Cryptocurrency is an unregulated financial system heavily influenced by mathematical models. While a bank transaction involves depositing or withdrawing a set amount of a regulated currency such as dollars or euros, backed by governments with real assets, digital money is unregulated.
Cryptocurrency terms to know
If you wonder what a blockchain is, here's a guide for you.
July 30, 2022 at 2:29PM
That means consumers need to do more research on their investments. Consumers will never have a physical coin or bill but instead have transactions electronically recorded.
To help understand this decentralized network of money exchanging, we've used a list of definitions provided by Coinsource, a company that operates Bitcoin ATMs across the U.S., including Minnesota.
Coin: Like U.S. currency, this is a digital asset that is created by an independent blockchain, usually a cryptocurrency company. Also called a token, the most popular is Bitcoin, with other examples being Ethereum or Binance.
Digital asset: An asset is created digitally with set parameters revolving around scarcity, transferability and exchangeability attributes. This helps establish the market value of your coins.
Blockchain: In its most basic terms, it's an encrypted digital ledger that records your cryptocurrency transactions. It keeps track of how much of a certain type of currency you have, how you have spent it and if your digital asset has gained or lost value.
Initial coin offering: An ICO in short form, this is a crowdfunding strategy for startups where those who contribute tokens for a specified return.
Mining: This is the verification process in which blocks are added to a blockchain. It basically is a series of computer computations and requires a data center.
Non-fungible token (NFT): A token with an inherent quality that cannot be exchanged for another token.
Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency that is pegged to a stable asset such as the U.S. dollar.
Whale: A whale is a significantly large investor in Bitcoin, or another asset.
