Crypto-what?... WTF is cryptocurrency?!

in #cryptocurrency • 8 years ago (edited)


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Allow me to introduce myself. I am 37-years old, work full-time and am currently doing my MBA. I know finance. Traditional Finance. I like it, because I love numbers. I can’t stand theory, but I love analyzing the bejesus out of numbers.

I am slowly becoming a Steemit addict and I know nothing about cryptocurrency except that it sounds cool. Oh and I have SBD in my ‘wallet’, $17.914 to be exact.

“Sweet Christmas!!”

Let’s analyze my possibilities.

So can I go to my local gas station and fill up my tank with it? Nope

Oh...ok…groceries? Nope

Huh…beer? Sorry to disappoint, but no.

So for a guy like me who lives in Northern Ontario, Canada, can I buy anything local with cryptocurrency? Nope, doesn’t look that way. Okay then…

WTF is cryptocurrency and what is it good for?


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Well for starters you mine for it, but not in actual real mines, you do some sort of computer coding/hacking shit to mine for the coins. Uh-huh…ok, forget how you go about getting it, what is it exactly?

“Cryptocurrency is electricity converted into lines of code with monetary value.”
Cryptocoinnews.com

Holy shit I feel old right now. OK…anything else you should know?

Yeah, Bitcoin is not the only one, it is but one of hundreds of different cryptocurrency like NEMstake, Litecoin, Titcoin and Steem?

Wait…Titcoin? Are you serious? Do they just make their names up as they go? Wait again…is there a Batcoin? Cuz that would be cool. Nope…doesn’t look that way.

Moving on…

Did you know that cryptocurrencies are fully decentralized and central banking has no control over them? Oh and there is a finite amount of coins. For example, Bitcoin will never have more than 21 million coins in circulation.

Ok, now that I do understand!! Finally!! On a side note, with a finite number of coins available, it is an interesting option as an investment.

The best part about cryptocurrency is that you can convert it to cash and use it to buy the aforementioned gas, groceries and beer!

Ok how do you convert it? Screw it, who am I kidding I am just confusing the crap out of myself.

My head hurts, does yours?

Hope you enjoyed my satire and sad attempt at explaining cryptocurrency. On a serious note if someone could make a simple post explaining in old people terms what the heck it is and how to use it, I would give you an upvote. I tried searching Steemit for something like that but didn’t come across anything.

Please upvote and follow!

#money #steemsquad #beyondbitcoin #comedy
8 years ago in #cryptocurrency by
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     8 years ago 

    In old people terms its funny money that uses computer resources to make, deriving its value from demand and underpinned by the cost of production

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     8 years ago 

    Haha...thanks Gary!! So much clearer now :)

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     8 years ago 
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     8 years ago 

    Thanks...i'll go check those out!

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     8 years ago 
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     8 years ago 

    Thanks as usual. I'll be reading this one carefully as well!

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       8 years ago (edited)

      Every time I think I understand cryptocurrency I find there's more to it. It seems that anything in limited supply can have a value, even if it's not actually useful. There's definitely a lot of hype around cryptocurrencies that has driven some prices to crazy levels, and then they crash. I'm not a speculator/gambler, so I haven't invested in them. I just love the technology. The people behind it are really clever.

      The issues I see with something with Bitcoin are:

      • All that mining effort seems like a waste of electricity. It's become an industry now, but you can only make money where the power is cheap enough
      • There's a limit to how much Bitcoin there can be, so mining cannot go on forever. I think it has to switch to transaction pricing then
      • Can the blockchain keep growing forever? Won't it become unmanageable? Certainly not viable to download it to every device, but I expect there are ways around that
      • Can the blockchain handle the traffic if it goes mainstream?

      I understand the Steem blockchain is designed to handle more traffic, but if millions start posting blogs then it will grow really quickly. I know storage is cheap, but that's still an issue.

      So many questions, so little time...

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       8 years ago 

      You bring up some very interesting points. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it all, but eventually I'll get there...I think!! I'm not sure I'm ready to invest in it without really understanding the technology. It just seems attractive given it has a finite limit to the amount that can be mined.

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         8 years ago 

        Oops. I see I messed up the formatting on that comment. This is what happens when I switch between wiki editing and markdown.

        It is hard to know what to invest in when you can't know how good the technology is. There may be security issues that could bring it crashing down.

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           8 years ago 

          And what happens if the internet breaks? Yeah, it conceivably could.

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             8 years ago 

            Thanks for the info.

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               8 years ago 

              PS: You're really funny :)

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                 8 years ago 

                damn mlialen “Cryptocurrency is electricity converted into lines of code with monetary value.”... with a definition like that... Ontario should be rolling in bitcoin with the price of hydro here

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                   7 years ago 

                  Hey, I tried doing an explanation in plain English. I hope it helps!

                  The post got 1300+ recommendations on Medium. 4000+ shares on LinkedIn. Republished on TheNextWeb, FactorDaily, YourStory.

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