Cryptocurrency: News

Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual asset that is secured using cryptographic keys. Each unit of a cryptocurrency is uniquely identifiable yet interchangeable. Many cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum are based on Blockchain technology— a distributed ledger system that maintains a crowdsourced record of every transaction. Such networks are maintained using peer-to-peer connections over the internet, just like torrents. Blockchain records are also tamper-proof and irreversible. Interestingly, cryptocurrencies are not issued by a central governing body thereby absolving them of scope for government manipulation and interference. The currency can never be converted into a physical equivalent, although it can be traded in exchange for goods and services offered by merchants. Like regular currency, cryptocurrencies are also subject to fluctuations in value based on demand and supply. The supply is generated by a process called “mining” where computers solve increasingly complex has calculations to match cryptographic keys that then unlock units of the cryptocurrency. Mining is also crowdsourced and records for mined currency are combined with transaction records on the currency’s blockchain. Launched in 2009 by an unknown entity/group named Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin is the world’s first open-source decentralized cryptocurrency.