For the average millennial or at least anyone that pays attention to the business world, the term “cryptocurrency” would not seem like such a strange word. If that is, then the terms Bitcoin, Ethereum or at least Blockchain should ring a bell. One might wonder, why are these terms suddenly so prevalent, especially cryptocurrency news? Computing is getting rather pervasive and the society is leaning towards digital services. The finance world too isn’t spared as the disruption of technology into this sector has fostered the birth and development of Fintech organizations.
These Fintech organizations look to digitize payments and transactions, offering the same services that are currently in existence but in a better, efficient and more effective way.
Blockchain is the network upon which most of these cryptocurrencies operate on. The history of blockchain and bitcoin, in particular, does not have a definite story. In 2009, an individual or group of individuals known to be “Satoshi Nakomoto” developed and published the technology to allow people make digital payments between themselves anonymously without having an external party to verify or authorize the transfer of the currency being exchanged.
Although technologies like this might seem rather complex, understanding how Blockchain works is quite easy, given that one has a basic idea of how networks work. Blockchain is simply a database shared between several users, containing confirmed and secured entries. It is a network, where each entry has a connection to its previous entry.
This technology affords a very secure model whereby every record in the database cannot be tampered with. Apart from the stellar security that this network offers, the transparency and speed at which the network operates give it an edge over the conventional way of conducting transactions.
In simple terms, cryptocurrencies are just monies in digital form, transacted via digital means and over a digital network. The transfer of these currencies is utilized with cryptography and the aforementioned blockchain network. Up until the 2010s, cryptocurrencies were not really known until Bitcoin made its breakout and this gave rise to the birth of new cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies have had their fair share of bullish and bearish trends, going to show how unstable they can be. The latest cryptocurrency news reports lots of people predicting prices for various cryptocurrencies in the years to come but no-one can say for sure.
Blockchain, on the other hand, is making its way into pervasive computing, especially IoT, giving way for the development of new solutions that embrace data security and transparency.
BitPay Visa Prepaid Debit Card allows converting bitcoin into a spendable dollar, euro, or pound balance in just few minutes.
Blockchain services provider VeChain has announced it will take part in an incubation program of global accounting company PwC to expand the use of the blockchain technology in Asia.
Two leading virtual currencies achieved fresh record highs on Monday, stimulated by the increasing interest from investors around the world.
The US-based technology giant is opening a new accelerator program that will assist enterprises and developers in establishing new blockchain networks.
Potential political scandals and increased demand from Japan and South Korea are named as the most possible reasons for current Bitcoin boost.
The decentralized management platform offering blockchain services for businesses has raised the record amount in the first few minutes of its Initial Coin Offering.
Current situation in the bitcoin network demonstrates that the cryptocurrency ecosystem may not be fully ready for mainstream adoption.
Ripple aims to provide greater market transparency and certainty about current and future XRP supply by placing 55 billion XRP into a transparently managed escrow account.
Bitcoin’s share of the combined value of the cryptocurrency market decreased below 50% for the first time in the history of the virtual currency.
Boost VC is looking for talented developers aiming to build the next protocols of the internet and entrepreneurs creating the future of decentralized companies.
A large number of institutions and companies in about 150 countries were attacked by malware called WannaCry.
The value of the digital currency has reached a new record on Thursday, rising by more than $200 this week.
The crowdsale of Giga Watt tokens that will start at the beginning of June offers an access to professional mining with an extremely low entrance threshold.
The first money raised during the token crowdsale will be used to finance the platform’s initial development and its strategic regional outposts.
Litecoin’s huge support is seen as a culmination of several weeks of investor excitement.