Crypto Currency: The New Wave or The New Fad?
Recently there has been a lot of discussion about cryptocurrency and the rising encouragement to invest into a popular form of cryptocurrency called bitcoin. There is a lot of speculation on the legitimacy of cryptocurrency and the safety in investing and utilizing cryptocurrency as an accepted tender to exchange for goods and services. It is the believed hope of many that cryptocurrency will eventually become the replacement of our current currency that is in place. Like myself, there are many people who are skeptical about cryptocurrency and its validity.
As with any investment decision, to whom much given much is required. In this sense the famous quote means: to really make a sound investment you must do your research and make your choice to invest from there. Here we will be igniting the fire to discover more information on cryptocurrency to understand what it is all about to stay ahead of the curve as much as possible! The first question that we need to answer is:
WHAT is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is simply translated as the digital encryption (crypto) of a system of money (currency). Through this methodology, we are transferring and exchanging monetary value through a digital channel that allows that value to be received quicker without any additional fees added.
What is bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency that has become the most popularly known format. Although bitcoin is the most popular format of cryptocurrency, there are also multiple other cryptocurrencies that you can invest in to utilize known as altcoins. When using any cryptocurrency it is import to research them and read the “White papers” that are provided to know the purpose for the coin type that is intended by the inventing coder.
How is cryptocurrency different from our current currency system?
Cryptocurrency does not have a central location for all of the financial information that is kept for an individual like our current regulatory system which has a central location for financial information that is regulated by banks and government. Without a central location for the financial information, cryptocurrency is less susceptible to being hacked. Each user of cryptocurrency has access to a ledger that keeps track of the movement of the value. There is a set amount of bitcoins amounting to 21 million that cannot be exceeded. The inability to be exceeded helps prevent hyperinflation and sets a value for each bitcoin. Despite there being a set amount of bitcoins, the value of the bitcoin has been steadily growing thus giving investors in the currency a fast-growing return on their initial amount invested.
Where can Bitcoins be found?
Currently there is no widely used exchange set in place where the cryptocurrency to convert local currency into cryptocurrency. The most widely used application to obtain bitcoins in the US is Coinbase. Through Coinbase an individual can invest in bitcoins to convert local currency into bitcoins. The bitcoins can again be converted into altcoins of your choosing through this medium for cryptocurrency.
Are there any other places to find cryptocurrency?
Although Coinbase is a widely used application to obtain cryptocurrency it only has four currencies: Bitcoin, BitcoinCash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. As previously mentioned, there are many emerging forms of altcoins - other exchanges to trade more complex altcoins include: Binance, Poloniex, Hitbtc, Kucoin, and Huobi.
I’m intrigued by Cryptocurrency... What should I do now?
If you are strongly interested in cryptocurrency investments you should do the following:
1. Research the benefits of cryptocurrency and decide if the benefits appeal to the way that you wish to invest your money.
2. Research information about the different types of cryptocurrency that are available for investment.
3. Choose the cryptocurrency that works best for you.
4. Invest an amount in that you are able and willing to risk for the investment.
5. Be patient while your money grows while being steadfast through any fluctuations in value that may occur.
For more information please see any of the below resources:
Documentary:
Banking on Bitcoin was extremely helpful in understanding cryptocurrency. It can be found on Netflix.
YouTube:
How I got Rich off Bitcoin- Cryptocurrency for Beginners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atvJwwec_2A&t=2s
Resources provided by Shameless Maya via the above reference video:
7 Steps Beginners Guide for Crypto: http://bit.ly/7steps4beginners
Don't understand terms? Look them up here: https://decryptionary.com/
Bitcoin is like the internet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0qn3...
View all the cryptocurrencies on the market and their price: https://coinmarketcap.com
How to exchange your crypto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9oAG...
Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/co...
Quora:
https://www.quora.com/topic/Cryptocur...
Medium:
https://medium.com/topic/cryptocurrency
Articles:
https://www.bitcoinmining.com/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/e...
Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t...