Almost everyone adores cryptocurrency, but only a few dare to invest. When El Salvador became the first country to permit consumers to use cryptocurrency in all transactions, several crypto investors thought it would soon get a legal tag in their respective countries. However, to their surprise, not many other countries followed El Salvador’s footsteps, which deeply saddened crypto investors.
Now, looking at the current happenings around the world, we can say that the future of crypto entirely depends on how much time developed and developing countries take to legalize these currencies officially. The risk involved around the investment in cryptos, such as the risk of money laundering and terror funding, worries every country, and that’s why it is taking forever to legalize.
We can’t predict the future, but we can always work on our present. Thus, investing in a volatile market of cryptocurrencies could be a risk at the time, but if you invest in it systematically by working on implementing proper strategies at the right time, you might not believe it, but you could have a chance to get the benefits from it in the coming years.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin (BTC)
Market Capitalization – $880 billion
Value of 1 Bitcoin in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹30,92,870.31
Bitcoin was created in 2008 by someone under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and over the years, it became one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world. It was designed originally as a medium of exchange, but now it is primarily viewed as a store of value.
Ethereum (ETH)
Market Capitalization – $375 billion
Value of 1 Ethereum in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹2,29,731.28
Ethereum was founded by programmer Vitalik Buterin in 2013 along with a few additional founders, including Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Joseph Lubin. Ethereum is a programmable blockchain that finds applications in various areas, such as DeFi, smart contracts, and NFTs.
Tether (USDT)
Market Capitalization – $79 billion
Value of 1 Tether in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹76.44
Tether is a stablecoin, and it’s backed by fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars and the Euro. Due to its non-volatile nature, Tether is preferred by many investors. Tether tokens are issued by the Hong Kong-based company Tether Limited, and the owners of Bitfinex control it.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Market Capitalization – $68 billion
Value of 1 Binance Coin in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹31,384.25
The Binance Coin is a form of cryptocurrency which can be traded or exchanged for other forms of cryptocurrency, such as Ethereum or Bitcoin. Binance offers relatively secure options to invest in and trade cryptocurrencies. It is expected to climb up to the maximum price of $14,800 by December 2030.
Solana (SOL)
Market Capitalization – $45 billion
Value of 1 Solana Coin in Indian Rupee (as of 21st April 2022) – ₹8,293.88
Solana was developed in 2017 by a former executive at Qualcomm, Anatoly Yakovenko, with the current Solana board member and COO Raj Gokal. The native token ‘SOL’ powers the platform, and the coin hit its all-time high of $260.06 in November 2021 but since then it’s struggling somewhere around $100.
As we all know that the usage of cryptocurrencies continues to expand around the world, several countries have identified themselves as pioneers in adoption.
Well, COVID-19 dominated 2020, and several countries were suppressed by the repercussions of the ongoing pandemic. Conversely, the cryptocurrency space witnessed a year of revival that saw decentralized finance becoming a major element, while Bitcoin (BTC) eventually exceeded its previous record. Singapore has paved the way for cryptocurrency moving and blockchain acceptance in 2021.
Singapore
Singapore has developed as a platform for crypto exchange, companies, and blockchain industries in Asian countries. Let’s understand the way Singapore is utilizing the benefits of adopting blockchain across different verticals.
Aviation Industry
Singapore is recognized to be the first country to start utilizing the value of blockchain in the aviation sector. Blockchain technology can provide access to up-to-date and confirmed information of departures, arrivals, delays across all stakeholders involved in airline travel, like airline crew, employees, ground service crew, and passengers. Singaporean Airlines has transformed its payments and rewards program using blockchain for its digital wallet.
Food Industry
Not only aviation but also the food industry, According to the WHO (World Health Organization) estimates, about 1 in 10 people fall ill each year by eating contaminated food.
The implementation of Blockchain technology for the food sector does provide producers and consumers with more validated information on food supplies, where they originated, and much more. Intellectual Property Intermediary (IPI) in Singapore, developed under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, is already operating on a blockade.
Implementing blockchain in the global food industry will provide vendors with more knowledge regarding food products, including where or for how long, boosting traceability and growing consumer confidence. The use of blockchain would reduce food contamination while still bolstering health and safety regulations.
Supply Chain
The blockchain-based supply chain facilitates the automated monitoring of information on products such as incorporation data, storage temperatures, batch numbers, and shipment. Looking at recent technologies including RFID tagging, blockchain may be an incredible opportunity for every sector that works to grow transparency and accountability via the business supply chain.
SmartCode, the DLT Ledgers Blockchain platform, offers an end-to-end traceability record in an automatically auditable, immutable, and safe way. It has been designed in such a way each product can be clear about its origin and validity, using precise software algorithms to help mitigate product manipulation.
Education Industry
Another field that can benefit from the use of blockchain is the Education sector. Through using smart contracts, institutions, as well as business owners, can rapidly, safely, and inexpensively verify skills. The use of blockchain will enable students to include complete leverage over their academic education by providing versatile access to data and recommended programs based on past qualifications and rankings.
There is no question that the higher education system in the city-state wants to identify the opportunities delivered by blockchain. Last year, the National University of Singapore (NUS) stated that it is collaborating with IBM to establish a curriculum for blockchain and distributed ledger technology.
It is also the first educational institution in Singapore to use blockchain technology to verify the validity of the NP diploma.
Government
From taxes to welfare transfers, voting, and health record management, the Blockchain administration is now used by global governments to improve different actions. Singapore will soon be following an example like Georgia. It reported that the Singapore government could use blockchain technology to do the following things:
Verify vendor track records on Singapore Government’s one-stop e-procurement portal
Track the career of the public officer
Enhance or substitute the audit process
The Singapore customs authority has introduced a national trading platform (NTP) for blockchain technology. It is expected that this platform will be used to connect enterprises, community networks, channels, and government organizations.
With distributed ledger technology, the program has analyzed inter-bank transfers and is now used to determine the effects of using tokens as a digital Singapore dollar. If blockchain-based payments are successful, they may lead to rapid settlements in finance, notably for cross-border business.
Looking at this it can be well inferred that India too can make endeavors in the field of blockchain.
The emphasis placed on the terms of “token” and “account” used by the cryptocurrency community and central banking community as mentioned above aims to capture the different ways in which these terms are used by different people about different concepts. Recognition of these terms can help identify areas of misalignment and create problems in the legal framework and supervisory system of digital currencies and so-called tokenized financial markets.
The term is part of an industry phenomenon known as tokenization, which transforms real assets into digital tokens. Security brands have been under discussion for some time, and at least one company wants to put them to the test. In the case of securities tokens, trading assets such as stocks and fixed-income securities are converted into digital assets using blockchain technology, the virtual book of activities that consists of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Are security tokens a novel form of assets?
securities tokens and tokenized securities are often mixed up in the new age of blockchain, but it is imperative to understand them not as separate concepts, but about each other. Security brands, in particular, are a form of digital assets that, like cryptocurrencies, act as a value transfer tool while maintaining regulatory protection for traditional securities. Security marks are programmable crypto assets that enjoy the regulatory protection associated with traditional securities. Tokenised securities function in the same way as traditional off-chain securities, except that they are stored and sold on an exchange or blockchain network. Simply put, tokenized securities are digital representations of traditional securities to expand their market reach and increase market liquidity.
Are tokens different from coins?
Blockchain tokens are valuable but are not considered money like crypto coins. Many crypto projects issue their tokens as a representation of an asset or as use-value. They give these tokens to their investors through public sales called ICO (Initial Coin Offering).
Blockchains allow tokens to be used in the community to vote on important business decisions or technical changes to the platform, giving them more functionality than traditional crypto coins. When we talk about tokens and cryptocurrencies, we should not associate the value of these tokens with public systems, such as Ethereum, which wants to introduce new smart contracts defined by tokens without explicit use or transaction value. For this purpose, the creation of tokens can be used to detect the difference between security tokens and tokens. Security marks are created for investment, while utility marks can be created to finance an ICO or create an internal economy on a project as a blockchain. An ICO (or OST offer) is made to sell digital tokens to the general public on a cryptocurrency exchange. The main difference that stands out is the fact that ICO tokens are offered as actual coins, which are digital and classified by utility value. With an ICO token, a new ICO currency is generated ad infinitum. An ICOs value is speculative and results from the perceived utility value that the buyer expects from him.
A better balance can be found in securities brands that are digital, liquid contracts for a fraction of an asset (e.g. A house, a car, a paint job, a company’s equity, etc.). Security brands are a natural bridge between the traditional financial sector and blockchain and benefit from both. The securities token ideas, which are based on partial ownership of real assets, are well structured, meaning that investors can expect their ownership share to remain on the blockchain register.
Although tokenized assets are a promising use case for blockchain technology, there are still some major regulatory hurdles. It is unclear whether ownership of blockchain-linked tokens remains unclear, and the terms may not have legal status.
A boom of startups
A few years ago, innovations in financial markets began to spark discussions about digital tokens and the tokenization of financial assets. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) played an important role in arousing interest in the cryptocurrency market. Startups in the cryptocurrency market produce coins or tokens that are offered to investors by an initial coin offering (ICO) in exchange for legal money or digital currency. Start-ups sell their shares to investors in an initial public offering. While IPOs trade directly with investors, ICOs trade through crowdfunding with eager supporters of their projects.
Elon Musk claims how Bitcoin can be used to purchase Tesla.
Musk had previously tweeted that Tesla had purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the electric car can now be bought with Bitcoin, after his open support of the cryptocurrency. Tesla is the very first big automotive manufacturer to allow cryptocurrency payments, according to the announcement.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has revealed that the electric vehicle can now be purchased with Bitcoin, following his public support for the digital currency. According to the announcement, Tesla is the world’s largest car company will acknowledge cryptocurrency payments.
Musk had previously tweeted that Tesla had purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Tesla said in a filing that the decision to put nearly 8% of its assets into bitcoin was part of a larger financial strategy aimed at transforming and optimizing yields on money that included gold holdings.
According to Coin Press, in early February, Musk, a strong supporter of Bitcoin, had rallied for a cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, which reached an all-time high of $0.065448, rising about six times with its 24hr lowest of $0.048356. Conversely, the cost of the meme cryptocurrency fell more before rising back to a boost of about 25%. Musk said on February 14 there is “too much focus” among significant Dogecoin holders, and that if they sell any of their coins, he would help them. Likewise, this same bitcoin price sank over 18% in a two-day sell-off throughout February, pushing the biggest cryptocurrency below
$50,000.
Musk has regularly tweeted about Bitcoin, recently adding the hashtag “#Bitcoin” to his Twitter profile, which has now been removed. By not converting all the BTC to USD or fiat currency, Tesla sets a benchmark for cryptocurrency standards. Tesla’s decision to pursue payments in bitcoin for all of its automobiles and to keep the bitcoin itself on financial statements instead of converting it all to dollars is likely to influence bitcoin’s popularity. Tesla
and other companies are proving that cryptocurrency is here to stay, and commercial affirmation can only grow.
Musk said at the time that he was worried about the environmental impact of bitcoin, which requires an enormous amount of energy to mine. But the environmental problems surrounding bitcoin have been known for years and cynics would likely conclude Musk is merely trying to manipulate the price of bitcoin. But Musk seems to have been prepared to answer that charge, making a curious assertion during the live stream, claiming he doesn’t try to get the price of bitcoin to ever plunge.
“If I was purely financially motivated then, I would not express this reticence about bitcoin energy usage,” Musk said later during the conversation while sounding extremely defensive.Where does that leave Tesla and when will the company start accepting bitcoin again? Your guess is as good as ours. But we definitely predicted Musk’s swing back to the pro-bitcoin camp.
Cryptocurrencies are one of the most long-lasted trending topics in the world; from Mike Tyson, who saw the future of cryptocurrency even before it was in trend, to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, many celebrities backed the digital currency, which influences millions of people to invest in the cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ethereum are two of the most popular cryptocurrencies globally, and their trading is legalized in many developed countries, including Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia and a number of European countries.
The Background:
Everyone who invests or wishes to invest in stocks or cryptocurrencies is aware of its unpredictable nature. Recently, Bitcoin and a few other popular cryptocurrencies encountered a dramatic pullback in the market. The flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin confronted the highest low ($30000 at one point) in the last three months, and Ethereum drained to below $2,000 at one point.
The dramatic collapse created a buzz in the online trading world with negative headlines and raised concern over the future of cryptocurrencies. The future of digital currencies is uncertain, but only if you invest blindly and only if you’re looking for immediate returns. It is currently dealing with the struggling phase because the whole world hasn’t accepted it, but it’ll surely go up when it does.
India and China cover about 35% of the world population; amongst them, more than 50% population predominantly includes young tech-savvy investors who are more flexible to crypto savings. Several countries have already begun real-world trials of their digital coins. So, the day is not far when these two countries legalize crypto, which will ultimately surge the value of digital currencies.
The Latest Move by the Indian Government:
The Indian investment in cryptocurrencies was around $923 million until April 2020, which spiked up dramatically to $6.6 billion (close to INR 50,000 crores) until May 2021. India is currently ranked at number 11 out of 154 nations, who have adopted and invested in cryptocurrencies. However, digital currency is not sanctioned officially by the Indian government yet. According to recent reports, the Reserve Bank of India is planning to introduce its own digital currency dubbed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The latest initiative by the RBI might open the gate for the trading of cryptocurrencies in India, but it will take years for final approval, and till then, a large sum of the population would not dare to invest. Still, if you’re looking to invest in crypto and looking for better currencies that will last longer and benefit you after 20-25 years, here’s a list of top cryptocurrencies with the best future.
1. Bitcoin:
Currency Symbol:₿
Market Capitalization: Over $750 billion
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, which works without a central bank or single administrator, and runs on a blockchain system distributed across a network of thousands of computers. Bitcoin or BTC is referred to as the original cryptocurrency, and it was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, a fictitious or pseudonym name of the founder whose identity is still unknown to the world.
Bitcoin is a computer file stored in a digital wallet app on a smartphone or computer. It is executed as a chain of blocks, which keeps it secure and safe from fraudsters. Each block contains a hash of the previous block up to the genesis block of the chain. Bitcoin has struggled over the last couple of months, falling about 50% from its peak, but still, today, one Bitcoin is valued at $40k (₹29,80,000).
Glancing at the current status and dramatic downfall of Bitcoin, it might look like investing in digital currency is no longer a good choice. However, if you’re a keen observer of the cryptocurrencies, you’ll notice the price is still up from where it began its parade in late 2020. If you’re looking for a handsome profit through your investment in Bitcoin, you should learn how to keep yourself patient and forget your investment for the next 10-15 years.
According to recent predictions by cryptocurrency experts, bitcoin will overtake the US dollar as the predominant form of global finance by the year 2050, and the value of one Bitcoin will strike $65,000 by the end of 2021 and will overtake the US dollar with the value of $1,50,000 by the end of 2025.
2. Ethereum:
Currency Symbol:Ξ
Market Capitalization: Over $268 billion
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain and distributed computing platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications. The smart contract functionality of the platform helps in automatic execution when conditions are met along with non-fungible tokens. Ethereum was co-founded by Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood in 2015, and ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform.
Ethereum has experienced a tremendous level of growth; it had started its journey at just $11 and reached over $2,500 in just five years. One Ethereum is currently valued at around $2,300k (₹1,70,000), which seems far away from the current value of one Bitcoin. Ethereum blocks do verification approximately every 12 seconds, whereas Bitcoin does the same every 10 minutes.
When Bitcoin faced a global crackdown, several other cryptocurrencies proved themselves to be a new contender for a top position in the crypto world, and Ethereum was one of them, who grabbed a lot of praise and attention. According to the latest predictions by investment banking company Goldman Sachs, Ethereum could soon make the cryptocurrency the dominant digital store in the world, and it could overtake Bitcoin in the coming years.
The investment banking company also mentioned that gold would remain the first choice for investors despite the conflict between top cryptocurrencies. Ethereum grew over 900% over the past year, while Bitcoin only managed to jump 275%; still, Bitcoin is way ahead of its close rival, Ethereum. Surpassing Bitcoin won’t be an easy game, but looking at the innovation and developer interest, some experts also believe Ethereum might surpass Bitcoin in the near future.
3. Tether:
Currency Symbol:₮
Market Capitalization: Over $61 billion
Tether is the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market value, and it is rumoured to be backed by fiat currencies like U.S. dollars and the Euro. Ordinary people haven’t heard of it, but it is considerably popular amongst crypto traders who often use tether to buy cryptocurrencies due to its stable nature.
Tether is referred to as stablecoin because it was initially designed always to be worth $1.00, and that’s why the currency is more favoured by the investors who are cautious of the extreme volatility of other coins. The stablecoin is controlled by the owners of Bitfinex, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange.
Along with these three cryptocurrencies, there are more than 10,000 different cryptocurrencies globally, including some of the popular currencies like Binance Coin, Cardano, Dogecoin, XRP and USD Coin. All of these cryptocurrencies hold a total value of more than $1.3 trillion till 28th July 2021, after falling from a career-high of $2.2 trillion in April.
To buy bitcoins, you have to exchange your assets. The assets used in exchange for bitcoin can be cash, gold, or any other tangible form of income or other digital currencies. This chain of exchanging things in place of Bitcoins begins with the give and take rule. You give something that is equivalent to Bitcoin and then gets Bitcoin in your wallet. Both Bitcoin seller and buyer need a cost-effective and secure exchange that is quick to set up and admits different funding sources.
In 2021 some of the places are identified that are suitable for the cryptocurrency exchange. These are Coinbase, eToro, Robinhood, CoinMama, BlockFi, and Bisq. But there are certain limitations associated with these exchange providers. You have to examine and decide the place which suits your requirements.
Coinbase is a platform for exchanging more than 50 currencies. When you are a beginner and don’t know much about Bitcoin, always start with Coinbase exchange. It demands a reasonable fee from beginners. This type of exchange is most secure and verified by 56 million users. It helps you to track the records efficiently. You can store your data offline. San Francisco laid the foundation of this system. Fees for buying the coins vary according to client needs.
For debit cards, the payment method is expensive. So people might look at other places for their cryptocurrency exchange.
One of the platforms from where you can buy your Bitcoin is eToro. eToro allows their clients to check their services for free. Testing will not use virtual money. They use your virtual money only if you are willing to use their services after a free trial. This simple platform is easy to understand and use. This platform utilizes a copy trader system. eToro deals with 18 currencies.
Another platform used for Bitcoin exchange is Robinhood. Though this platform deals with a limited number of currencies, it is an easy-to-use platform. Bitcoin users can buy or sell a commission-free cryptocurrency. That means you don’t need to pay any amount to this platform to buy your Bitcoin. This platform can be used as a side account as well for your Bitcoin.
CoinMama platform enables quick exchange of Bitcoin. Clients can buy Bitcoins with just a few clicks. You must have a wallet if you want immediate delivery of coins. After successful verification of the account clients creates for buying Bitcoins, they place the order. CoinMama verifies the fees by debit cards or credit cards and sends Bitcoins to the client’s account within seconds. Instant delivery of coins is costly. It deals with limited currency exchange but offers you a variety of payment options.
If you have just started to learn about Bitcoin, buying and investing in this electronic currency may seem a little complicated. Bitcoin has grown in popularity among today’s buyers over the previous few years. During this time, there has been a lot of discussion regarding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—people in favor of Bitcoin claim that they are the future of finance and investing, while detractors argue that they are a hazardous investment option with low returns.
Here are the basic steps you need to follow to get started with bitcoin –
Become a member of a Bitcoin exchange
To begin, you’ll need to decide where you’d like to buy Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency exchanges are used by the majority of Bitcoin investors. Because Bitcoin is an open-source technology, there is no official “Bitcoin” corporation, but there are multiple distinct exchanges that facilitate Bitcoin transactions. Like a stock brokerage, these exchanges act as the intermediaries in bitcoin investing.
Some of the most popular exchanges are Coinbase, Binance, Gemini, and Kraken.
Get yourself a Bitcoin wallet.
When you buy a coin, it’s placed in a “wallet,” which holds all of your cryptocurrency. A “hot wallet” or a “cold wallet” are the two sorts of wallets available.
A hot wallet is managed by your bitcoin exchange or a third-party supplier. When you open an account with some exchanges, they will instantly supply you with a hot wallet. Hot wallets are useful in any way because you may access your coins over the internet via a software program. Electrum and mycelium are some popular hot wallets.
The safest way to store your coins is in a cold wallet. A cold wallet is a physical device that saves your coins, typically a portable device that looks like a flash drive. The majority of cold wallets cost around $100. Trezor and Ledger Nano are two popular cold wallets.
If you’re only going to buy a little amount of cryptocurrency, a hot wallet with an insured crypto exchange might suffice. However, if you plan on trading big sums of cryptocurrency, a cold wallet will be well worth your money.
Link Your Wallet to a Financial Institution
You’ll need to link your wallet to your bank account after you’ve received it. You can buy and sell coins using this method. Alternatively, your cryptocurrency exchange account could be linked to your bank account.
Make a Bitcoin purchase
You’re now ready to buy Bitcoin. Everything you need to buy will be available on your bitcoin exchange. The most important question is how much Bitcoin should you buy.
Some coins are worth hundreds of dollars, yet exchanges frequently allow you to acquire fractions of a single coin for a few dollars.
Investing in Bitcoin is extremely dangerous, therefore you should carefully assess your risk tolerance and reassess your investing strategy before making any purchases.
Bitcoin was introduced back in 2009. With the emergence of Bitcoin Exchanges, it became a global phenomenon. Bitcoin is termed as a cryptocurrency or a digital currency that is virtual. It is just like cash but in a virtual sense. It can be used to buy and sell products.
So, what about the different images of the bitcoins that we see on daily basis?
These digital animations are worthless if they are without the codes working in the backchannel for them. If we describe a Bitcoin then in exact terms, there is nothing as a Bitcoin that exists practically, but rather it is simply an agreement between the users of a particular network about the ownership of the coin itself.
If we discuss the subdivision of Bitcoin, then the thousandth part of Bitcoin is called a mill, while if the hundredth millionth part of a Bitcoin is known as Satoshi.
Bitcoins’ origination was unique. In the words of Satoshi Nakamoto, “An electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust.”
Bitcoins depend on the peer to peer cryptography. The global consensus is reached regarding ownership by checking that who owns what in the field of Bitcoins. It is reached through carefully designed cryptography.
Bitcoins are important game-changers, in terms of currencies as they removed the concept of middlemen. Banks were not allowed to be middlemen.
A Bitcoin can be used, to buy anything, a piece of furniture, an Xbox or to even book a hotel for your honeymoon, you name it. The price of Bitcoins skyrocketed in early 2017 due to investments by some of the tech giants.
Bitcoin is the most famous amongst the 5,000 different cryptocurrencies available in the market today. One of the reasons is that it is the oldest and the most established amongst all the currencies. It has investments from some of the biggest tech giants available in the market.
Even though Bitcoin is not accepted as a whole across the globe still, customers and companies, in general, are showing their interest in it. Only last year, a famous online monetary service, Paypal has announced that it will be allowing transactions in Bitcoins.
Bitcoin is thought of as worthy of every penny because, the people have decided its value, just like that of gold. The price of Bitcoins has risen by leaps as it is limited to 21 million coins. So this stops the large flow of the coins in the market. It is gaining importance in the global markets as the payments made through it are cheap and easy as is already discussed. There is no middle man involved in the transactions. These Bitcoins are particularly popular amongst the cottage industries and small businesses as there is no extra fee like that of credit card attached with them.
Most individuals buy these Bitcoins as insurance policies. With the hope that these will be sold, for greater profits. But with the greater profits come the risks. Bitcoins worth millions of dollars were stolen back in 2016 due to a major hack.
Bitcoins can be exchanged, through the medium of various online currency exchanges worldwide. Bitcoin, at the start, was created to send money on the internet. SHA-256 algorithm that is applied in the cryptography of Bitcoins makes it almost impossible to decipher, and hence it removes any possibility of malware involved while handling it.
Much of cryptography in actuality relies on mathematical calculations. The possibility of hacking the Crypto, especially through the current versions of computers, is very difficult. With the arrival of quantum computers, the threat has increased many folds.
The data of all the transactions through Bitcoins in international markets, are gathered every ten minutes and are placed on a single platform that is called Block. They are a permanent part of the blockchain. The blockchain can be also called the account book of Bitcoin.
Despite the drawbacks, that are associated with Bitcoins, it is still the most trusted cryptocurrency. It exists on a public ledger. All the transactions throughout the Bitcoins can be checked. Hence, there is no chance of any reverse transaction or faking one.
One must understand that even though the crypto and specifically Bitcoins are virtual in reality, but to buy, one has to pay in real money. The buyers are always in search of a new bid, to add on to their stock at Bitcoins. With a dream that with time the Bitcoins will provide them with more fortune.
The features like the independence from monetary institutes enable Bitcoin to increase its worth many folds. Most of the customers see Bitcoins, in the short run and, are well aware of the instabilities involved in it. They look for the short-term goals and sell their share at the best possible bid they get their hands on. Most of the investors see Bitcoins, not ideal investments. The only way one can earn is if, someone is willing to pay you more than you already did for buying the currency.
Some of the individuals call this blasphemous as ‘greater fool Theory’. According to which all the buyers of Bitcoins are fools and only one fool benefits another by buying the same currency at even greater rates. The only reason why the people are selling them is that they are well aware of the fact that it is not a long-term investment if they would have seen it worthy enough they would have never tried to sell it altogether.
We have been talking non-stop on bitcoin. So then you might be wondering, “how do I buy bitcoin?” No worries, we have got you covered.
Before you head out to buy bitcoin, you must have a wallet. Not your normal wallet but rather a digital wallet. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency and like any currency, you need a wallet to store your digital money. This digital wallet can be software on your computer, an online wallet, or even store in offline means such as in a USB or paper is written in the form of keys. This method is known as ‘cold storage’ to store your bitcoin. Having a digital wallet stands as an exchange ground for you to buy bitcoin from companies that sell bitcoin in exchange for money.
Once you have set up your digital wallet, the next step is to choose a bitcoin exchange. In technical terms, you will have to register with a ‘fiat-to-crypto exchange. What this means is you need to register with a company that sells bitcoins in exchange for regular money. Such companies usually sell bitcoins in exchange for any government issues money like dollars, euros, etc. The company that you buy bitcoin from usually sells you bitcoin from their private reserves. What this means is that they can charge you a service fee for the amount of bitcoin you buy from them. Coinbase, Gemini, Coinmama are some of the renowned and trusted bitcoin sellers online. When choosing a broker to buy bitcoins from, it is better to opt for a seller that is in your own country as this avoids excess charges and other bank fees that may occur on an overseas exchange. Buying bitcoin from overseas sellers may incur extra charges like foreign transaction fees, currency conversion fees, etc. which further add to the cost of buying bitcoin.
Once you have found the perfect seller or broker to buy bitcoin from, the next step is to register and complete security checks. Different exchange companies or sellers have different details, but you should visit the exchange’s homepage and register through your email in general.
The security checks vary for different bitcoin sellers. Many exchanges ask you for your mobile number or any other verification to allow a two-factor authentication for further safety. The exchange usually involves accepting anti-money laundering terms and other rules that affect the country of exchange. Next, you will be asked for proof of ID.
After the verification procedures are over, the next step is to add a payment method to buy bitcoin. This can include methods like debit or credit card, bank account details, etc. This also makes it easier for you to sell bitcoin in the future and allow transactions directly to your bank account.
Once you have set up your bank account, the next thing to do is deposit money into your exchange account. Once you go through the transaction and finish the payment, the seller will add bitcoin to your exchange account. From here you can transfer this bitcoin to your private digital wallet using your wallet ID. Your digital wallet functions as a bank account but the only difference is it stores your crypto-currency.
We are living in a fast-paced world. People now prefer to get their work done with just a single click. Digital currency is now in demand and is more preferred than cash or tangible form of currency. Which requires a lot of effort to handle, use or transfer to others. Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009. It is also described, as virtual currency or cryptocurrency.
New users can start with Bitcoin before understanding the technical details. But they might face security risks or other difficulties while handling this online version of cash. It is advisable to know the proper working of this currency beforehand.
Blockchain plays a vital role in Bitcoin. What exactly is this blockchain and how are we going to use this for our Bitcoin?
Blockchain is a shared public account of Bitcoin. The entire Bitcoin network relies upon blockchain. Units of blockchain contain the necessary details about every confirmed transaction, including time and date, total value, buyer and seller, and unique codes for the transaction.
The digital chain of blocks follows a chronological fashion.
How Bitcoin works?
A digital wallet stores Bitcoin. Bitcoin is sent from or received in the wallet of users. Blockchain maintains the record of transactions and is not under the control of any organization. The history of the transactions can be traced back, thereby preventing copies or un-doing of the transaction by the sender.
According to Stacey Harris, consultant for Pelican,
“Once a block is added, to the blockchain, it becomes accessible to anyone who wishes to view it, acting as a public ledger of cryptocurrency transactions,”
The public ledger of cryptocurrency might be risky as everyone has easy access to it. It prevents any risk after multiple verifications. The transaction block is added to the blockchain after successful verification by multiple Bitcoin users. Specific codes are generated which are unique to the user’s wallet. The transactions are end to end encrypted by the long random numbered codes. These codes cannot be copied or guessed by the fraudulent agency and make Bitcoin transactions safer.
To protect the holdings, the Bitcoins traders and owners use keys and wallets. Different forms of wallets might be used as QR codes printed on papers, debit cards. Two number key is used, to report the ownership. One number is assigned to the public key that is derived from the private key and contains a username. The other number is for the private key which is a code or password. The public key contains a hash that provides further secure transactions and is displayed on the blockchain.
The sender must know your address before sending you Bitcoins. On the other end, the public key is used, to send Bitcoins to other addresses as well.
This sums up the simple decentralized technology that works on.
