With the entire US economy going haywire with cryptocurrencies and blockchain, it can feel a little harder to jump in now trying to gauge these buzzwords.

Don’t worry as Agilis World Inc. has got you covered with the basics.
Technology has changed the way of working, communication, making payments, buying online. Let us get acquainted with a new payment system: a cryptocurrency.

What is a cryptocurrency?

To begin with, a cryptocurrency is a type of digital or virtual money. It serves just as ordinary money, such as dollars, pounds, euros, yen, etc. But it has no physical counterparts — banknotes or coins that can be carried around, that is, the cryptocurrency exists only in electronic form.

Simply put, a cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions.

It can be said that Cryptocurrency is virtual money based on software. When you purchase cryptocurrency, you purchase a digital asset based on an algorithm. Unlike centralized currency, which is government controlled, cryptocurrency is decentralized.

Why are cryptocurrencies so popular?

The decentralization of a cryptocurrency is what makes it so popular, besides being one of the most profitable investment options in the market today.

Although cryptos are still not a legal tender in most countries, more and more companies have started accepting cryptocurrency as a valid mode of payment. Cryptocurrency is gaining more popularity each day with new things such as cryptocurrency debit cards popping up in certain places.

Many individuals who are willingly adopting major technological innovations such as blockchain technology see cryptocurrencies as the future of money, undoubtedly giving it the limelight it has got.

Who controls the value of a cryptocurrency?

The value of a cryptocurrency is controlled by the network based on supply and demand. Which means that a cryptocurrency gets its value based on what people are willing to pay for it. Very similar to fine art, or share market, or real estate for that matter; the value of a cryptocurrency will go up or down based on how much demand there is for it.

Is cryptocurrency secure?

The basic aim of a cryptocurrency being to provide security and safety, this system uses end to end encryption to verify the transactions. This system uses high end cryptography technologies, its impossible to counterfeit any transactions. Hence the name, “Crypto-currency”.

However, a cryptocurrency is highly volatile in nature and hence are not considered as a completely safe investment option. Their value could drop significantly at any moment and investors could lose a lot of money.

Which are the most popular cryptocurrencies?

There are currently more than 1600 cryptocurrencies listed on major, middle-sized and specialist exchanges. Since the start of the cryptocurrency phenomenon, the two most popular cryptos have been Bitcoin and Ethereum (Ether). In the last few years, Ripple XRP has cemented its position within the top 3. Ripple XRP even briefly exceeded Ethereum’s market capitalization in September 2018 to become the second most popular cryptocurrency.

In Conclusion

Initially, cryptocurrency was pushed as an alternative to fiat currency based on the premise that it is portable, available globally and an affordable means of executing cross-border transactions. But, other than the digital assets pinned to fiat currencies, the value of cryptocurrencies hasn’t been able to replicate the level of stability needed to function effectively as a medium of exchange.

As a result, most crypto holders have shifted their attention to the investment potential of cryptocurrencies. Investors seem to be more concerned about the possibility that the price of a cryptocurrency may rise sometime in the future than whether they can use cryptocurrencies to purchase goods and services, and so crypto is now predominantly viewed as an investment.

In this blog, Agilis World Inc. has just given you a glimpse of the basics of cryptos. Stay tuned as there’s a lot more value that we need to add to your crypto knowledge in the blogs to follow.