Blockchain Crypto Currencies Introduction 101

Why Bother Learning Crypto

There are literally thousands of reasons to add Crypto Knowledge to your Repertoire. The biggest reason I can think of is People who are having their entire bank accounts seized and finding themselves at the whims of others without choices. We have a Blog Post by Mike Adams of Natural News.Com who summed it up Perfectly which you can read here.

The Crypto Tipping Point Has Arrived as Corporate Banks SHATTER Public Trust – NaturalNews.com Repost

Basics

Cryptocurrencies (Crypto) are a new form of digital token / money (Bitcoin, Ethereum) which Require a Database / Network (Blockchain) to function in. It uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions, as well as to control the creation of new units of a particular digital currency.

Blockchains (Distributed Ledger Technology) are distributed databases (Many Identical Copies) within a Network (Multiple Computers/Nodes) accessible via the public Internet. The database is the blockchain, and each node (Computer) on a blockchain has access to the whole chain. No one node or computer regulates the information it contains. Every node can validate the records of the blockchain.

Wallets are Online or Offline platforms (Computer Applications w Storage Memory) which facilitate exchange or storage functions for its owner or owners. Wallets consist of a Public Key or Address (18c177926650e55509xs203c300e136f22673b74) for Receiving and a Private Key (String of Random Numbers) for Sending. You can think of a Wallet like a Bank Account and the Public Address Your Routing and Account Number for Deposits Only, The Private Key you use with the Wallet to Send, Make Withdraws or Purchases.

Exchanges are systems that combine functions from different Blockchains/Networks to allow Swaps, Trading and Online Wallets. There are different kinds of exchanges which have different abilities and limitations.

Crypto Currencies

Different types of cryptocurrencies can be classified into the following two groups

Coins are designed to be used as a kind of currency and are created on their own blockchain. For example, Ether is a cryptocurrency based on the Ethereum blockchain.

“Altcoin” refers to any blockchain-based cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin. The term “altcoin” was coined as a shorthand for “alternative to Bitcoin,” and the vast majority of altcoins were created to improve Bitcoin somehow. Namecoin, Peercoin, Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum and USD Coin (USDC) are examples of altcoins.

Some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have a finite number of coins that help to generate demand and reinforce their perceived worth. For example, the maximum supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, as determined by the Bitcoin’s creator(s).

Tokens are built on an existing blockchain but are considered to be programmable assets that enable the formulation and execution of unique smart contracts. Outside of the blockchain network, these contracts can be used to establish ownership of assets. Tokens can be used to represent units of value such as money, coins, digital assets and electricity, and can also be sent and received.

Stablecoins peg their values to various fiat currencies or assets, such as gold. Most often pegged one-to-one with the U.S. dollar, stablecoins give users a way to sell into an asset carrying the same value as a national currency, but one that can still be transacted and stored in a crypto-esque fashion within the ecosystem.

Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are yet another type of cryptocurrency, denoting that it is a one-of-a-kind asset and cannot be replaced. A Bitcoin, for example, is fungible, meaning you can exchange one for another and get precisely the identical thing. However, a one-of-a-kind trade card, on the other hand, cannot be duplicated. You’d get something altogether different if you swapped it for a different card.

Before interacting with any given asset, it may be important to look up the asset’s type and function depending on your goals. Not all digital assets were created for investment purposes.

Bitcoin Blockchain Details

The Bitcoin white paper outlined a set of computational rules that determined a new type of distributed database: the blockchain. The network was launched in January 2009.

The most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is the one for which blockchain technology was created. Like the United States dollar, a cryptocurrency is a digital means of exchange that uses encryption techniques to oversee the establishment of monetary units and verify financial transfers, Without Intermediaries.

The Bitcoin blockchain refers to the data stored in “blocks” of information that are then linked together in a permanent “chain.” A block is a collection of Bitcoin transactions from a specific period. Stacks of blocks are stockpiled on top of each other, with each new block relying on the previous ones. As a result, a chain of blocks is formed, giving rise to the word “blockchain.”

Every time a new block is added, it makes the previous blocks unmodifiable. This ensures that each block is more secure over time, and it is an example of how Bitcoin / Blockchain technology is changing how banking and financial transactions are being completed.

Bitcoin blockchain, however, is much more than cryptocurrency: It is the technology that most cryptocurrencies are built on, including Bitcoin. The Bitcoin blockchain is unique because it ensures that all transactions are accurate. Every action in the blockchain is recorded and there is nothing that is left out of the network. Once an action is recorded and stored in one of the information blocks, it is time-stamped and secured, and the entire record is available to anyone in the system.

The Bitcoin blockchain is also decentralized, meaning it is not stored in one master computer or controlled by one company. It is distributed on many computers that are in the network.

In the Bitcoin blockchain, there are codes called a hash. A hash is unique to each block in the blockchain. Hashing allows every network user to identify each block and directs them to move in the chain since every block has its own hash and a previous block’s hash. Hashes are encrypted mathematical calculations (Algorithm) of the original data.

The critical parts of the blockchain include records, blocks, hash and chain. Block records and transactional records are the two types of records in the blockchain.

A Block contains the most recent Bitcoin transactions that have not yet been recorded in any previous block. Transaction records include the asset, price and ownership data that are recorded, approved and settled across all nodes in seconds.

A Hash is a fixed-length string generated after transforming any length of input data in the blockchain network, a block is similar to a page in a ledger or record book and a chain refers to blocks linked together in a network.

Blockchain Visualizer