In a world where everything’s gone digital, cash and money, in general, have been left behind. Even considering the widespread use of credit cards and online transfers, we still expect physical money to exist somewhere – whether that’s a bank or a wallet. Cryptocurrencies aim to change these antiquated notions of third parties and physical cash by not existing anywhere but in a digital database called a “blockchain”

In its simplest form, a cryptocurrency allows users to transfer money almost instantly, with cheap transaction fees and no third parties involved. Over the years, many cryptocurrencies have moved beyond this core component and built platforms that allow users to transfer anything from money to real-life assets such as cars and real estate, all using the blockchain technology introduced by bitcoin.

The crypto part in the name “cryptocurrency” comes from the fact that transactions – the act of transferring assets such as currency and digital or real-life assets between a sender and a recipient – are encrypted for security, a process known as “cryptography”. Cryptography is used for three reasons:

1. To protect transactions from being tampered with

2.  To protect the identity of parties acting in a transaction

3.  To enable the creation of new coins via the mining process

intro to Cryptocurrency