The history of CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Real EstateThe appearance of cryptocurrencies is already taking hold in our daily transactions. Cryptocurrency is a digital asset that exists in the world of cryptocurrencies and is referred to by many as “digital gold.” But what is cryptocurrency really? You must be wondering.
This is a digital asset intended to be used as a medium of exchange. Clearly this is a close substitute for money. However, it uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, verify the transfer of assets, and control the creation of additional units. All cryptocurrencies are virtual currency, digital currency, or alternative currency. It is imperative to note that all cryptocurrencies use a decentralized control system as opposed to the centralized systems of banks and other financial institutions. These decentralized systems work through a distributed ledger technology that serves a public financial database. Typically, a blockchain is used.
What is a chain of blocks?
This is a continually growing list of records that are linked and protected by cryptography. This list is called blocks. A blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can be used to record transactions between two parties in a verifiable and permanent manner. To allow a block to be used as a distributed ledger, it is managed by a peer-to-peer network that collectively adheres to a protocol for the validation of new blocks. Once data is recorded in any ledger, it cannot be altered without altering all other blocks. Therefore, blockchains are secure by design and also act as an example of a distributed computing system.
The history of cryptography
David Chaum, an American cryptographer discovered an anonymous cryptographic electronic money called ecash. This happened in the year 1983. In the year 1995, David implemented it through Digicash. Digicash was one of the first forms of cryptographic electronic payment that required user software to withdraw notes from a bank. It also allowed the designation of specific encrypted keys before sending them to a recipient. This property allowed the government, the issuing bank or any third party to be unable to trace the digital currency.
After further efforts in the following years, Bitcoin was created in the year 2009. This was the first decentralized cryptocurrency and was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous developer. Bitcoin used SHA-256 as its cryptographic hash function (proof-of-work scheme). Starting with the launch of bitcoin, the following cryptocurrencies were also launched.
1. Namecoin (April 2011)
2. Litecoin (October 2011)
3.Peercoin
These three coins and many others are known as altcoins. The term is used to refer to alternative variants of bitcoin or simply to other cryptocurrencies.
It is also imperative to note that cryptocurrencies are exchanged over the Internet. This means that its use is mainly outside of banking systems and other government institutions. Cryptocurrency exchanges include the exchange of cryptocurrencies with other assets or with other digital currencies. Conventional fiat money is an example of an asset that can be traded with cryptocurrency.
atomic swaps
These refer to a proposed mechanism by which one cryptocurrency will be able to be exchanged directly from another cryptocurrency. This means that with atomic swaps, third-party involvement in the swap would not be necessary.