Cryptocurrencies are known as a medium of exchange. They can be traded like cash. Cryptocurrencies can be traded against fiat currencies. Cryptocurrencies are not managed by authorities such as governments and central banks. Cryptocurrencies are generated and maintained in a decentralized network thanks to blockchain technology.
All transactions performed on the blockchain network are stored on the distributed ledger. Each network participant has a copy of the stored data, making it easier and more transparent to track transactions on the network. Keeping information in a distributed manner is essential for security.
Cryptocurrencies enable online money transfers by eliminating intermediaries such as banks or institutions. Blockchain is decentralized and cryptocurrencies are digital assets created on the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies cannot be controlled by central authorities. Any user can buy and sell cryptocurrencies and send money peer-to-peer (P2P). The pioneer of cryptocurrencies is Bitcoin. Bitcoin (BTC) was the first cryptocurrency launched in 2009 as open-source software by a person or persons under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
What Are the Features of Cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies have many features, but the six characteristics expected to be present are as follows:
- Decentralization,
- Transaction and owner registrations,
- Rules for creating new supplies,
- A profile of ownership that only the owner can prove, together with cryptographic techniques,
- The cryptocurrency can only be exchanged at the owner's request,
- In the case of multiple transactions at the same time, only one transaction is executed.
What Are the Most Popular Cryptocurrencies?
Examples of the most popular cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP):
What Is Bitcoin (BTC)?
Bitcoin (BTC) is the first cryptocurrency published in January 2009 with a technical paper. Bitcoin was released as open-source software by a person or persons under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. As an end-to-end electronic payment system, Bitcoin is referred to as a "first-generation blockchain".
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency used for peer-to-peer transfers, eliminating intermediaries. Transactions are verified through cryptography and recorded in the ledger on the blockchain network.
What Is Ethereum (ETH)?
Ethereum (ETH) is a decentralized and open-source blockchain with the ERC-20 standard. Ethereum is known as the largest altcoin. Ethereum was created in late 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, a cryptocurrency researcher and programmer. The cryptocurrency issued on the Ethereum blockchain is called Ether or ETH.
What Is Ripple (XRP)?
Ripple (XRP) is a blockchain that functions as a digital payment network for financial transactions. Ripple is focused on improving the banking system. Ripple integrates a network of independent banks and payment providers with a standardized protocol to enable fast and cost-effective transfers.
What Are the Working Principles of Cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets generated and maintained by blockchain technology. Transactions on the blockchain are publicly viewable and verifiable. Blockchain technology is used in many different areas such as cryptocurrencies, healthcare, government records, supply chains, and privacy.
A distributed ledger is when data is copied and distributed to all computers on the network. Computers on the network are constantly checking the accuracy of transactions on the blockchain, so there is no database that can be hacked or stolen.
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies eliminate the need for centralized intermediaries such as banks, saving people time and avoiding excessive transfer fees. Cryptocurrencies operate on a blockchain network, which means that cryptocurrencies are produced on a decentralized network.
Cryptocurrencies make it possible to transfer money anonymously between two people without the need for an intermediary such as a bank or an institution. Transactions with cryptocurrencies are faster than standard transactions. Transfer transactions in cryptocurrencies are secured by public and private keys.
Cryptocurrencies can be used by malicious people for illegal transactions, money laundering, or illegal buying. Blockchain is secure, but repositories such as exchanges or wallets can be hacked.
What Are the Risks of Cryptocurrencies?
As with any trading instrument, cryptocurrencies come with a number of risks. Some of these risks are as follows:
- User Risks
- Regulatory Risks
- Counterparty Risks
- Governance Risks
- Programming Risks
- Cryptocurrency Transfer Risk
User Risk
In traditional finance, after sending money, the currency transaction can be reversed or canceled, but this is not possible with cryptocurrencies. By some estimates, around a fifth of Bitcoins are inaccessible due to lost passwords or incorrect shipping addresses.
Regulatory Risks
Many governments are still uncertain about how cryptocurrency regulators will regulate their securities, currencies, or both. A sudden regulatory crackdown could make cryptocurrencies harder to sell or cause a market-wide price decline.
Counterparty Risks
Exchanges or other asset custodians are trusted by many investors and traders to store their cryptocurrencies. This can lead to theft by third parties or individuals losing their investments.
Governance Risks
Cryptocurrencies are now widely used, but their regulation is still inconsistent. There has not yet been much action taken against deceptive or unethical governance practices. Many investors have lost large sums of money because their products were not recovered by their management teams.
Programming Risks
Automated smart contracts are used by many investors or lending platforms to monitor and control users' transactions. However, in the event of a bug or attack on these programs, individuals may be at risk of losing their investments.
Cryptocurrency Transfer Risk
Cryptocurrencies are stored in digital wallets. Users are fully responsible for cryptocurrencies transferred to wallets on the blockchain. Users are responsible for incorrect transfers, missing or inaccurate information, entering the wrong amount of the amount, etc. in case of money transfers. Instructions cannot be canceled or reversed after the transactions have taken place.
Tips for Investing Safely with Cryptocurrency
These four tips can help you invest safely in cryptocurrencies.
Do Your Own Research
Before investing in cryptocurrencies, you should first research the exchanges, cryptocurrencies, or companies you want to invest in. Information can be obtained by looking at smart contracts, whitepapers, and reviews. This ensures a safer investment.
Know How to Store Your Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies can be stored on exchanges or in digital wallets. There are different types of digital wallets and each has its own advantages, technical requirements, and security. Just like research for investment, it is also necessary to research where cryptocurrencies will be stored.
Diversify Your Investments
Contrary to popular belief, investing in cryptocurrencies with other cryptocurrencies requires researching other assets. Diversification is known to be a good strategy for investing. For instance, if you only know about Bitcoin, you should be aware of other assets by researching and looking at reviews. It's a more efficient way of investing than sticking to just one of the hundreds of options.
Be Ready for Volatility
Cryptocurrency markets change frequently. For this reason, it's important to be cautious about the rises and falls that can occur. If you are worried about not being able to protect your investment against such changes brought about by volatility, you may need to think carefully about investing in cryptocurrency.
What Are the Cryptocurrency Wallets?
Cryptocurrency wallets are public wallets with private keys that users use to store their digital assets on the blockchain network. Each user has an account ID within these wallets. These identities help users to transfer their digital assets to each other through peer-to-peer (P2P) communication. There are two well-known types of cryptocurrency wallets. These are; hot wallet and cold wallet.
Hot Wallet and Cold Wallet in Cryptocurrencies
Hot Wallet
Cryptocurrency wallets used via the internet are called hot wallets. Hot wallets enable the buying and selling of digital assets and show the number of tokens in the asset account. It is usually known as a mobile or desktop wallet. Hot wallets allow users to access their digital assets quickly and easily. However, compared to offline wallets, hot wallets are riskier against cyberattacks or hacking. In addition, hot wallets are preferred to receive Airdrop for speed and convenience.
Cold Wallet
Cold wallets are digital asset wallets that are not connected to any network and are used offline. Since cold wallets operate without being connected to a network, they are a more reliable option against cyberattacks and hacking. Being a physical device, a cold wallet also has random number generators to generate the private keys inside. Because they are not connected to the internet, cold wallets are not as practical to use as hot wallets. However, the high level of security they provide makes them more preferred by investors, especially long-term ones.
How to Buy Cryptocurrency?
Users can use cryptocurrency trading platforms to own cryptocurrencies. On crypto trading platforms, cryptocurrency transactions are carried out using fiat currencies. These platforms act as an intermediary between users. When the orders placed by users on trading platforms match each other, the cryptocurrency transfer process is completed.
Another way to get cryptocurrency is through mining. Cryptocurrency mining is the process of earning cryptocurrencies in exchange for solving cryptographic math problems through equipped and specialized computers. As the process continues, math problems are solved and blocks on the blockchain are completed and verified. In this way, the records of the transactions are transferred to the blockchain. People who are engaged in cryptocurrency mining are called miners. By performing mining tasks, miners enable the verification of new blockchain transactions and their registration on the chain. Hundreds of thousands of miners compete to solve difficult math problems based on cryptographic hashing algorithms. A list of unverified transactions is generated. The miner who finds the valid and most accurate hash value wins the block reward.
What Is the Cryptocurrency Mining?
Most cryptocurrencies are generated by mining through decentralized computer networks. Miners verify each new transaction on the blockchain and add it to the network, keeping it secure. Depending on internet speed and computer power, people can mine, but these computers consume a lot of energy and are therefore costly.
Cryptocurrency and Volatility
Volatility is also useful for measuring the risks of an investment instrument. If the price of a cryptocurrency changes rapidly over a short period of time, the cryptocurrency has high volatility. If the asset's value changes slowly over a long period of time, the cryptocurrency has low volatility. It can often be observed that if volatility is high, the risk of a sudden price change is high and if volatility is low, the risk of a sudden price change is low.
What Can Be Done with Cryptocurrencies?
There are many fields where cryptocurrencies are used. We can list the following as examples of what can be done:
Shopping: You can shop with cryptocurrencies from more than 8000 global sellers.
Donation: Today, many organizations allow donations with Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies.
Tipping: Some online content creators, writers, musicians, or individuals in businesses where cryptocurrency is used as a payment method can be tipped with cryptocurrencies.
Travel: Cryptocurrencies are not tied to a specific country. Therefore, it is possible to save money on exchange fees for buying foreign currency with cryptocurrencies.
Virtual gaming: In the virtual gaming world, users can buy and sell their own properties, avatar outfits, in-game armor, and weapons, in short, all kinds of items with their cryptocurrencies.
What Is Metatime Coin (MTC)?
Metatime Coin (MTC), created on the MetaChain network, has a limited supply of 10 billion units and is the native cryptocurrency of the MetaChain ecosystem. Metatime Coin (MTC) is designed to be used in all products and transactions developed on the MetaChain network.
Metatime Coin is designed with both transfer and fixed burn formulas, distributed in specific pools to meet the expectations of users for every need. MTC, the local entity of the MetaChain network, plays an important role in the products developed within it.
Metatime has a Tokenomics structure that is designed by considering the valuation structure and future fiction. In this structure, which is designed with investors in mind, the investments provided are guaranteed and maximum profit is ensured.
Metatime ensures the appreciation of Metatime Coin by buying Metatime Coin on a regular basis with its own commissions from all transactions made on MetaExchange and by limiting the supply through MetaChain and MetaExchange.
