The Surge In Cryptocurrencies’ Popularity – What You Need To Know
TV and online news have recently been flooded with stories about the growing value of Bitcoin; but besides this cryptocurrency, whose surprising growth has been on many people’s minds lately, what is there to discover, and potentially make money with, in this financial sphere?
Cryptocurrencies are, simply put, a kind of money in its purely digital form. Transactions performed with these currencies use cryptography to maximize their security; probably the most prominent feature of cryptocurrencies is their ability to be sent and/or received anonymously without stating any sensitive personal information, in a short period of time and with much lower costs than traditional money. Another advantage and reason for the cryptocurrencies’ growing popularity is how decentralized the whole concept is – there is no need for centralized control over these currencies since their distribution is almost purely digital. This means that neither the government nor any central bank have any authority over this area of the financial sphere. More qualities of cryptocurrencies are their transparency (provided by the blockchain database) and the above-mentioned impenetrability. What many people find the most attractive about this concept is the idea of it working without any kind of mediators, such as banks or credit companies.
The anonymity has, however, recently caused the cryptocurrencies to be used in illegal activities, such as terrorism, blackmailing, kidnapping and other law-breaking acts.
Nowadays, there are hundreds, to be more precise over seven hundred cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin being the leader of this growing trend. Thanks to its surge in popularity, it is possible to buy Bitcoin even in brick-and-mortar or regular online stores, making it even closer to the idea of simply an alternative to traditional currencies as we know them.