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A lot of people have been wondering lately if crypto is dying or just taking a break. Here’s a blog post that takes a look at the current state of the crypto market.
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The History of Crypto
It all started in 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto published his famous white paper entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. This was the birth of cryptocurrency as we know it today. Satoshi’s vision was to create a decentralized electronic cash system that would be immune to the interference of central authorities.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and a payment system, first proposed by an anonymous person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Since then, Bitcoin has grown to become the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of over $100 billion as of 2017. Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital gold”, due to its similarities to gold as a store of value. Bitcoin can be used to purchase goods and services online, or can be held as an investment.
Bitcoin is based on a decentralised peer-to-peer network, and can be sent electronically from one user to another without the need for a central authority such as a bank or government. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public dispersed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin is unique in that there are a finite number of them: 21 million.
Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. As of February 2015, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepted bitcoin as payment.
Ethereum
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.
Invented by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, Ethereum is often described as a digital currency, a decentralized platform, or a distributed public blockchain network. Ethereum aims to provide a decentralized Turing-complete virtual machine, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which can execute scripts using an international network of public nodes.
Ethereum has a native cryptocurrency called Ether (ETH). ETH is used as a gas to power transactions on the network. Transactions on the Ethereum network may be performed by anyone with an Ether balance and an Internet connection.
Litecoin
Crypto is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. A key feature of crypto is that it is decentralized, meaning it is not subject to government or financial institution control.
Litecoin, created by former Google engineer Charlie Lee, is a cryptocurrency that was designed to be a lighter and faster version of Bitcoin. Litecoin uses a different proof-of-work algorithm than Bitcoin, called Scrypt. This allows miners to earn more Litecoins, while also making it more difficult to create fake Litecoins.
Since its launch in 2011, Litecoin has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It is often seen as a complement to Bitcoin, rather than a competitor.
The Present of Crypto
It has been a wild couple of years for cryptocurrency. From Bitcoin hitting an all time high of $20,000 to the more recent drops in value, crypto has had its ups and downs. Some people are declaring that crypto is dead, while others are holding strong to their faith in digital assets. So, what is the real story? Let’s take a closer look.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to control its creation and management, rather than relying on central authorities. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented in 2009 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto.[15]
Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services.[16] As of February 2015, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepted bitcoin as payment.[17]
According to research produced by Cambridge University there were between 2.9 million and 5.8 million unique users using a cryptocurrency wallet, as of 2017. Bitcoin is “not actually usable” for retail transactions because of high costs and the inability to process chargebacks, according to Nicholas Weaver, a researcher quoted by Bloomberg. High price volatility and transaction fees make paying for small retail purchases with bitcoin impractical, according to economist Kim Grauer. However, bitcoin continues to be used for large-item purchases on sites such as Overstock.com, and for cross-border payments to freelancers and other vendors.[138]
Ethereum
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.
Ethereum is used to build decentralized applications (dApps) on its platform. Decentralized applications are software programs that are stored on a blockchain and run exactly as programmed. They can be built on Ethereum or any other blockchain.
Ethereum is also a decentralized platform for mining Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network. Anyone can earn Ether by participating in the Ethereum network and helping to secure it.
Litecoin
Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2011 as a fork of the Bitcoin Core client. It is considered to be one of the first altcoins. Unlike bitcoins, litecoins can be easily purchased and sold on a number of exchanges using all types of currencies.
Litecoin has been very popular in recent years, reaching a market capitalization of over $1 billion USD in 2017. However, its price has been volatile, and it is currently trading at around $50 USD.
There are several reasons why litecoin has been popular. First, it has faster transaction times than bitcoin. Second, it has a larger total supply than bitcoin, which means that there is more potential for price appreciation. Finally, litecoin has been able to stay relatively stable during periods of bitcoin volatility.
Despite its popularity, there are some concerns about litecoin’s future. First, its price is still very volatile and could drop significantly if bitcoin’s price begins to rise again. Second, litecoin’s network is not as secure as bitcoin’s, which means that it is more vulnerable to attack.
The Future of Crypto
It’s been a tough few years for crypto. Prices have crashed, exchanges have been hacked, and ICOs have turned out to be nothing more than scams. But is crypto really dying? Or is it just hiding? Let’s take a look at the evidence.
Bitcoin
When it comes to cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is the original and still the most well-known. It was created in 2009 and has since become the largest market cap crypto. While other cryptos have come and gone, Bitcoin has persisted. Some say this is because it was the first, while others believe that its continued existence is due to its unique properties.
Bitcoin is a decentralized currency, which means it is not subject to government or financial institution control. This makes it appealing to those who are looking for an alternative to traditional fiat currencies. Bitcoin is also a limited currency, with only 21 million ever being mined. This scarcity, combined with increasing demand, is believed by some to be what gives Bitcoin its value.
Whether or not Bitcoin will continue to be the dominant cryptocurrency in the years to come remains to be seen. However, its popularity and longevity show that it has a strong hold on the market.
Ethereum
As the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum has had a rollercoaster ride over the past year. From reaching an all-time high of over $1400 in January 2018 to plunging to less than $100 in December, the currency has been on a rollercoaster ride.
With the recent launch of Ethereum 2.0, things are looking up for the currency. Ethereum 2.0 is a major upgrade to the Ethereum network that promises to improve its scalability and efficiency. If successful, it could help Ethereum regain its position as the leading platform for decentralized applications.
only time will tell if Ethereum can make a comeback or if it is destined to become just another also-ran in the cryptocurrency world.
Litecoin
Bitcoin has been the dominant coin for awhile now, however, altcoins are slowly starting to make a comeback. One of these is litecoin. So, what is litecoin? Well, it is very similar to Bitcoin but with a few key differences. One major difference is that litecoin is mined faster than Bitcoin. This is due to the fact that there are more litecoins in existence than there are Bitcoins. In addition, litecoin transactions are also faster than Bitcoin transactions.
Litecoin was created in 2011 by Charlie Lee, who was a former Google employee. He wanted to create a “silver to Bitcoin’s gold”. And that is exactly what he did. Litecoin has often been referred to as the “digital silver”.
In recent months, litecoin has seen a surge in price and interest. This is likely due to the upcoming halving event set to occur in August 2019. A halving event is when the block reward for miners gets cut in half. For example, right now the block reward for miners is 25 litecoins per block mined. After the halving event takes place, the new block reward will be 12.5 litecoins per block mined.
The last time a halving event occurred was back in 2016 and at that time, the price of litecoin surged from $4 all the way up to $50! Many people are expecting history to repeat itself and are predicting that the price of litecoin will once again surge following the halving event later this year.
