Cryptocurrency has grown in popularity at an
unprecedented rate over the past few years, but that doesn’t mean that everyone
knows everything about it—especially if you’re new to the game. There are still
plenty of secrets buried deep within crypto that have yet to be
unearthed—secrets that will change how we see crypto and blockchain technology
forever. Here are some of the most mind-blowing secrets about cryptocurrency
that you didn’t know yet!
Crypto is one of the biggest buzzwords in the business
world today and with good reason. The technology behind crypto has
revolutionized banking and the way we handle money, and it’s just getting
started! This guide will share 10 secret things you didn’t know about bitcoin
and crypto. Read on to learn more about this emerging technology, including
what its impact will be on the future of business, how you can invest in it,
and how to use it to your advantage in everyday life!
From the Founding Father of Cryptocurrency to a Criminal
Bitcoin is not the most popular cryptocurrency in the world,
but it's undoubtedly the best known. It was founded in 2009 by an anonymous
person or group called Satoshi Nakamoto, who envisioned a new digital cash
system that would allow people to buy goods and services without using
traditional currencies. The original idea behind bitcoin was to create a
currency that could be traded anonymously on the internet, without any
government oversight or interference. But as bitcoin became more popular, so
did its value, which led to scams and hacks - as well as tales of ordinary
people who've become millionaires through their investments.
what is a cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency is a form of
digital money created with encryption techniques that regulate how much can be
produced and how transactions can take place. Cryptocurrencies have no central
bank, like the Federal Reserve Bank for dollars or Bank of England for pounds;
nor do they have physical coinage like euro coins from European Central Banks.
The decentralized technology makes it difficult for governments to intervene
should the market crash, such as happened when Japan's Mt. Gox exchange
collapsed in 2014 following reported hacking incidents leading to bankruptcy
proceedings.
Satoshi Nakamoto - Bitcoin's founder, could he still be alive?
The world's best-known cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was created
in 2008 by a person or group that went by the name Satoshi Nakamoto. The
identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is unknown. There have been many theories about
who he is or if he still lives. Some people speculate that his pseudonym may
refer to British mathematician Alan Turing. Others say that if Satoshi were
alive today, he would be worth over $6 billion USD! One thing is for sure - we
will never know for sure who created bitcoin, but whoever it was must have been
extremely talented. One day in November 2017, someone found out that a
billionaire lived just two miles away from them. A blogger bought their
groceries for one week to get close to this billionaire. What they discovered
when they got there was shocking: nobody knew where the billionaire lived!
Nobody except for an old man at a gas station who told them the location.
The Whitepaper that Started it All
Bitcoin was created in 2009 by an unknown individual or group
of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. All we know about him is that he
left a whitepaper which outlined the concepts behind bitcoin, and he
disappeared soon after.
The whitepaper has some facts about how bitcoin works, how
it will work when it's successful, the scope of its potential use cases, and
why you should buy bitcoin if you have any interest in crypto.
Here are some top tips for crypto investing:
-Diversify your portfolio to prevent losses in bad times
-Keep your crypto off exchanges to protect yourself from
hacks
-Research what you're buying so you know what it is worth
today
-Do not invest more than you can afford to lose
-Choose coins with strong fundamentals like market cap,
volume and community engagement
-Learn all you can before trading, so you don't regret
decisions later on
-Be patient with crypto. It takes time before markets
respond to new events
-Never invest without doing research first because that
might make you lose money
OKX Review: A Great Way to Trade Crypto
Cryptocurrency Was Created as Money but Now it Isn’t
Bitcoin was created in 2009 as a peer-to-peer electronic
cash system, but many people now use it more like a store of value or an
investment instrument. There are also other cryptocurrencies that can be used
as money, including Litecoin, Ethereum, Monero, and Dash. Cryptopunks are the
creators of digital coins that issue proofs of work for the new coins they
create to reward miners who validate transactions on their networks. They are
often very idealistic about their digital currency creation efforts. The
Digital Currency Foundation was founded in 2012 to support the development of
digital currencies and related technologies with an emphasis on education,
access, research and innovation. In early 2013, one bitcoin traded at $20 USD
and by November 2017, one bitcoin traded at $5,000 USD. However, bitcoin’s
price is volatile. For example:
On March 8th 2018, the price dropped by nearly 20% from
around $8200 USD down to around $6600 USD
During February 2018 the price fluctuated between a high of
over $19700 USD and a low of under $6000USD On December 13th 2017 bitcoin
reached its all time high before crashing in January 2018 when prices fell
below 10K dollars
Hackers Have Broken into Exchanges to Steal Millions in Crypto
The latest of these exchanges was Hacking Team, an
Italian-based company that sells surveillance technology to governments. The
breach resulted in the theft of €12 million ($13 million) worth of
cryptocurrency, reportedly including bitcoin, Ether, and other nfts.
The company has been the subject of several hacks in recent
years which were thought to have compromised their networks on six different
occasions. This latest breach was not only successful but also incredibly
quick; it reportedly took less than four hours from initial attack until the
hackers made their way out with their loot. It is estimated that over $1
billion has been stolen by thieves since the beginning of 2018.
Even Governments Are Getting Into The Space
You may have heard that the price of Bitcoin has been on a
downward spiral lately. But what you might not know is that this is actually a
good thing for crypto in general, as it will lead to new innovations and more
diverse use cases for the digital currency. In fact, even governments are
getting into the space! For example, Venezuela just announced plans to launch
their own cryptocurrency called Petro. This coin is backed by oil, gas and
diamonds from the country's natural resources. And many other countries around
the world are also exploring ways to jump into the crypto game. However, there
are some who believe that centralized entities should stay out of cryptos
because they're never going to be able to successfully compete with
decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
It all boils down to what your goals and values are when it
comes to cryptocurrencies. If your goal is to maximize profit potential, then
investing in bitcoin or other coins is probably best. If you want maximum
security (and freedom), then investing in a wallet like Exodus might be better
suited for you--it can store over 80 different types of digital assets such as
bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Monero.
There is a 'Silver' and 'Gold' Standard for Cryptocurrency Values - But Which One Will Win?
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are three of the most popular
forms of cryptocurrency. They all have different values but they all seem to
trade at a ratio that is within a few hundred dollars of each other. So what
makes these three currencies so similar in value?
One theory is that there is a silver and gold standard for
cryptocurrency values. This means that the value of gold can dictate how much
silver or any other type of metal should be worth, as well as how much paper
currency should be worth in relation to one ounce of gold. The same idea goes
for crypto-currency - with Bitcoin being the equivalent to gold and Ethereum
being like silver. But this begs the question: which one will win? We'll find
out soon enough.
How To Prepare For A Cryptocurrency Crash (It's Coming)
The cryptocurrency market is still new, and the technology
is still being developed. Inevitably, there will be ups and downs in the
market. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to prepare for when it
happens.
1) Put some of your investment into other cryptocurrencies
so that if one falls out of favor, you have another to invest in.
2) Keep track of your investments using a spreadsheet like
Excel so you can see how much is making money or losing money over time.
3) Take advantage of stop loss orders with your broker so
that if the price starts to fall, they'll automatically sell at a certain point
to minimize losses.
4) Consider whether you want to buy cryptocurrency as an
asset, an investment vehicle, or just because you want to buy something with
it. If crypto isn't your primary goal then don't invest more than 5% of your
portfolio in crypto.
5) Understand what volatility means and why it's important.
Volatility means that prices go up and down rapidly which means that you could
lose everything from one day to the next without any warning signs (also called
bear markets).
6) Keep reading about crypto news so that you know what's
going on and understand how things work before investing too heavily in
anything.
7) Don’t panic!
Blockchain Technology Is Being Applied to Industries Beyond Currency & Finance
One more thing you didn't know about crypto: it's not just
about currencies anymore. The blockchain technology that makes cryptocurrency
possible is being applied to a variety of industries, from medical records to
voting systems. Though bitcoin will likely never become a major player in the
stock market, some experts believe that its blockchain technology could
revolutionize how we buy and sell shares of companies on the stock exchange.
Possibly one of the most exciting applications for blockchain technology is as
an election system. A company called Follow My Vote was formed by a group of
individuals with backgrounds in information security and online anonymity, who
were dissatisfied with the current voting process which they believed to be
outdated.
This group decided to use their knowledge to design a better
voting process by developing an end-to-end verifiable system that would allow
for anonymous digital votes recorded on individual voter’s mobile devices. They
call this new invention liquid democracy.
The innovation behind liquid democracy is that voters can
delegate their vote securely through cryptography so they are free to vote for
others based on their particular areas of interest or expertise. Voters can
also revoke any delegated votes at any time should they choose.
Has been put under a microscope
Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has been put under
a microscope with respect to its validity in recent months. The currency's
market cap currently stands at $390 billion, which is a far cry from its
all-time high of nearly $1 trillion. But the market has come a long way since
it was founded in 2009 by an unknown individual or group that goes by the alias
Satoshi Nakamoto.
What began as something of an experiment in decentralized
money has evolved into one of the most powerful tools for global finance we've
ever seen. As it turns out, the first person to purchase anything using bitcoin
was actually someone named Laszlo Hanyecz who spent 10,000 BTC (at today's
value that would be worth more than $25 million) on two pizzas in 2010. Since
then, many other individuals have tried their hand at predicting what bitcoin
will be worth down the line. Some people believe bitcoin will eventually reach
a value of $500k per coin while others predict it'll be worth nothing - but
only time will tell!
Since the introduction of Bitcoin in 2008,
cryptocurrencies have taken over the financial world, and people’s lives around
the globe. Cryptocurrencies seem to be replacing fiat currency at an astounding
rate, but are still little-known to mainstream society. As cryptocurrency
continues to grow in popularity, more and more people will come to know about
them. Many people don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to Bitcoin and
other cryptocurrencies.