yHere are some details about cryptocurrencies ¹ ² ³:
*What is Cryptocurrency?*
- A cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that doesn't rely on banks to verify transactions.
- It’s a peer-to-peer system that can enable anyone anywhere to send and receive payments.
- Cryptocurrency payments exist purely as digital entries to an online database describing specific transactions.
- When you transfer cryptocurrency funds, the transactions are recorded in a public ledger.
*How Does Cryptocurrency Work?*
- Cryptocurrency uses cryptography to secure transactions.
- It uses a decentralized system to record transactions and issue new units.
- Instead of being physical money carried around and exchanged in the real world, cryptocurrency payments exist purely as digital entries to an online database describing specific transactions.
- When you transfer cryptocurrency funds, the transactions are recorded in a public ledger.
*Types of Cryptocurrency*
- Utility: XRP and ETH are two examples of utility tokens. They serve specific functions on their respective blockchains.
- Transactional: Tokens designed to be used as a payment method. Bitcoin is the most well-known of these.
- Governance: These tokens represent voting or other rights on a blockchain, such as Uniswap.
- Platform: These tokens support applications built to use a blockchain, such as Solana.
- Security tokens: Tokens representing ownership of an asset, such as a stock that has been tokenized (value transferred to the blockchain).
*How to Buy Cryptocurrency*
- If you want to use cryptocurrency to buy products and services, you will need to go to a cryptocurrency exchange.
- These are businesses that allow you to buy or sell cryptocurrencies from other users at the current market price, similar to a stock.
- After buying the coins, you will need to transfer them to a digital wallet or use a third-party service like Coinbase to store your coins.