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.
Mizuho Bank has became ensnared in North American legal fallout from Mt. Gox which collapsed last month after losing $400 Million worth of customers’ digital currency.
Warren Buffett, who earlier this month said he wouldn’t own bitcoin because he doesn’t consider it a store of value or reliable means of exchange, again dismissed bitcoin on Friday.
The U.S. derivatives regulator is studying whether it should regulate virtual currencies, its chief said on March 11, 2014, as regulators across the globe start taking the emerging technology more seriously.
Sure, everyone knows Bitcoin, but there is also Litecoin, Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies. Moreover, the music business is about to get its own alternative currency, called Songcoin.
Mt. Gox lost millions of bitcoins in February, but hackers claim it still has some customer resources.
Ebay, the internet’s largest auction house and marketplace, has filed a patent that enables them to process transactions involving digital currencies, such as Bitcoin.
Bitcoin, the crypto-currency first appeared in 2009, stays strong, despite all frenzy surrounding it.
Dorian Prentice Satoshi, identified by Newsweek magazine as the founder of Bitcoin, denies that he’s one of virtual currency’s founders.
27-year-old Matt Thompson of Wisconsin is selling off his vacation home for about $135,000 or approximately 100 million Dogecoins.