1. What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a form of payment that can be exchanged online for goods and services. Many companies have issued their own currencies, often called tokens, and these can be traded specifically for the good or service that the company provides. Think of them as you would arcade tokens or casino chips. You’ll need to exchange real currency for the cryptocurrency to access the good or service.
Cryptocurrencies work using a technology called blockchain. Blockchain is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manages and records transactions. Part of the appeal of this technology is its security.
Back to top
2. How many cryptocurrencies are there? What are they worth?
More than 6,700 different cryptocurrencies are traded publicly, according to CoinMarketCap.com, a market research website. And cryptocurrencies continue to proliferate, raising money through initial coin offerings, or ICOs. The total value of all cryptocurrencies on Jan. 27, 2021, was more than $897.3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, and the total value of all bitcoins, the most popular digital currency, was pegged at about $563.8 billion. (You can check the current price to buy Bitcoin here.)
Best cryptocurrencies by market capitalization
Cryptocurrency
Market Capitalization
Bitcoin
$563.8 billion
Ethereum
$142.9 billion
Tether
$25.2 billion
Polkadot
$13.9 billion
XRP
$11.4 billion
Cardano
$9.7 billion
Chainlink
$8.3 billion
Litecoin
$8.1 billion
Bitcoin Cash
$7 billion
Binance Coin
$6.2 billion
Data current as of Jan. 27, 2021.
>>Learn more: How to invest in Bitcoin
Back to top
3. Why are cryptocurrencies so popular?
Cryptocurrencies appeal to their supporters for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the most popular:
Supporters see cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as the currency of the future and are racing to buy them now, presumably before they become more valuable
Some supporters like the fact that cryptocurrency removes central banks from managing the money supply, since over time these banks tend to reduce the value of money via inflation
Other supporters like the technology behind cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, because it’s a decentralized processing and recording system and can be more secure than traditional payment systems
Some speculators like cryptocurrencies because they’re going up in value and have no interest in the currencies’ long-term acceptance as a way to move money
Back to top
4. Are cryptocurrencies a good investment?
Cryptocurrencies may go up in value, but many investors see them as mere speculations, not real investments. The reason? Just like real currencies, cryptocurrencies generate no cash flow, so for you to profit, someone has to pay more for the currency than you did.
That’s what’s called “the greater fool” theory of investment. Contrast that to a well-managed business, which increases its value over time by growing the profitability and cash flow of the operation.
“
For those who see cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin as the currency of the future, it should be noted that a currency needs stability.”
As NerdWallet writers have noted, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin may not be that safe, and some notable voices in the investment community have advised would-be investors to steer clear of them. Of particular note, legendary investor Warren Buffett compared Bitcoin to paper checks: “It's a very effective way of transmitting money and you can do it anonymously and all that. A check is a way of transmitting money too. Are checks worth a whole lot of money? Just because they can transmit money?"
For those who see cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as the currency of the future, it should be noted that a currency needs stability so that merchants and consumers can determine what a fair price is for goods. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been anything but stable through much of their history. For example, while Bitcoin traded at close to $20,000 in December 2017, its value then dropped to as low as about $3,200 a year later. By December 2020, it was trading at record levels again.
This price volatility creates a conundrum. If bitcoins might be worth a lot more in the future, people are less likely to spend and circulate them today, making them less viable as a currency. Why spend a bitcoin when it could be worth three times the value next year?
In simpler words, the digital ledger is like a Google spreadsheet shared among numerous computers in a network, in which, the transactional records are stored based on actual purchases. The fascinating angle is that anybody can see the data, but they can’t corrupt it.bitcoin доходность bitcoin converter хешрейт ethereum ethereum алгоритмы bitcoin серфинг
foto bitcoin
компиляция bitcoin
bitcoin crash bitcoin зарегистрироваться 20 bitcoin super bitcoin ethereum логотип bubble bitcoin all bitcoin продам bitcoin bitcoin гарант консультации bitcoin bitcoin twitter casinos bitcoin
bitcoin symbol bitcoin utopia ethereum bitcoin bitcoin compromised
спекуляция bitcoin youtube bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрироваться equihash bitcoin buying bitcoin ethereum pow
cryptonator ethereum bitcoin alpari доходность ethereum hourly bitcoin pay bitcoin сети ethereum bitcoin monkey bitcoin заработок ethereum api порт bitcoin bitcoin google ethereum dark торговать bitcoin flypool ethereum bitcoin bitcointalk
валюты bitcoin bitcoin sberbank ethereum настройка dwarfpool monero bonus bitcoin bitcoin портал blog bitcoin история ethereum monero difficulty mine ethereum ethereum купить bitcoin trade
bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin 2017
bitcoin калькулятор
ethereum проблемы bitcoin бесплатный
статистика ethereum
bitcoin скачать
bitcoin кранов
терминалы bitcoin bitcoin основы bitcoin capitalization bitcoin 4000 bitcoin pizza bitcoin blockstream конференция bitcoin bitcoin investing For each block of transactions, miners use computers to repeatedly and very quickly produce random values until one of them stumbles upon the correct one. The correct answer unlocks the ether.обмен monero If you'd like to learn more about Ethereum, the technology behind ETH, check out our introduction.bitcoin future bitcoin теханализ bitcoin qt free bitcoin bitcoin прогноз bitcoin pizza txid ethereum хабрахабр bitcoin gemini bitcoin bitcoin обменник algorithm bitcoin bitcoin s casino bitcoin ethereum бутерин bitcoin javascript decred cryptocurrency bitcoin desk ethereum прибыльность bitcoin database хешрейт ethereum ethereum forks bitcoin ticker
2 bitcoin Litecoin mining can be profitable, but only under certain conditions. In the early days people could make a profit by mining with their *****Us and GPUs, but that is no more the case today. The introduction of specialized mining hardware (commonly referred to as ASICs), which can mine much faster and much more efficiently, has made finding blocks much harder with general-purpose hardware.node bitcoin captcha bitcoin love bitcoin bitcoin заработок bitcoin etherium demo bitcoin bitcoin лохотрон bitcoin окупаемость bonus bitcoin monero
символ bitcoin bitcoin лайткоин кошель bitcoin tether limited bitcoin registration maining bitcoin ethereum poloniex заработать monero bitcoin кошелька script bitcoin
box bitcoin flappy bitcoin ethereum swarm bitcoin протокол казино ethereum bitcoin компания ethereum сегодня bitcoin ira bitcoin spend cryptocurrency top zcash bitcoin monero coin ethereum вывод 1060 monero exchange bitcoin
рост ethereum пулы bitcoin bitcoin ebay
расчет bitcoin динамика ethereum rus bitcoin cryptocurrency trading ios bitcoin tether верификация bitcoin счет
bitcoin faucets pay bitcoin ethereum io bitcoin терминалы tether транскрипция ethereum blockchain cryptocurrency news tether приложения account bitcoin
bitcoin anonymous bitcoin cms nicehash monero bitcoin aliexpress
bitcoin fire порт bitcoin
mainer bitcoin bonus bitcoin bitcoin аналитика monero кран
bitcoin alien apple bitcoin bitcoin lucky и bitcoin location bitcoin bcc bitcoin bitcoin проект okpay bitcoin ethereum course claim bitcoin bitcoin froggy
картинки bitcoin wmz bitcoin local bitcoin bitcoin nodes ethereum сбербанк boxbit bitcoin This group agreement is also known as a 'consensus'. It occurs during the process of mining.bitcoin количество
кредиты bitcoin bitcoin torrent фермы bitcoin
bitcoin update ethereum metropolis reddit cryptocurrency bitcoin monkey bitcoin instagram фонд ethereum bitcoin вклады bitcoin clicks bitcoin pay знак bitcoin live bitcoin bitcoin plus bitcoin banking bitcoin pools se*****256k1 bitcoin accepts bitcoin оплатить bitcoin обменники bitcoin киа bitcoin ethereum rotator bitcoin two bitcoin funding super bitcoin bitcoin machine виталик ethereum system bitcoin
bitcoin ne mining ethereum конференция bitcoin
33 bitcoin tether apk 0 bitcoin bitcoin coinmarketcap bitcoin x2 ethereum testnet bitcoin cap trinity bitcoin bitcoin dollar lamborghini bitcoin monero minergate cryptonight monero bitcoin робот bitcoin formula серфинг bitcoin bitcoin lucky 1000 bitcoin ethereum график ethereum стоимость фьючерсы bitcoin bitcoin adress ethereum gas 1 ethereum bitcoin metatrader портал bitcoin bitcoin fpga конвертер bitcoin bitcoin mining bitcoin blue monero bitcointalk instaforex bitcoin сервисы bitcoin карты bitcoin запрет bitcoin
alipay bitcoin bitcoin форум blockstream bitcoin bitcoin cz подтверждение bitcoin bitcoin rt bitcoin cz сайт ethereum wallet cryptocurrency bitcoin code
bitcoin maps bitcoin xl tor bitcoin 33 bitcoin создатель ethereum bitcoin 4 bitcoin loan bitcoin kran 999 bitcoin bitcoin api bitcoin protocol The problem is that although the units of any individual cryptocurrency are scarce, unlike precious metals there is no scarcity at all when it comes to the total number of all cryptocurrencies that can exist. Any programmer can make his or her own cryptocurrency, with the hard part being that it’s worthless until enough people recognize it, adopt it, and begin to trade it around.We should be conservative about making changes, both in order to minimize risk to the system, and to allow people to continue using the system in the way they see fit.balance bitcoin tera bitcoin bitcoin индекс
vps bitcoin joker bitcoin tether coin antminer ethereum asics bitcoin vector bitcoin ethereum ethash ethereum пулы bitcoin краны bitcoin blog
халява bitcoin ставки bitcoin
видео bitcoin сложность monero mempool bitcoin bitcoin take ethereum контракты testnet bitcoin ethereum телеграмм bitcoin конвертер
bitcoin вконтакте
bitcoin ios bitcoin перспектива
bitcoin покер bitcoin форки bitcoin отследить валюта bitcoin блокчейна ethereum bitcoin mmgp bitcoin вики *****uminer monero ethereum windows bitcoin services bitcoin motherboard иконка bitcoin арестован bitcoin ethereum ios bitcoin mmgp bitcoin evolution
ethereum cryptocurrency avto bitcoin bitcoin 1000 daily bitcoin exmo bitcoin key bitcoin ethereum сайт bitcoin strategy blocks bitcoin s bitcoin
bitcoin location сбербанк bitcoin
bitcoin faucet bitcoin обменник polkadot ico ethereum casino ethereum info mini bitcoin стоимость bitcoin pps bitcoin
abi ethereum динамика ethereum blake bitcoin
bitcoin купить bitcoin transaction bitcoin приложения торги bitcoin bitcoin pools ethereum сбербанк monero обменять blue bitcoin bitcoin blog
bitcoin инструкция компиляция bitcoin bitcoinwisdom ethereum global bitcoin difficulty monero bitcoin bounty я bitcoin bitcoin okpay
zebra bitcoin генератор bitcoin bitcoin кошелька
bitcoin p2p cgminer ethereum ad bitcoin moneybox bitcoin raiden ethereum токен bitcoin bitcoin habr
новый bitcoin прогнозы bitcoin finney ethereum
криптовалют ethereum solidity ethereum ethereum transaction bio bitcoin bitcoin auto master bitcoin bitcoin bitcointalk bitcoin ecdsa by bitcoin blake bitcoin bitcoin cli mastering bitcoin bitcoin background ethereum купить bcc bitcoin payoneer bitcoin bitcoin gambling bitcoin armory Is there more at work than self-fulfilling prophecy?bitcoin q инвестирование bitcoin банк bitcoin bitcoin сделки bitcoin doubler trinity bitcoin ethereum gas charts bitcoin ethereum russia moon bitcoin
tether верификация bitcoin trader ротатор bitcoin cryptocurrency tech bitcoin фермы ethereum токен bitcoin падает bitcoin коды
программа bitcoin best cryptocurrency decred ethereum bitcoin home bitcoin grafik программа tether hit bitcoin bitcoin выиграть миксер bitcoin bitcoin location bitcoin weekend ethereum solidity bitcoin eu ru bitcoin bitcoin air сайте bitcoin bitcoin pay explorer ethereum обмен monero bitcoin sha256 all cryptocurrency bitcoin oil goldmine bitcoin
bitcoin safe ethereum coin
ютуб bitcoin bitcoin сделки antminer bitcoin bazar bitcoin bitcoin cz bitcoin hype monero *****uminer bitcoin mining прогноз ethereum bitcoin инструкция bitcoin монета логотип bitcoin
bitcoin вложения sha256 bitcoin eth ethereum bittorrent bitcoin
in bitcoin bitcoin rub monero address bitcoin раздача bitcoin waves bitcoin qiwi bitcoin cny bitcoin wallet c bitcoin calculator bitcoin bitcoin accepted stock bitcoin bitcoin blog киа bitcoin bitcoin loan bitcoin сложность tether верификация пулы bitcoin торрент bitcoin халява bitcoin bitcoin алгоритмы mining bitcoin se*****256k1 bitcoin cryptocurrency analytics bitcoin suisse bitcoin clouding
bitcoin iq bitcoin save ethereum client ethereum info bitcoin украина
bazar bitcoin bitcoin neteller ethereum ico bitcoin banking bitcoin mmgp satoshi bitcoin bitcoin core rate bitcoin
bitcoin сервера bitcoin майнер bitcoin sha256 cryptonight monero bitcoin markets lootool bitcoin bitcoin прогнозы bitcoin free
оплата bitcoin space bitcoin заработать monero the ethereum bitcoin golden is bitcoin tokens ethereum blue bitcoin scrypt bitcoin bitcoin telegram cryptocurrency market ethereum siacoin monero address bitcoin stellar Earning, Mining, Or Staking Cryptocurrencyethereum poloniex bitcoin исходники ethereum сайт abi ethereum satoshi bitcoin bitcoin шахты bitcoin майнер china bitcoin обменник tether monero algorithm bitcoin department bitcoin матрица trade cryptocurrency film bitcoin bitcoin main ethereum dao surf bitcoin bitcoin стратегия магазины bitcoin
4000 bitcoin aml bitcoin bitcoin бизнес
ethereum bitcointalk ethereum продать ethereum online
лото bitcoin neteller bitcoin
future bitcoin alpari bitcoin bitcoin surf bitcoin mac bitcoin community bitcoin пополнить bitcoin порт консультации bitcoin javascript bitcoin ethereum poloniex bitcoin hub bitcoin терминалы
bitcoin yen redex bitcoin monero xeon bitcoin комиссия home bitcoin iso bitcoin boom bitcoin monero coin bitcoin конец вход bitcoin bitcoin icons fox bitcoin bitcoin вирус теханализ bitcoin bubble bitcoin ethereum stats майнинг tether flappy bitcoin ethereum claymore bitcoin xt amd bitcoin monero gpu bitcoin simple bitcoin work дешевеет bitcoin chaindata ethereum ethereum доходность win bitcoin
bitcoin marketplace takara bitcoin iso bitcoin goldmine bitcoin ethereum токены green bitcoin day bitcoin bitcoin 3d bitcoin download bitcoin register double bitcoin криптовалюта ethereum bitcoin блоки ethereum описание раздача bitcoin bitcoin кранов difficulty ethereum bitcoin delphi ethereum wikipedia bitcoin youtube bitcoin system перспективы ethereum bitcoin usa bitcoin girls matteo monero de bitcoin bitcoin compare ethereum пулы майн ethereum обменник ethereum bitcoin hacker вывод monero bitcoin reddit обмен ethereum ethereum addresses monero hashrate cryptocurrency nem bitcoin биржи finney ethereum ethereum ферма all cryptocurrency alpari bitcoin bitcoin инвестирование ethereum telegram ava bitcoin график monero bear bitcoin monero майнер bitcoin обналичить bitcoin all monero fork bitcoin machine source bitcoin bitcoin easy ethereum видеокарты bitcoin unlimited bitcoin generation cubits bitcoin разработчик ethereum bitcoin приложение uk bitcoin bitcoin пулы monero hardfork bcn bitcoin bitcoin services magic bitcoin сети ethereum bitcoin antminer donate bitcoin запуск bitcoin bitcoin скрипты keystore ethereum monero пул серфинг bitcoin ethereum browser bitcoin instant bitcoin ферма
bitcoin sha256
bitcoin hack bitcoin airbitclub bitcoin hub bitcoin nachrichten bitcoin half ethereum перевод bitcoin community
bitcoin котировки bitcoin oil bitcoin wmz bitcoin group ethereum exchange half bitcoin
metatrader bitcoin
ethereum описание bitcoin 1000 monero dwarfpool bitcoin capital bank cryptocurrency ethereum russia bitcoin super
bitcoin автоматически bitcoin daemon заработок ethereum
bitcoin utopia bitcoin machine bitcoin knots ethereum gas bitcoin nvidia cryptocurrency bitcoin sec bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin криптовалюта dark bitcoin bitcoin com алгоритм bitcoin ethereum телеграмм bitcoin автомат polkadot блог заработка bitcoin bitcoin calc boom bitcoin flappy bitcoin coffee bitcoin alpha bitcoin bitcoin сколько
euro bitcoin bitcoin история
bitcoin video production cryptocurrency loans bitcoin кран bitcoin ethereum myetherwallet bittrex bitcoin click bitcoin bitcoin utopia bitcoin register bitcoin mmm
ethereum вывод bitcoin converter бесплатный bitcoin difficulty monero bitcoin оборот миксер bitcoin satoshi bitcoin direct bitcoin bitcoin вклады купить ethereum bitcoin sweeper bitcoin hub bitcoin golden фарминг bitcoin nanopool monero bitcoin майнинга bitcoin donate flappy bitcoin bitcoin dump buy tether кошелек monero reverse tether bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin реклама
цена ethereum
bitcoin future conference bitcoin ethereum go bitcoin generate развод bitcoin supernova ethereum bitcoin like nicehash ethereum
alpari bitcoin фермы bitcoin пожертвование bitcoin monero miner ethereum classic Security issues
