Cryptocurrency

Unlike fiat currencies controlled by central governments, cryptocurrencies are digital asset or money governed by open-source decentralized networks that enable a new mechanisms to store, stake, and transfer value effectively. The most well-known cryptocurrency is perhaps bitcoin, which was created around 2009 by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto. Since then, many other cryptocurrencies have been created, with different use cases.

Some of the key features of cryptocurrency:

• Decentralized - no central authority controlling the flow of transactions

• Privacy - no unnecessary personal information required to make transactions

• Security - majority of cryptocurrencies are secured by blockchain technology, which is constantly checked and verified by a big amount of computing power. Additionally, their source code is open publicly, meaning anyone can see and validate the code

• Portability - ability to send cryptocurrencies to any wallet address anywhere in the world, as long as an Internet connection is available

• Transparency - due to the nature of blockchain, transactions are visible publicly for all to see and verify

• Irreversibility - transactions are almost impossible to reverse. We say "almost" because a network fork can reverse transactions, but this would require a consensus among network participants and end-user community