The Rise of Digital Currencies: Exploring the World of Bitcoin and Altcoins

Cryptocurrencies, also referred to as digital or virtual currencies, have seen greater attention and recognition in the past few times. The most widely-known cryptocurrency is Bitcoin it was invented in 2009. But since it was created, many other cryptocurrency called altcoins, or alternative currencies have come into existence. They utilize the same cryptographic protocols to Bitcoin however with minor changes and variations.
One of the major advantages of cryptocurrency is that they run in a decentralized system, employing distributed ledger technology known as blockchain. This means there is any central entity, for instance, the government or a bank who regulates or controls the currency. The transactions instead are checked by network nodes using cryptography, and then recorded in a decentralized, public ledger. The decentralization of cryptocurrency makes it resistant to censorship, fraud and interference.
One of the most important characteristics of cryptocurrency is that they’re not issued by a authorities, and more often developed and “mined” by individuals through the process of solving complicated mathematical challenges. This process is extremely resource-intensive and requires powerful machines, which help secure the network and confirm transactions. The number of bitcoins which can be created is restricted to a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins which can ever be mined.
Alongside Bitcoin There are a myriad of altcoins that have been developed with different goals and functions… GO TO THE NEXT PAGE TO CONTINUE…