouroboros, a peer-reviewed blockchain protocol. Cardano praise itself as a more secure and scalable way to maintain decentralization.
Cardano was founded by Ethereum Co-founder Charles Hoskinsons in 2015 and the development of project was overseen and supervised by Cardano Foundation based in Zug , Switzerland.
As of January 2021, Cardano has a market capitalization of $9.8 billion and one ADA trades for $0.31.
5. Stellar
Stellar's native cryptocurrency is Lumen (XLM). Stellar is designed as an open network for the storage and transfer of money that allows people to create, send and trade digital money. It's designed to sell and trade not only Stellar's own associated cryptocurrency, Lumen - but all digital money - although you'll need some Lumen to make transactions.
6. USD Coin
The USD Coin (USDC) describes itself as the "digital dollar of the world". Created by a global financial firm called Circle, USDC is the result of work involving investments by Goldman Sachs, Baidu and IDG Capital. USD Coin is pegged to the US Dollar, which makes its price more stable than other cryptocurrencies.
This stability lends itself more towards digital payments, while other cryptocurrencies have a greater potential to extend in value as investments (along with a greater risk of losing value).
7. Chainlink
Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that bridges the gap between smart contracts like Ethereum and therefore the data outside it. The blockchain itself does not have the ability to reliably connect to external applications. Chainlink's decentralized oracles allow smart contracts to communicate with external data in order that contracts can be executed based on data that Ethereum itself cannot connect to.
Chainlink was developed by Sergei Nazarov together with Steve Ellis. As of January 2021, Chainlink has a market capitalization of $8.6 billion and a link value of $21.53.
Chainlink (LINK) uses “real-world data and off-chain computation while maintaining security and reliability,” according to its website.
Binance Coin may be a utility cryptocurrency that is a payment method for fees related to trading on the Binance Exchange. Those people that uses the token as a way of payment for the exchange can trade at a reduction . Binance Coin's blockchain is additionally the platform on which Binance's decentralized exchange operates. Binance Exchange was founded by Changpeng Zhao and it's one of the foremost widely used exchanges within the planet supported trading volume.
Binance Coin was primarily an ERC-20 token that operated on the Ethereum blockchain. It eventually launched its own mainnet. The network uses a proof-of-stake consensus model. As of January 2021, Binance features a market capitalisation of $6.8 billion, of which one BNB is valued at $44.26.
9. Tether
Unlike some other forms of cryptocurrency, Tether is a stablecoin, which means that it is backed by fiat currencies such as the US dollar and the euro and hypothetically holds the equivalent value of one of those denominations. According to this , it means that the value of Tether is believed to be more stable or consistent than that of other cryptocurrencies, and it is favored by many investors who are cautious of the extreme volatility of other coins.
Top 10 Cryptocurrencies in 2021
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
Market cap: Over $641 billion
2. Ethereum (ETH)
Market cap: Over $307 billion
3. Tether (USDT)
Market cap: Over $62 billion
4. Binance Coin (BNB)
Market cap: Over $56 billion
5. Cardano (ADA)
Market cap: Over $51 billion
6. Dogecoin (Doge)
Market cap: Over $44 billion
7. XRP (XRP)
Market cap: Over $40 billion
8. USD Coin (USDC)
Market cap: Over $23 billion
9. Polkadot (DOT)
Market cap: Over $21 billion
10. Uniswap (UNI)
Market cap: Over $13 billion
Platforms or apps to invest in cryptocurrencies
1. CoinDCX
2. WazirX
3. Binance BNB
4. Coinswitch Kuber
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