?? Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and the blockchain are all terms that we stumble across in every social platform today. At first glance, it all might seem confusing and even unnecessary - but ever since the investment boom during the first lockdown it continues to establish itself as something more than a new whim. Rather than that, it's an evolution of finance that is here to stay and not to be underestimated. So what do those terms mean and why are they significant? ?? In simple words, cryptocurrency (or crypto) is a digital currency that is priced on a certain value determined by demand, supply and availability. It doesn’t have a physical form - it consists of data units stored in an online database called Blockchain.com. The most popular and currently valued example of a cryptocurrency is the Bitcoin (BTC), upon the foundation of which the Blockchain was invented. Following it, other cryptocurrencies emerged on the same basis such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and more. ?? The safety of the cryptocurrency is guaranteed by the principle of the blockchain. The blockchain is a decentralized public ledger. It serves as a record of every transaction, so every time someone makes a transaction, the whole data on the blockchain is re-written, adding a new “block” to the “chain”. All of these blocks are stored in chronological order, making it impossible to steal or duplicate a unit of the currency. Once a transaction is completed, the sequence of the blockchain is updated on the public network, available for everyone with an Internet connection to see.? ?? The blockchain is the safest form of transaction there is today, even more so than online banking. The reason for this is that the data - and therefore, the cryptocurrency - isn’t stored in a single location like it would be in a bank transfer. Instead, it’s held across a distributed network and available globally. Hypothetically, the blockchain could be hacked if every one of those global networks would be hacked at the same time - which is, in practise, nearly impossible. ?? Interested in this kind of content? Part 2 coming soon! Join our group Amaris Netherlands - Network Group for Med-Tech/High-Tech to get the latest updates: https://lnkd.in/eGepTnw CC Image: Unsplash #cryptocurrency #crypto #bitcoin #ethereum #ripple #btc #eth #xrp #clockchain #cybersecurity #data #technology #hightech #innovation #development #decentralizeddata #decentralization #future #finance
