cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are changing the finance industry by enabling services that are decentralized, secure, and transparent.
So, let us proceed through these major points about the subject:
First, consider that cryptocurrencies are exchanged using peer-to-peer servers. A person's software client requests transactions to be performed by the P2P network. Transactions are without intermediaries.
Even governance of the cryptocurrency projects can be conducted without intermederies. The cryptocurrencies are used when voting upon governance proposals. See DAOs.
So the first major theme is decentralized and with a tip of the hat to all the developers and business entrepreneurs who are coding these cryptocurrencies. Each cryptocurrency represents an ecosystems and these emerging communities are combining to disrupting established businesses.
The second major theme is faster and cheaper. We are a few decades into the Information Age and it is hard to send and receive funds which are digital to begin with. Cryptocurrencies enable faster and cheaper transfers of funds.
Third, the transactions of cryptocurrencies are transparent. This is where we look at the technology of the blockchain. The idea is that once a block is added to the chain, it is visible by all clients from the P2P network. The use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology ensures that transactions are recorded on a secure and tamper-proof ledger.
More themes emerge when discussing cryptocurrencies. Consider that cryptocurrencies also have the potential to offer financial services to those who are unbanked or underbanked.
Cryptocurrencies are resulting in the creation of new financial products and services, many of which can be placed in the new field DeFi.
All of these qualities of cryptocurrencies supports that conclusion that this technology represents a major shift from the traditional financial landscape. Cryptocurrencies are offering new solutions.
Granted, there is a learning curve. And the price volatility is an issue. But, the forces of innovation are at play, so this is a technology to watch.
There is a lot of sorting out to do. For starters it would be helpful if we had a method by which we could sort out how to compare one cryptocurrency with another. People use the new field tokenomics to note the important attributes of each cryptocurrency.
For example, one of the critical feature of a given cryptocurrency is its consensus protocol. Another important feature is the size and maturity of a given cryptocurrencies developer ecosystem.
I hope that you have learninb something about cryptocurrencies during this blogpost.
More Information
A popular place to search for cryptocurrencies and the current prices is coinmarketcap and CoinGecko, and FiatLeak.
See also: CoinGecko ATH
See examples of cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, XRP.
Why So Many Cryptocurrencies?
Because they are easy to create.
Watch: "How to create your OWN cryptocurrency in 15 minutes - Programmer explains" by Ivan on Tech.
Important People Who Know About Cryptocurrencies
- Satoshi Nakamoto - pseudonymn of creator of Bitcoin and author of the original Bitcoin whitepaper (The pseudonym could refer to a group of people.)
- David Schwartz - co-creator of the XRP Ledger, CTO at Ripple, and a prolific tweeter at JoelKatz (twitter).
- Vitalik Buterin - creator of Ethereum and co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine.
- Gavin Andresen - lead developer of the Bitcoin Core project and one of the earliest contributors to the Bitcoin project
- Charlie Lee - creator of Litecoin and former director of engineering at Coinbase
- Brock Pierce - early cryptocurrency investor and entrepreneur, known for his work with the Bitcoin Foundation and EOS
- Jed McCaleb - co-founder of Mt. Gox, creator of Ripple and co-founder of Stellar
- Andreas Antonopoulos - author, speaker and educator on Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies
- Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss - early Bitcoin investors and co-founders of the Gemini exchange
- Roger Ver - early Bitcoin investor and entrepreneur, known for his support of Bitcoin Cash
- Nick Szabo - blockchain pioneer and creator of the concept of smart contracts
social-related crypto projects
random links that go in different directions
- crytopanic
- IC3 (The Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts)
- Token Tracker on Etherscan