Cryptocurrency, bitcoin, blockchain, all of these terms may feel overwhelming. They may evenfeel scary. But cryptocurrency goes beyond cryptocurrency (I know, it seems like a paradox).Cryptocurrency is not limited to just a single topic. It can integrate with old systems and createnew structures, completely revolutionizing how society functions. One thing cryptocurrency cangive us is freedom from centralized banking systems that control the world's economy.What is cryptocurrency?Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies you can use to buy goods and services. They use anonline ledger with strong cryptography to secure virtual transactions. Most users of theseunregulated currencies trade for profit, with speculators driving prices skyward sometimes.Unlike fiat money (currencies declared by a government to be legal tender), cryptocurrencies arenot controlled by a central authority and exist only as data on a distributed ledger. Earlycryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin were created through a process called mining.Mining involves creating blocks of data or groups of transactions that cannot be altered ordeleted once added to the blockchain public ledger. Miners receive Bitcoin to solve thesecomplex equations and record the transactions onto their ledgers.The number of Bitcoin is limited. Thus, it's challenging to produce more than 21 million coinsthrough mining—the total number available. That means that Bitcoin's value increases asdemand grows.Cryptocurrency vs. blockchainA cryptocurrency is a digital asset you can use to perform financial transactions. Think of it asmoney, only instead of carrying around a greenback, you carry around a little code stored onyour phone or in the cloud somewhere.Although cryptocurrencies are a subset of digital currencies, not all digital currencies arecryptocurrencies. A digital currency is simply any currency you can use to buy and sell goodselectronically (instead of using physical bills).Virtual currency like World of Warcraft gold may fall under this definition. But, it doesn't qualifyto be a cryptocurrency because it doesn't have its blockchain—the technology that underpinsmost cryptocurrencies—and therefore isn't decentralized.
