Bitcoin ethereum and cryptocurrency an explainer on what they are


Maathru will be giving say, 1 Bitcoin to your friend Ms. Immediately, your audience, the peers who are maintaining records, will note the transaction down and presto! When he wants to transact, he will have to do the same thing.

The Blockchain will have record of every Bitcoin bought and sold. Transacting on the blockchain means that cryptocurrencies are self-regulated. There are no banks, no governments, no agencies who can intervene. This is the first warning sign for everyone looking to make quick money with cryptocurrencies.

If something happens to your money, there is literally no one you can complain or write angry letters to. Apart from the fact that there is no government authority to protect your interests, there have been reports of people having trouble redeeming the Bitcoins they invested and converting them into money as well.

Write to us with your queries at rupeerani thenewsminute. Skip to main content. Wondering what cryptocurrencies are and how bitcoins work? With the increasing interest in cryptocurrencies and the lack of clarity among first-time investors, many people have fallen prey to scammers. Lavanya Mohan Follow lavsmohan Wednesday, January 31, - I received many emails from the wonderful women who read this column, who wanted to learn about cryptocurrency, how to protect themselves while investing in cryptocurrency and whether investing in them is worth the effort, so without further ado: A cryptocurrency is a currency like the rupee or the euro that is regulated using cryptography.

Cryptography is the science of converting information into gibberish using a cipher or a key. Unless you have this key, you cannot translate the gibberish back into information. There are many cryptocurrencies available for investment right now. Bitcoin is perhaps the most popular and the most powerful cryptocurrency in the world, and it comes in wallets that each require a unique key which will open the wallet to reveal the Bitcoin that you have in your name. This information about the number of Bitcoins you own is stored on the Bitcoin Blockchain.

The creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, also put a cap on the number of Bitcoins that can exist, so there will never be more than 21 Million Bitcoin in the world at any point in time. When you transact with Bitcoin, the transaction takes place over the BlockChain. Blockchains are managed by peer-to-peer networks. You go up to the mike, announce that you, Ms. Maathru will be giving say, 1 Bitcoin to your friend Ms. Immediately, your audience, the peers who are maintaining records, will note the transaction down and presto!

When he wants to transact, he will have to do the same thing.