‘Cryptocurrency’… Although this term has grown in prominence and value in recent years, many people are still unaware of the nuances that are associated with it. These days cryptocurrency is more in demand and everyone we know is investing in it. Let us see below more about cryptocurrency and its various types.

Cryptocurrency is a secured digital currency that operates on blockchain technology. These are not regulated by the government and are free of manipulation of any sort. There are various reasons due to which they have been criticized in the past.

Bitcoin invented by Satoshi Nakamoto is the most common type of cryptocurrency that is hugely invested. It is the most popular and valuable form of cryptocurrency. Other types of cryptocurrencies include Litecoin, Ripple, Stellar, Ethereum, etc.

These currencies are comparatively easy to invest and the transfer of funds can easily take place with a nominal fee. However, due to less amount of secure lines and security transactions in such cryptocurrencies leads to illegal activities.

Blockchain technology is one of the most prominent and efficient ways of securing and tracing transactions. This has helped prevent illegal activities via such currencies in a proficient manner. It is a standalone technology and is often misunderstood to be a part of cryptocurrencies. In reality blockchain technology is a stand-alone concept. It maintains the history of all the transactions which have taken place with the data being stored as blocks.

As of today Bitcoin is the largest digital currency, touching a two-week high and continues to be in the green zone. This has happened all the more after Tesla CEO, ‘Elon Musk’tweeted that their company would again start taking cryptocurrency as a payment method. Apart from this even a crackdown of institutions dealing with cryptocurrencies by the Chinese government led to panic selling and thus a economic boost.

 Below are some of the news clips as published by Economic times of the top 10 cryptocurrencies which are most traded:

Few advantages of bitcoin are as follows:

• Exchange rate/ banking fees are eliminated
• Ease of international transaction fees with a low transaction fees
• Easily accessible as the software can be operated from a phone or computer.
• Discretion
• Protection of privacy and identity
• User autonomy

Like every coin has two sides, cryptocurrencies do as well have their pros and cons. It is difficult to rely on any particular system and one should keep broad horizons and weigh all the various advantages and disadvantages before investing in any one method.