What Is Cryptocurrency?
Our basic guide to cryptocurrency
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Here you will find websites that explain what cryptocurrency is and often include helpful guides, links, and videos
Here you will find websites that explain what cryptocurrency is and often include helpful guides, links, and videos
What is cryptocurrency and bitcoin?
Cryptocurrency popularity
The 2017 and early 2018 bitcoin mania didn’t last long, but it certainly helped put the concept of digital money on the map.
In late 2021 bitcoin reached $66,000 per coin!
Altcoins became well known during the 2017 mania period too. Most investors know about Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and most of the top 20 coins.
Why is Bitcoin and a select number of altcoins popular as a form of money?
Fast
Cryptocurrency transactions are fast and with certain altcoins literally instant! You can send some cryptocurrency tokens in less than a few seconds to any mobile phone anywhere in the world. Get paid in seconds.
Irreversible
Once you have sent a bitcoin payment and it has been received you can not reverse that payment later on like you can with some wire transfers or credit card payments. This helps e-commerce stores.
Secure
All cryptocurrencies run on a blockchain. Short of a quantum computer, it is impossible to hack bitcoin. The nature of the blockchain is to be decentralized and so make it impossible to hack one central point.
Decentralised
No entity owns Bitcoin and this makes it impossible to close it down. There is no owner or company.
Dark or privacy coins
There are a few cryptocurrency coins and tokens that are much more anonymous than Bitcoin and these are much harder to track and trace.
Global
All you need is a digital wallet and cryptocurrency can be sent to any mobile phone anywhere in the world.
Tax avoidance
There is also the added advantage of being able to swap your cryptocurrency for another asset and thereby avoiding tax. Although we strongly suggest not going down this road.
Anonymous
Ex-president Obama once said in 2017 “Bitcoin is like having a Swiss bank account in your pocket.” Although it is possible to find a wallet’s address and see the activity in that wallet, it is very hard to find out the ownership of that wallet.
Affordable
Transferable and spendable
There are property websites where you can swap your cryptocurrency for a penthouse or mansion overlooking the sea. You can even buy physical gold and silver bars with cryptocurrency.
This website is dedicated to listing businesses that offer goods and services for payment in cryptocurrency and bitcoin. The owner Jonathan Titley bought the spendingcrypto domain name in 2018 after he decided to create a website to show how spendable cryptocurrency really is!
Understanding Bitcoins and Altcoin spot prices
However, unlike many traditional markets, you can buy and sell fractional amounts of Bitcoin. For example, if the Bitcoin spot price is $50,000, you can buy 0.1 Bitcoin for $5,000. It is also possible to buy far more or less fractional amounts.
Arbitraging
Some traders make a very good living from literally trading the spot price differences daily between the different exchanges. Simply put, if the market price between two exchanges diverges enough, an opportunity presents itself, where Bitcoin and some Altcoins can be bought on one exchange for a lower price and then subsequently sold on another exchange for a profit.
This is the main mechanism that keeps prices on various exchanges in line with one another.
Volatility
This type of trading is not for the faint-hearted and so we advocate caution if you are looking at swing trading.
The websites below are well worth visiting to learn more about Cryptocurrencies
Blockgeeks
Enter the website and go to the Guides tab at the top of the site. Inside Guides, you will find everything you need to learn about Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain, and Crypto. They also have a section called Courses where you can increase your skill base and earn qualifications.