The Millstone Times

FAMILY MATTERS Cryptocurrency for Dummies By: Nazli Mohideen

Cryptocurrency is the up and coming way of digital currency with roughly 106 million users globally last year. This type of currency, like traditional paper money, is used to complete transactions and is stored in a wallet. Since every transaction is entered in a digital database with a specialized code, it is also impossible to counterfeit. Most commonly, it is used to invest in stocks, sports, or even art. Investing in cryptocurrency, or crypto, as some like to call it, is relatively simple. A user sets up an account and then purchasing with cryptocurrencies can be appropriately recorded via a database called CoinMarketCap. Despite this form of money having been around for nearly 15 years, it has only re- cently become popular. For one, there are no inconvenient bank or ATM trips to be made in order to take out the money from one’s account. As long as the user is able to access their digital wallet, everything can be done with a phone. Also, the cryptocurrency is always held at the same value, so inflation or deflation has no bearing on the “money.” Even better, only the user has access to their cryptocurrency, ensuring protection against acts of counterfeit money in addition to security of the money that they do have stored in the account. There are different types of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ehtereum, Tether, BNB, USD Coin, Cardano, XRP, Solana, Terra, and Dogecoin. Yet, Bitcoin has the greatest cumulative value of over $700 billion. Most retail stores do not currently accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. Typically, a user would need to have a debit card for the transaction, such as BitPay, for it to be accepted. Transferring cryptocurrencies from an account to a card, however, has a wait time of a couple hours at most. With respect to its rising popularity, retailers expect their chains to accept cryptocurrencies more frequently in the coming years. The amount of trading cryptocurrencies, according to CoinMarketCap, has drastically increased in just the last couple of weeks. As society transitions to more digital use than ever before, cryptocurrency is likely to become a part of the world’s new normal.

Sources Used: https://explodingtopics.com/blog/blockchain-stats | https://supplychaingamechanger.com/why-is-cryptocurrency-rising-in-popularity/

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/cryptocurrency-7-things-to-know#:~:text=To%20buy%20cryptocurrencies%2C%20you'll,how%20to%20invest%20in%20Bitcoin. https://www.news18.com/news/business/cryptocurrency/cryptocurrency-global-trading-volume-surges-over-100000-bitcoin-ethereum-gain-check-latest-rates-4714187.html https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-cryptocurrency/

36 The Millstone Times

March 2022