Cryptocurrencies are a growing category of digital money. They are a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions and to control the creation of additional units of the currency. Bitcoin became the first decentralized cryptocurrency in 2009, and since then hundreds of other cryptocurrencies have been introduced. Bitcoins are created and stored electronically. They are not centrally controlled by any one institution, nor are bitcoins printed; instead, bitcoins are made by people and businesses through software that solves mathematical problems.

Quick, Easy and Convenient- You can send and receive money anywhere in the world at any time in a matter of a few minutes.

Low Fees– Fees for transactions are normally very small. Fees can fluctuate due to the dynamic fee market. In addition, some wallets will also allow you to pay a fee you’re willing to spend. With higher fees, you’ll get faster confirmation of your transactions.

Secure– When using digital currencies, users remain in control of their transactions. You’re also protected from identity theft since payments can be made without personal information associated with the transaction.

Transparent- All transactions are fully available on the blockchain for anybody to verify and use in real-time.

• Online Exchanges and Wallets – New to cryptocurrency? There’s a variety of exchanges and wallets that you can find, depending on your needs. Many exchanges and wallets will store amounts of digital and/or fiat currency for you – a lot like a regular bank account.
• Selling Goods/Exchanges-Similar to barter trade, you can actually exchange goods that you own for digital currencies. It’s another quick and convenient way of getting more of the digital currency.
• Mining- You can also be awarded bitcoins as a miner—once you’ve verified transactions and they’ve been added to the public ledger, also known as the blockchain, you’ll be given bitcoins for your service.

Transactions occur between electronic wallets, and are digitally verified and signed for security. Once a transaction is set up, it makes its way into the online network where it awaits verification. Through the process of mining, miners use software to solve mathematical problems. Once completed, the transaction successfully moves into the blockchain. Thanks to this massive public ledger called the blockchain, users can see all previous transactions, and can even track when the coins were generated.

The blockchain is a huge, shared public ledger where the entire digital currency network is situated. All verified transactions are added to the Blockchain, where everyone can see information pertaining to wallets and verify their balances.

Transactions are not tied to any personal information which allows users to protect their privacy. However, since all transactions are public knowledge and permanently on the blockchain, other users can see the activity associated to a particular wallet address—hence not being 100% anonymous. It is highly recommended to only use legitimate Bitcoin or Altcoin addresses once to avoid your identity being revealed either through a specific purchase or other means.