Cryptocurrencies are
There are many kinds of cryptocurrencies, but they all have the same six things in common.
-
Digital:Cryptocurrency is digital money (or digital currency, it means the same thing). This means that it only
exists in computers. Cryptocurrencies don’t have coins with a picture of a Queen’s head on them or paper notes
with ‘In God We Trust’ written on them either.
-
Peer-to-Peer:Cryptocurrencies are passed from person to person online.
-
Global: There isn’t one cryptocurrency for Spain and another for China (for example). A cryptocurrency is the
same in every country. They can be used freely between countries and across borders.
-
Encrypted: There are no rules about who can use cryptocurrency and what they can use it for. Real names aren’t
used for accounts. Each user is given codes instead. This is where we get the crypto part of the cryptocurrency
definition. Crypto is Latin for hidden. So, cryptocurrency translates as hidden money.
-
Decentralized: In the cryptocurrency world, there are no banks. Everyone is in charge of their own money,
it isn’t kept in a bank. A bank is a center where lots of people keep money. Cryptocurrencies are not managed by a
central server, that’s why we say they are decentralized.
-
Trustless:The way cryptocurrencies are built means that you don’t have to trust anyone in the system in order
for it to work.