There is a lot of interest these days around the idea of cryptocurrencies. It is an exciting new direction that money has taken worldwide. If you take all the hype an overwhelming amounts of information and reduce it down to a simple definition, it boils down to being a series of limited entries in a database that can’t be changed or manipulated without meeting specific conditions; it seems so ordinary when explained like this, but this really is exactly how a currency can be defined, in more detail, a crypto transaction has the following properties. If you’re among the many wondering where can I buy Bitcoin, it would be wise to understand the properties of cryptocurrencies first.
Transactions Are Irreversible and Anonymous
After the transaction has been confirmed, it cannot be reversed under any circumstances by anybody at all. You can’t reverse it, your bank can’t, your country’s President can’t and nor can the miner who has processed the transactión. The accounts and transactions are not connected to a real-world identity. You receive cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, on “addresses” which are chains of around 30 characters. It is usually possible to see the transaction flow, but not necessarily to track the real-world identity of the users of those addresses.
Transactions Are Fast, International And Secure
Transactions are almost instant and are usually confirmed within a few minutes. Since a global network of computers is utilized to process it, it does not matter where in the world you are. Transactions will take the same amount of time, whether you are sending the crypto locally or internationally. To fully grasp how digital currencies work, you should also fathom blockchain technology as this is the computing system that the currencies are built from.
Cryptocurrencies make use of a private key system to secure one’s “address”. The owner of the private keys are the only ones with access and can control their funds with it. Strong cryptography makes a bitcoin address more secure than Fort Knox!
Transactions are Permissionless
You don’t need permission to use cryptocurrencies. It is basically just a type of software that you can download for free. After you have installed your wallet, you can send and receive Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies very easily. There are no gatekeepers and no one can stop you from doing it
It’s the Dawn of a New Economy
While cryptocurrencies are still quite new and are notoriously unstable in terms of price, crypto is definitely gaining ground and will gradually have their usage normalized through mainstream integration over the next few years.
The crypto market is still crazy and wild. Every day new ones emerge, only to be swallowed up. It’s still a massive gamble as some get very rich and can equally lose everything. Every cryptocurrency comes with its own promises and proposed real-world solutions, but most don’t even survive their first year and are enthusiastically “pumped and dumped” by speculators. It is still a rough and dirty world out there, but that doesn’t change the fact that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. They are already changing the world enormously and many are looking to crypto to protect themselves against the devaluation of their local currencies.