Cryptocurrency has gained popularity and taken the leading position among the world’s currencies since its appearance on the market. Today, a significant digit of people are interested in its impact on the economy.
It is employed like traditional money, including storage, payment for services and goods, and investment. In this article, you can learn about virtual money, the types of cryptocurrency available, and how they can be operated in everyday life.
The Concept of Cryptocurrency
Virtual money that exists exclusively online is called cryptocurrency. There are no material coins or bills; its unit is a “coin,” which translates from English as “coin.”
The main varieties of cryptocurrencies include:
- Bitcoin: the most popular and valuable and the ancestor of other types. It began a new stage of virtual money. Other analogs appeared, but they were less popular and had different values.
- Steyblkoin: a concept that includes coins whose rate is pegged to the dollar, euro, or gold.
- Litecoin: an improved form of Bitcoin, but less valuable. Often referred to as “virtual silver.”
- Ethereum: gaining popularity due to Bitcoin’s competitiveness. Its developers set a goal to make the most comfortable currency for usage and mining, and they succeeded.
- Freicoin: the main feature of this variety is the transfer of parts of the funds to charity.
- Ripple is an entirely unique type, not based on the existing Bitcoin source code.
Cryptocurrency can be purchased in online and offline exchanges, P2P exchanges, and e-wallets.
Options for Using Cryptocurrency
Virtual money gives the opportunity to solve different tasks in everyday life. There are three main areas of use in which using cryptocurrencies is preferable to traditional money:
- Investments and financial transactions – trading different instruments based on virtual money.
- Bypassing restrictions – transferring funds anywhere in the world, especially when transfers are prohibited or financial institutions have control over them. Cryptocurrency can be stored without worrying that the bank will freeze the funds in the account.
- Household transactions – making payments in cases where it cannot be done with a bank card. Payment with virtual money, in some cases, is the only way to pay salaries to employees who are in another country. Additionally, donations can be made anonymously, and paying out bonuses and winnings in cryptocurrency simplifies legal peculiarities related to taxation.
Cryptocurrency is developing rapidly and has excellent prospects. As modern technology continues to progress, so does currency. Companies accepting payment for goods and services in Bitcoin grow every year, and ATMs with the option to withdraw funds are placed worldwide.
