Cryptocurrency Guide For Beginners|Most Popular Cryptocurrencies
“Cryptocurrency – A part of the global economy”. The digital development in every field done appreciable work. And the most promising addition is virtual money called the cryptocurrency. Due to this money investment and transfer is going paperless. Bitcoin is the most famous and first form of virtual money.
Bitcoin is just an example other than this, there is a virtual currency list. Which consists of many more names. Let’s get the brief of cryptocurrencies and examples of some more digital currencies.
Table of Content
- What is Cryptocurrency
- History of Cryptocurrency
- What is Blockchain Technology
- What is a Cryptocurrency mining
- Crypto Mining Requirements
- How Can We Found Cryptocurrency
- What is the Cryptocurrency wallet
- Types of Cryptocurrency wallet
- Best Cryptocurrency Wallet
- Most Popular Cryptocurrency
Let’s begin with the first topic-
1. What is Cryptocurrency
meaning of a cryptocurrency is, the digital or virtual currency produced to serve as a means of exchange. However, for security and verification purposes it applies cryptography. Cryptography also helps to control the production of new units of a distinct cryptocurrency.
Let’s talk about the history of Cryptocurrency.
2. History of Cryptocurrency
Double spending is always the main issue of any payment method. It is a corrupt way of killing the same amount of money twice. The traditional solution of the problem is, select the third party assign as a central server – that keeps records of the balances and transactions. This process always requires an authority basically in control of your funds and with all your personal details on hand.
Before bitcoins, there are a few attempts are done to create an Internet currency. The hunt for cryptocurrencies is started in 1983 by the American cryptographer called David Chaum. David Chaum invented an unknown Cryptographic electronic money called e-cash. After that in 1995, he performed it through Digicash.
Digicash is an early form of cryptographic electronic payments. which needs software in order to withdraw money from the bank and designate specially encrypted keys before it can be transferred to a receiver. This makes the digital currencies untraceable by the issuing bank, government or any third party.
In 1996 a paper is published by NSA with the title How to make a mint? The mint cryptographic of anonymous electronic cash describes a Cryptocurrency system. This paper is published in an MIT mailing list and Later in 1997 in The American Law Review.
In 2009 the first decentralized cryptocurrency is created known as Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto a pseudonymous developer.SHA-256, the cryptographic hash function is used to develop bitcoin as it is a proof-of-work scheme.
Another fact about the cryptocurrency is blockchain. Before we introduce with other visual currency read about blockchain first.
3. What is Blockchain Technology
To remove the third parties from the system DLT(distributed ledger technology) technology is used. Mostly used DLT is Blockchain technology.
Basically, blockchain technology is a database of each transaction that has ever occurred using distinct cryptocurrency. Blocks- the groups of information are added to the database one by one and make a long list. So the blockchain is the linear chain of blocks filled with transaction information.
This information can be deleted or changed but stays in blockchain infinitely and everyone can see it. The whole database is saved on a network of computers called nodes. The condition of adding more information to a blockchain is, more than half of the nodes agree that it is valid and correct.
The process is known as consensus and this makes the difference between cryptocurrency and bank. In normal banks transaction data is stored in the bank and bank staff makes sure that no invalid transaction is done.
Another term which is connected to the virtual money is cryptocurrency mining. Let’s see the definition
4. What is a Cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency is not just a term but a process playing an important role in the transaction of several forms of virtual currencies. The crypto-coin mining verifies and adds the transaction information in blockchain digital ledger. It’s a growing topic and activity. For other cryptocurrencies, the term is improvised accordingly like Bitcoin mining and altcoin mining.
In other words, the digital currency miners are responsible for assuring the integrity of every cryptocurrency transaction. The mining process involves a competition with others and itself also to solve complex and confusing mathematical issues with the cryptographic hash feature interlinked with a block containing transaction information.
Well, cryptominning produces a little amount of income more probably one to two Doller per day for the person using their own dedicated computer hardware. the revenue is also impacted by the cost and expense done on electricity, internet connection, and computing hardware.
5. Crypto Mining Requirements
To continue with digital money you must fulfill the Crypto mining requirement. Like dedicated computer hardware with a technoscientific GPU(graphical processing unit) chip or ASIC(Application-specific integrated circuit), sufficient cooling for hardware, internet connection and last but not the least, a reliable cryptocurrency mining software packages and membership in cryptocurrency exchange also in a mining pool.
The digital currency market is really competitive. After the involvement of enterprises and different organization which is more accessible than an individual, they start leading the others.
Now you are quite aware of what cryptocurrency mining is! We can assume your next question and that is from where you can get this digital currency. Read further to get the answer.
6. How Can We Found Cryptocurrency
You can obtain a cryptocurrency by different methods. The places you find cryptocurrencies are enlisted below
- Cryptocurrency ATMs
- Cryptocurrency exchanges
- peer-to-peer exchanges (Cryptocurrency P2P)
- Cryptocurrency software
Which platform you select is depends on plenty of factors. Like
- you are able to buy preferred cryptocurrency or not
- You just want to switch the cryptos
- The time and money you can spend
The purchase in cryptocurrencies is assured by the wallets. Here comes the Cryptocurrency wallet.
7. What is the Cryptocurrency wallet
YouAs you decided to buy a cryptocurrency you need a cryptocurrency wallet too. This wallet is work as a public and private key and these digital keys authenticate that it’s you who is buying the digital currencies and connects you to the blockchain.
8. Types of Cryptocurrency wallet
YouHere are the types of crypto wallets. See the list given below to get an idea.
The selection of wallet depends on the factor that it supports your crypto and safest to use. Among the above list, the hardware and paper wallets are safest ever. Let’s discuss every wallet one by one-
8.1. Desktop wallet
The cryptocurrency wallet downloaded on a specific laptop or computer is specified as desktop wallets. They are only accessed from the same system. So you can say it is a combination of availability and accessibility. So you can access your wallet when your device is available to you. It’s quite secure but beware of hackers. If a hacker gets remote access on a computer or device can also access your desktop wallet.
8.2. Mobile Wallet
The mobile wallet is a way to connect your desktop wallet to your mobile phone. Mobile wallets allow you to access your cryptocurrency wallet by downloading a mobile app. And after this, you can spend your digital currency on the physical store too by scanning a QR code. Mobile wallets are better than the desktop wallet.
8.3. Web or Online Wallet
Online wallets more convenient than other crypto wallets available because you can access this from anywhere and from any system. Also the least secure cryptocurrency wallet because of the wallet provider holds the control over and your digital money is stored on a central server. So, our advice is to keep less money in your online or web wallet.
8.4. Paper Wallet
The paper wallet is comparatively more secure than other cryptocurrency wallets. This is so because you print your public and private keys onto a piece of paper, that stays to you only. The security of funds is also justified by the fact that the keys are not connected to any system or server. So the only way to access the paper wallet is the keys and the QR code that is with you on a piece of paper.
8.5. Hardware Wallet
“Hardware wallet- Most secure Cryptocurrency wallet”. It’s is a device that securely holds all your public and private crypto keys in the hardware, which is never connected to any internet. The hardware wallet is completely controlled by the user.
Whenever you want to transfer your funds you can connect your hardware wallet to the internet. However, you access your device through your private keys, which makes it risk-free also.
Here we discuss the types of crypto wallets now we move on to the best crypto wallet.
9. Best Cryptocurrency Wallet
As we are aware that the internet currencies are not registered in any country’s law. So you must be careful while selecting a wallet for the digital currency. because a wrong wallet drives you to lose money. Hence, take your time while selecting a wallet for your virtual money.
To help you out in this we have illustrated a few crypto wallets. Select the best for you.
Let’s start with top-ranking crypto wallets-
9.1. Ledger Nano S Wallet
It is an especially design USB sized hardware wallet For the cryptocurrency. As I have mentioned before, the hardware wallets are the most secure wallet for the cryptocurrency. So, it’s worth to spend money to buy Ledge Nano S. It is one of the best hardware wallets and highly ranked as well.
However, You don’t need a computer system to plug and use the wallet. The LCD small screen in the Ledge Nano S device is enough to operate your wallet easily. You can easily proceed with a transaction and exchange your virtual money.
The small things are easy to hide from everyone
As Ledge Nano S is small so it’s easy to hide and secure as well from thieves and hackers. If any case it happens you can get a backup and block the thief before he accesses your cryptocurrency account.
Furthermore, the wallet supports almost all cryptocurrencies and enables you to save multiple digital currencies at the same time in the same wallet. Ledge S Nano provides you PIN code lock in your wallet. And it also gives you easy and quick backup and restoration.
The next cryptocurrency wallet is Ledger Blue-
9.2. Ledger Blue Wallet
Ledger Blue is also and hardware wallet by the same brand but this is smarter than Ledger Nano S. Its bigger in size with many new features. Which you may not observe in other crypto wallets.
As it complete in the feature, looks, and specification that’s why it’s cost highest than other wallets and its worth to pay. Because it’s giving a complete security feature with a touchscreen display, Bluetooth, and USD connectivity.
It has a similar size as of an iPad. And if you are looking for the advance crypto wallet then this the option. Because Ledger Blue gives an onboarding option to control the wallet, easy backup on a few clicks and don’t forget touchscreen display, Bluetooth, and USD connectivity.
Furthermore, the security feature of Ledge Blue is based on that dual chip architectural technology. It is also integrated with firmware to protect your digital money. The Ledge Blue is malware-proof which makes it completely secure from viruses and hacking.
Set your own 4-8 digit pin password to lock your wallet.
That’s all in a cryptocurrency wallet. In the next portion of the content, we will talk about the most popular cryptocurrency in all over the world.
Now, the next is Coinpayments-
9.3. Coinpayments Wallet
It is a web or online wallet. The reason for its popularity is, It allowed a thousand plus cryptocurrencies to be stored in their online wallet account. Coinpayments will charge only when you transfer cryptocurrency from one place to another otherwise it’s free.
Coinpayments has visibility in the market and hundreds of online stores now accept the payment from this online wallet. So, the biggest advantage of Coinpayments is you can use your digital currency from the Coinpayments wallet to buy things from online stores despite you spend your crypto coin in trading.
Comparatively, the chances of hacking are more in online wallets then the other wallets. To fix this Coinpayments has integrated BitGo to provide secure access to their users in an online wallet. This also fastens the payment speed, especially for bitcoins.
The complementary thing with Coinpayments is it has a mobile app too. So, it acts as a mobile wallet too in all major OS. It is a multi-currency wallet. So you don’t need to create and operate different wallets for different currencies.
Moreover, to provide complete security to your digital money Coinpayments added a vault feature also. The vault feature adds difficulties in digital money processing and sets the least amount in the account for withdrawal.
9.4. Edge Wallet
The latest in the cryptocurrency wallets is Edge wallet, launched in February 2018 by Airbitz. In 2014, the company launched this wallet, particularly for bitcoin. However, due to security issues the company leads to re-branded this and launched in 2018 with the new technologies.
In the latest Edge wallet, the new technology is added called Spaceshift which makes it easy for the user to store, send receive, and exchange digital currencies within the wallet.
It is very easy to create and use a crypto wallet account in Edge wallet. You just need to provide a few details like username, password, and pin. In any case, you lost the wallet account you can easily restore it. And it allows the easy transaction of cryptocurrency after logging without going in deep verification.
Like other discussed crypto wallets Edge also provides multi-currency support. The wallet comes with the latest blockchain which offers support the upcoming digital currencies.
The currencies it supports are Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ripple XRP, LiteCoin, Augur, Wings, and Matryx. But on observing the competition it offers support for future cryptocurrency.
The most important thing about any Crypto wallet is its security terms. Well, Edge wallet offers authentication and the recovery code to restore the wallet. So it’s much secure. And there is another condition in security terms is that the wallet should use to keep a small amount of money.
9.5. Exodus Wallet
Exodus is also an offline web-base wallet. If you need a digital currency wallet that has graphics features and reporting system then the Exodus is the best choice. It is an advance web-base wallet that has an exclusive design.
The transaction of digital currency through the Exodus wallet is fast because it not requires multi-step verification and identification to operate your wallet. So, you can exchange your cryptocurrencies in one click.
Another advantage of Exodus wallet is it allows to keep multi-currency and other digital assets in your wallet without paying any extra subscription.
As Exodus is an offline wallet you can create your own digital currency wallet through the website. So, it clearly states that the information and data of your cryptocurrency will remain in your system only not on any other server.
9.6. Jaxx Wallet
Jaxx is a mobile-based wallet but it works in Windows and systems also with the same extent. This is not designed solely for the Cryptocurrencies but also to store digital assets securely. So Jaxx can operate multiple digital assets at a time without any limit.
There is a fact in the past that you lose your mobile and your mobile wallet too. But now the security feature modifies enough to secure your mobile wallet. If any case you lose your mobile or lose your mobile wallet you can get your digital assets in another account.
However, when you create the private key for your digital account that will not save on any server but on your mobile device wallet. This secures your private keys from Jaxx also. So your money is in the secure wallet. Jaxx is an easy and fast running digital currency mobile wallet. It has exclusive designs on dozens of features.
10. Most Popular Cryptocurrency
It’s been a long time since the first cryptocurrency launched. After that so, many other digital currencies has launched. Here we discuss the most popular cryptocurrencies which are active as digital currencies.
Let’s start with the first- Bitcoins
10.1. Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency that exists electronically and allows to sent payments directly to one person to another without the involvement of a financial institution. The network records the occurrence of any transaction by making them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof of work. And this can change only on recreating the proof of work.
Bitcoin is launched in 2009 as an open source software. It is decentralized implying it doesn’t have a central issuing authority or political institute that controls the amount of Bitcoin in circulation. But it doesn’t mean it’s illegal.
The transactions track by blockchain known as the largest ledger. This ledger stores details of every bitcoin transaction. Every block of blockchain records data based on encrypted Merkle Trees. Means if any one of the blocks gets corrupt then the whole chain will alter.
Another fact about bitcoin is, rather depending on the government to print new currency bitcoins blockchain programming handles it on his own.
The current data is there are 21 million bitcoins out of which 17 million are circulation and 4 million are not circulating. As there is no government involvement in bitcoin regulation so, it’s obvious the supply controls by design.
There are many cryptocurrency wallets that are famous for Bitcoin. Let’s see the best bitcoin wallet-
Best Bitcoin Wallets
- Coinbase is one of the famous and can be an overall player for a bitcoin cryptocurrency. It gives you easy transactions. You can connect your U.S bank account and transfer dollars to and from your Coinbase wallet.
- Trezor is famous in security terms and it is a hardware wallet. It is a physical device that you need to connect to your computer, tablet, or phone to access your wallet. Trezor provides some sort of protection against lost password and devices.
- Electrum is a desktop wallet. So all your bitcoin files will save in your laptop or personal computer. Currently, an electrum is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android.
- Blockchain.info is an online wallet. But you can’t buy directly through this.
- Mycelium is a mobile wallet and supports Android and iPhone too. It’s a perfect wallet for those who use their phones as the primary screen.
All the bitcoin wallets help you to sell and buy the coins from the same platform. Another Cryptocurrency is Litecoin.
10.2. Litecoin
Litecoin is an open-source, global payment network that is fully decentralize and also a peer to peer digital currency. It enables on an instant, near zero cost payments to anyone in the world. Mathematics guards the network and enables the individual to their own investments.
The first release of Litecoin is in 2011 by Charlie Lee(A Google employee and former Engineering Director at Coinbase). It emphasis’s faster transaction authentication time and enhanced storage ability than the leading math-based currency.
With abundant industry support, trade volume and liquidity, Litecoin is a proven parallel medium of commerce as of Bitcoin. And it has 84 millions of Litecoin in circulation which 4 times of bitcoin.
Litecoin confirms the transaction at a faster rate than the Bitcoin. Due to which it curves the fraud called ‘double-spending’. However, Bitcoin uses the SHA256 hashing algorithm and Litecoin uses the script hashing algorithm.
For the sell and purchase of a Litecoin wallet. Here we have the best Litecoin wallets for you: Ledger Nano S, Trezor, Guarda, Jaxx, Exodus, LoafWallet, Electrum LTC, LiteAddress, LiteVault, Litecoin Core.
10.3. Ripple (XRP)
Ripple is an instant global settlement network that offers low-cost international payments. The launch of Ripple is in 2012. And after the launch, banks are able to settle cross-border payments in real time in affordable cost and end-end transparency.
Ripple does not require mining and this makes it different and unique from other cryptocurrencies. As off- ripple doesn’t require mining it saves the computing power and minimizes network latency.
For the money, the Best Rippel wallets are: Ledger Nano S, Toast Wallet, Exarpy
10.4. Ethereum
Ethereum is also a decentralized application that is based on blockchain technology. Like other cryptocurrencies, this is also an open source software platform. Its launch date is July 30, 2015, with 72 million coins. It features smart contract scripting.
The smart contract is the computer code that facilitates the exchange of money, shares, property, content or anything that values money.
The technical difference between Ethereum is, extensively in purpose and abilities. Bitcoin works solely on blockchain technology while Ethereum blockchain centers on running the programming code of any decentralized application.
Another difference is crypto mining, bitcoin blockchain uses the Cryptocurrency mining process to get coins while in Ethereum miners work to earn Ether(a type of crypto token).
The best Ethereum wallets are- Ledger Nano S, TREZOR, Metamask, Mist Wallet, Exodus, MyEtherWallet, TrustWallet, BRD wallet, Jaxx Wallet.
10.5. EOS
EOS design to support decentralize applications by providing all the needful gist functionalities and enables the businesses to create the blockchain applications on a commercial scale. Its token name is EOS.
The launch of the entire plan of EOS is on June 1, 2018. It has notable tech designs like DPoS(Delegated Proof of Stake) consensus, zero transaction fees, 100,000+ TPS( Transaction Process System), the ability to alter codes, etc..
The best EOS wallet in use is- Infinito EOS Wallet, GreyMass EOS Voter Wallet, Guarda EOS Wallet, SimplEOS Wallet, Scatter EOS Wallet, imToken Wallet.
That’s all!
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