Advertisements for cryptocurrency have been popping up just about everywhere, whether it’s on social media, cable TV, or the naming rights for arenas. The concept of crypto is divisive, with proponents claiming that it’s the revolutionary future of finance and others seeing it as a kind of get-rich-quick scheme with a massive environmental footprint.
Despite its ubiquity, cryptocurrency remains a confusing and mysterious realm. It’s worth understanding just what all of the terms floating around actually mean. There are a few definitions and concepts that are important to grasp before diving into the world of crypto, so before we go full steam ahead, let’s go through some of those:
Cryptocurrency
At its most basic, crypto is a digital or virtual currency. Many of these currencies, particularly the ones that are getting a lot of attention, are not issued by any central authority. The decentralization of these currencies, in theory, means that governments can not interfere with or manipulate them.
There are thousands of cryptocurrencies in circulation, the most popular and widely known is Bitcoin, which was introduced in 2008 and made available to the public in 2009. To acquire cryptocurrency, they can either be purchased from cryptocurrency exchanges (i.e. bought and paid for with regular currency) or mined.
Mining
This is where it gets a little bit complicated. Cryptocurrencies are not physical items, so it can be a bit hard to fully comprehend the idea of…
