What Are Cryptocoins?
How cryptocurrency works, where to buy it, and which ones to consider
by Brad Stephenson
Updated on August 25, 2019
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Cryptocurrency
What Are Bitcoins?
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Cryptocoins, also called cryptocurrency or crypto, is a form of digital currency powered by blockchain technology. Cryptocoins do not have a physical, real-world equivalent. No physical coins represent cryptocurrency value, although some replicas have been made for promotional purposes or as a visualization tool. Cryptocoins are purely digital.
Bitcoin is the most popular example of a cryptocurrency but there are many more such as Litecoin and Ethereum that are made to rival it or be used in competing markets.
How Many Crypto Currencies Are There?
Hundreds of cryptocurrencies have been created since the debut of Bitcoin in 2009. Some of these have spun-off of the Bitcoin blockchain such as Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold. Others use the same technology as Bitcoin such as Litecoin, and many more are based on Ethereum or use their own unique programming language.
Like traditional fiat currencies (currency not backed by a physical commodity), some cryptocurrencies are more valuable and practical than others and most have a very limited use case. Given that anyone can create a cryptocurrency, it's likely that most will remain niche while only a few popular cryptocoins will achieve mass adoption through mining or investments and go mainstream.
What's The Most Popular Cryptocoin?
The No. 1 cryptocurrency by ownership, price, and usability is undoubtedly Bitcoin. Bitcoin's popularity is mostly a result of it being the first cryptocoin on the market and its unmistakable brand identity. Everyone's heard of Bitcoin and very few people can name another cryptocurrency. Many online and offline stores accept Bitcoin and it's also accessible via the growing number of Bitcoin ATMs popping up in major cities around the globe.
Major rivals to Bitcoin include coins such as Litecoin, Ethereum, Monero, and Dash while smaller cryptocurrencies like Ripple and OmiseGo also have the potential for larger adoption in the future due to their backing by major financial institutions.
Bitcoin spin-off currencies such as Bitcoin Cash (BCash) and Bitcoin Gold can get a lot of buzz online and their prices can appear impressive but it's unclear if they will have any true lasting power due to the growing perception of these coins as cheap imitations of the main Bitcoin blockchain.
Despite using the Bitcoin name, these coins are very much separate currencies from the main one even though they use similar technology. New investors are often tricked into buying BCash, thinking it's the same as Bitcoin when it's not.
You might wonder: what guarantees that everyone sticks to one chain of blocks? How can we be sure that there doesn’t exist a subset of miners who will decide to create their own chain of blocks?new cryptocurrency This is not the case with bitcoin. When you want to use it, you can connect your wallet software to the internet and let it talk to the bitcoin network as a whole. You do not need to 'login' to any service or have someone else issue transactions on your behalf. Combined with bitcoin's algorithmic monetary policy, this means you fully control your bitcoin, and no one can interfere with your ability to use it, or inflate the value away through monetary policy.взлом bitcoin bitcoin grafik nicehash bitcoin bitcoin co ферма bitcoin bitcoin income bitcoin развод 'Imagine a book where you write down everything you spend money on each day,' says Buchi Okoro, CEO and co-founder of African cryptocurrency exchange Quidax. 'Each page is similar to a block, and the entire book, a group of pages, is a blockchain.'pursued by governments worldwide.More recently, ETH has become valuable to users of financial apps on Ethereum. That's because you can use ETH as collateral for crypto loans, or as a payment system.miningpoolhub ethereum