Cryptocurrency

What is Cryptocurrency?

Although there are many different types of cryptocurrencies, they all have one thing in common: they operate on blockchain technology, making them decentralized. Decentralization of financial operations through cryptocurrencies has several efficiencies over the traditional financial system, including:

• Cuts out almost all the overhead costs associated with banks
• Less expensive transactions that can be sent and received internationally
• Inflation or finite supply that’s written into code — no need to trust the Federal Reserve
• Financial derivatives like trading strategies and loans can be coded directly onto certain cryptocurrency blockchains, replacing the need for financial intermediaries.

The largest cryptocurrency is Bitcoin and it’s used as a “digital gold.” Essentially, Bitcoin is a commodity used as a store of value. Ethereum is the 2nd-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of 0 billion. Developers can develop smart contracts on Ethereum’s blockchain to create decentralized alternatives to traditional banking functions, like lending and trading.