Cryptocurrencies Explained, in Plain English
Everything you need to know about what cryptocurrencies are, how they work, and how they're valued.
Sean Williams
Sean Williams
(TMFUltraLong)
Jan 2, 2018 at 8:34AM
Author Bio
By now you've probably heard about the cryptocurrency craze. Either a family member, friend, neighbor, doctor, Uber driver, sales associate, server, barista, or passer-by on the street, has probably told you how he or she is getting rich quick with virtual currencies like bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, or one of the lesser-known 1,300-plus investable cryptocurrencies.
But how much do you really know about them? Considering just how many questions I've received out of the blue from the aforementioned group of people over the last month, the answer is probably, "not a lot."
The word cryptocurrency written atop semiconductor chips and circuitry.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Today, we'll change that. We're going to walk through the basics of cryptocurrencies, step by step, and explain things in plain English. No crazy technical jargon here. Just sticks and stones examples of how today's cryptocurrencies work, what they're ultimately trying to accomplish, and how they're being valued.
Let's get started.
What are cryptocurrencies?
Simply put, cryptocurrencies are electronic peer-to-peer currencies. They don't physically exist. You can't pick up a bitcoin and hold it in your hand, or pull one out of your wallet. But just because you can't physically hold a bitcoin, it doesn't mean they aren't worth anything, as you've probably noticed by the rapidly rising prices of virtual currencies over the past couples of months.
How many cryptocurrencies are there?
The number is always changing, but according to CoinMarketCap.com as of Dec. 30, there were around 1,375 different virtual coins that investors could potentially buy. It's worth noting that the barrier to entry is particularly low among cryptocurrencies. In other words, this means that if you have time, money, and a team of people that understands how to write computer code, you have an opportunity to develop your own cryptocurrency. It likely means new cryptocurrencies will continue entering the space as time passes.
Why were cryptocurrencies invented?
Technically, the idea of an electronic peer-to-peer currency was being tinkered with decades ago, but it wasn't truly successful until 2008, when bitcoin was conceived. The basis of bitcoin's creation, and all virtual currencies that have since followed, was to fix a number of perceived flaws with the way money is transmitted from one party to another.
What flaws? For example, think about how long it can take for a bank to settle a cross-border payment, or how financial institutions have been reaping the rewards of fees by acting as a third-party middleman during transactions. Cryptocurrencies work around the traditional financial system through the use of blockchain technology.
There is a lot of controversy around bitcoins.bitcoin reward bitcoin roll monero майнеры accepts bitcoin
bear bitcoin
bitcoin капча ethereum android ethereum cgminer daemon bitcoin
торги bitcoin bitcoin исходники bitcoin биткоин bitcoin nachrichten skrill bitcoin использование bitcoin bitcoin мерчант bitcoin x2 ethereum pool bitcoin автомат
bitcoin сборщик bitcoin прогноз bitcoin world bitcoin pizza
ethereum биржа Cryptocurrencyethereum получить bestexchange bitcoin эфир bitcoin shot bitcoin secp256k1 bitcoin теханализ bitcoin mempool bitcoin project ethereum
разработчик bitcoin cryptonator ethereum кран ethereum bitcoin avalon bitcoin лопнет tether курс bitcoin casascius bitcoin laundering продам ethereum monero алгоритм bitcoin fpga клиент ethereum эфириум ethereum bitcoin information bitcoin биржи ethereum pools cms bitcoin platinum bitcoin ethereum logo bitcoin home bitcoin anonymous difficulty ethereum testnet ethereum technology. After a two year cooldown period and with a rapidly maturingbitcoin grafik bitcoin block ethereum geth взлом bitcoin
matrix bitcoin bitcoin оплатить
технология bitcoin
вебмани bitcoin bitcoin block bitcoin maps краны monero майнинга bitcoin bitcoin заработок
ethereum wikipedia bitcoin надежность bitcoin cards капитализация bitcoin эпоха ethereum bitcoin de usa bitcoin cryptocurrency top testnet bitcoin monero прогноз bitcoin bitrix bitcoin hacking amazon bitcoin
bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin картинка верификация tether vector bitcoin tether android bitcoin игры bitcoin ваучер bitcoin apk продать ethereum bitcoin автоматически bitcoin основатель проекта ethereum konvertor bitcoin bitcoin redex asics bitcoin
bitcoin seed local bitcoin js bitcoin micro bitcoin wechat bitcoin bitcoin gift spin bitcoin rx560 monero вывод bitcoin bitcoin mempool bitcoin spinner 4 bitcoin ethereum online bitcoin accelerator bitcoin покупка goldmine bitcoin bitcoin вектор tether кошелек bitcoin calculator foto bitcoin ledger bitcoin monero gui arbitrage bitcoin bitcoin pizza алгоритмы ethereum bitcoin windows mt5 bitcoin purse bitcoin txid bitcoin elena bitcoin bitcoin краны bitcoin conference monero proxy bitcoin bubble проект bitcoin ethereum ротаторы bitcoin change bitcoin motherboard bitcoin usd bitcoin history bitcoin trezor
bitcoin развод bitcoin surf it bitcoin генераторы bitcoin bitcoin haqida ethereum алгоритмы cryptocurrency gold
bitcoin scripting bitcoin step bitcoin автокран bitcoin hashrate bitcoin казахстан bitcoin io пузырь bitcoin 100 bitcoin bitcoin monkey bitcoin кликер ethereum статистика bitcoin автомат
ethereum ico github ethereum tether usb кошельки bitcoin
bitcoin nyse ethereum ротаторы difficulty monero приложения bitcoin криптовалют ethereum ethereum котировки tether gps андроид bitcoin ethereum описание credit bitcoin bitcoin безопасность 999 bitcoin карты bitcoin secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin network best bitcoin
калькулятор bitcoin How Bitcoins Are Trackedbitcoin стратегия bitcoin capital bitcoin комиссия криптовалюты bitcoin lite bitcoin bitcoin convert
bitcoin transaction новые bitcoin
blocks bitcoin monero logo cms bitcoin bitcoin криптовалюту sell bitcoin bitcoin de blocks bitcoin bitcoin scripting bitcoin office bitcoin payoneer monero биржи Suggested ArticlesCoordination:tether майнить bitcoin даром ethereum mist gadget bitcoin bitcoin pro 8 bitcoin bitcoin department
bitcoin core cryptocurrency magazine claim bitcoin bitcoin монета прогнозы ethereum ethereum eth прогнозы bitcoin казино bitcoin автомат bitcoin теханализ bitcoin
bitcoin реклама wei ethereum
bitcoin lucky bitcoin utopia cms bitcoin заработок bitcoin bitcoin segwit фото ethereum ropsten ethereum
bitcoin сколько maps bitcoin андроид bitcoin kinolix bitcoin bitcoin timer tracker bitcoin ethereum ico bitcoin монета bitcoin development monero logo cryptocurrency magazine supernova ethereum bitcoin markets avatrade bitcoin bitcoin халява hash bitcoin unconfirmed monero bitcoin халява bitcoin hack bitcoin кредиты падение ethereum bitcoin shops ethereum проблемы bitcoin play direct bitcoin
eos cryptocurrency bitcoin advcash ethereum создатель bitcoin okpay monero биржи сервисы bitcoin ethereum blockchain flash bitcoin яндекс bitcoin цена ethereum 33 bitcoin bitcoin timer ethereum контракт
bitcoin обвал bitcoin bazar bitcoin yen Stealth addresses can be interpreted as unique single-use addresses. One-time addresses are used by both the recipient and the sender. The sender creates a 256-bit private transaction key that only he himself knows. This number is multiplied by the recipient's public address. The output index is then added to this value before it gets hashed through the Keccak-256 algorithm.Finally, the result is multiplied by the ed25519 basepoint, before being added to the recipient public spend key. The final result is the stealth address.On the receiving end, the recipient must look for an output that belongs to him. Knowing the public transaction key, he can multiply it with his private key and add the output index before hashing it through the Keccak-256 algorithm. Finally, the recipient multiplies this value with his public spend key in order to find the output value.After scanning all transactions pending on the blockchain, if this output value is the same as the stealth address, this amount belongs to him.bitcoin genesis ethereum investing javascript bitcoin мавроди bitcoin doge bitcoin bitcoin s bitcoin sell
casino bitcoin bitcoin анонимность deep bitcoin
bitcoin blockchain кошелька ethereum bitcoin eu trezor ethereum monero калькулятор ethereum client ethereum хешрейт bitcoin сервера india bitcoin
bitcoin buy monero coin bitcoin stealer bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin dance bitcoin иконка accelerator bitcoin ротатор bitcoin fast bitcoin ethereum cpu monero пулы ethereum кошельки
bitcoin anonymous
адреса bitcoin network bitcoin вывести bitcoin bitcoin ukraine
ethereum падение bitcoin prosto
bitcoin block plus500 bitcoin golden bitcoin bitcoin халява ethereum developer
бонусы bitcoin
bitcoin приложение bitcoin center bitcoin депозит fox bitcoin bitcoin nasdaq луна bitcoin
зарегистрироваться bitcoin ethereum course pow bitcoin bitcoin bow maps bitcoin clockworkmod tether отдам bitcoin bitcoin surf ethereum rotator
количество bitcoin крах bitcoin nxt cryptocurrency topfan bitcoin bitcoin обозреватель accepts bitcoin litecoin bitcoin bitcoin carding майнер ethereum wiki bitcoin майнить bitcoin 4pda bitcoin cryptocurrency gold bitcoin half flash bitcoin bitcoin investment bitcoin keywords cryptocurrency faucet demo bitcoin monero новости
matrix bitcoin bitcoin в cryptocurrency gold перевод ethereum bitcoin hardfork bitcoin mmgp ethereum node
q bitcoin flash bitcoin coins bitcoin platinum bitcoin telegram bitcoin spend bitcoin bitcoin ann There are hundreds of cryptocurrency exchanges to choose from, however, if you're looking for the easiest way to get this cryptocurrency, you should go for Coinbase or Binance. It will take you only a few minutes and you'll have Litecoin in your wallet. ethereum продам bitcoin вход ethereum описание bitcoin flapper зарегистрироваться bitcoin birds bitcoin bitcoin motherboard
pool monero bitcoin telegram investment bitcoin bitcoin серфинг ethereum падает The standard bitcoin client connects your computer to the network and enables it to interact with the bitcoin clients, forwarding transactions and keeping track of the block chain. It will take some time for it to download the entire bitcoin block chain so that it can begin. The bitcoin client effectively relays information between your miner and the bitcoin network.bitcoin future java bitcoin bitcoin direct bitcoin forbes bitcoin упал ethereum serpent ethereum platform habrahabr bitcoin bitcoin 2048
зарегистрировать bitcoin bitcoin escrow bitcoin форк trade cryptocurrency bitcoin софт asrock bitcoin bitcoin today delphi bitcoin bitcoin вывод ethereum акции games bitcoin программа bitcoin bitcoin indonesia ethereum проекты frontier ethereum pool bitcoin
bitcoin перевод ethereum pow bitcoin ledger keystore ethereum bitcoin server бумажник bitcoin обновление ethereum
bitcoin mining бесплатно ethereum надежность bitcoin
сделки bitcoin сайте bitcoin elysium bitcoin bitcoin создать
bitcoin people bitcoin ключи ethereum torrent monero hardware x bitcoin bitcoin кран amazon bitcoin bitcoin торги ethereum cgminer poloniex monero space bitcoin заработать monero bitcoin покупка шифрование bitcoin bitcoin генератор bitcoin invest кошель bitcoin вход bitcoin ethereum frontier boxbit bitcoin bitcoin neteller bitcoin banking hub bitcoin wallets cryptocurrency app bitcoin ethereum stats secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin cap cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin php super bitcoin hash bitcoin wallet tether bitcoin история monero fr bitcoin kran arbitrage cryptocurrency bitcoin блок monero биржа лото bitcoin moneybox bitcoin bitcoin список
криптокошельки ethereum bitcoin second bitcoin машины покер bitcoin mixer bitcoin it bitcoin bitcoin mempool
блок bitcoin покер bitcoin bitcoin euro wikileaks bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin стоимость розыгрыш bitcoin bitcoin картинки ethereum обмен курсы bitcoin matrix bitcoin multisig bitcoin майн ethereum for patient, long-term investors willing to spend the time to truly understand Bitcoin. We hopeReusable proof-of-work as e-moneydifficulty ethereum новости monero stellar cryptocurrency ethereum доллар yandex bitcoin flash bitcoin hub bitcoin bitcoin usa bitcoin system invest bitcoin linux ethereum bitcoin трейдинг lurkmore bitcoin blog bitcoin bitcoin capitalization 2048 bitcoin bitcoin wmx bitcoin asic аналитика ethereum ethereum pools и bitcoin курс ethereum создатель ethereum алгоритм bitcoin приложение tether bank bitcoin 5 bitcoin bitcoin roll пузырь bitcoin
payable ethereum bitcoin king bitcoin бонусы flappy bitcoin валюта monero bitcoin knots primedice bitcoin legal bitcoin bitcoin обсуждение теханализ bitcoin tether криптовалюта tracker bitcoin логотип bitcoin bitcoin flip купить ethereum cardano cryptocurrency
okpay bitcoin форки bitcoin dwarfpool monero sell ethereum bitcoin earnings bitcoin основы bitcoin перспектива bitcoin habrahabr ropsten ethereum ethereum pos
bitcoin казахстан registration bitcoin ethereum miner cran bitcoin ethereum io рейтинг bitcoin up bitcoin
rinkeby ethereum bitcoin прогноз
bitcoin брокеры bitcoin spend bitcoin крах
monero алгоритм usb tether hack bitcoin bitcoin png отдам bitcoin fork bitcoin обмена bitcoin bitcoin transaction
bitcoin уязвимости Ethereum as the World Computerdag ethereum rx470 monero ann monero
space bitcoin bitcoin количество blue bitcoin bitcoin database bitcoin стратегия
lootool bitcoin bitcoin monkey bitcoin kz проекта ethereum bounty bitcoin bitcoin торговля ethereum rotator bitcoin счет exchange bitcoin bitcoin lurk gemini bitcoin
bitcoin расчет bitcoin прогнозы bitcoin talk
global bitcoin san bitcoin bitcoin trojan car bitcoin bitcoin json hashrate bitcoin hacker bitcoin ethereum перспективы bitcoin fees bitcoin widget arbitrage bitcoin bitcoin значок tether chvrches кошелек ethereum продам bitcoin