Crypto Help Desk

A cryptocurrency is a digital currency that keeps records about balances and transactions on a distributed ledger, which is most commonly in the form of a blockchain. Cryptocurrencies enable peer-to-peer transactions between participants across the globe on a 24/7 basis.

A distributed ledger is a database with no central administrator that is maintained by a network of nodes. In permissionless distributed ledgers, anyone is able to join the network and operate a node. In permissioned distributed ledgers, the ability to operate a node is reserved for a pre-approved group of entities.

• Cryptocurrency/Coin: Digital currencies that use secure technology and decentralized networks, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• Token: A digital asset that relies on existing blockchain platforms like Ethereum and serves a specific purpose within a project or application, such as representing ownership or facilitating transactions. Examples include Tether (USDT) and Chainlink (LINK).

Bitcoin is the world’s first successful decentralized cryptocurrency and payment system, launched in 2009 by a mysterious creator known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. It’s an appealingly simple concept: bitcoin is digital money that allows for secure peer-to-peer transactions on the internet.

Bitcoin can be divided into smaller units known as “satoshis” (up to 8 decimal places) and used for payments, but it’s also considered a store of value like gold. This is because the price of a single bitcoin has increased considerably since its inception – from less than a cent to tens of thousands of dollars. When discussed as a market asset, bitcoin is represented by the ticker symbol BTC.

Ethereum is one of the world’s most actively used blockchain systems. Initially released in 2015, it is a decentralized ecosystem that uses open-source, distributed, blockchain technology. 

Thousands of computers running Ethereum clients maintain its virtual machine (EVM), allowing the platform to run continuously, uninterrupted, and immutably. Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency is Ether (ETH), which trades alongside many other currencies and tokens on the platform.

To buy and sell cryptocurrencies, you will need to use a cryptocurrency exchange. Once you have created an account, you can fund it with traditional currency, such as USD, and use that balance to buy different cryptocurrencies. You can also use third party payment methods (Wise, Revolut, Skrill, Payoneer, etc.) to buy cryptocurrencies directly from other users on P2P marketplaces.

You can then hold or sell those coins as their value changes.

A few examples of P2P marketplaces:

• Binance P2P
• OKX P2P

A stablecoin is a crypto asset that maintains a stable value regardless of market conditions. This is most commonly achieved by pegging the stablecoin to a specific fiat currency such as the US dollar. Stablecoins are useful because they can still be transacted on blockchain networks while avoiding the price volatility of “normal” cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Airdrop definition: The distribution of free cryptocurrencies or tokens to users, usually as part of a promotional event.

An airdrop describes the free distribution of digital tokens to public wallets. In the field of cryptocurrencies, the term airdrop denotes a distribution mechanism where digital tokens are freely provided to a selection of wallet addresses on a blockchain.

A blockchain is a distributed and secured database or ledger. In the blockchain, transactions are recorded in blocks and verified through automated processes. If a transaction is verified, the block is closed and encrypted; another block is created with information about the previous block, along with information about newer transactions.

A cryptocurrency wouldn’t be very useful if anyone could just change the history of transactions to their own liking – the point of cryptocurrency is that you can be sure that your coins belong to you only and that your balances will not change arbitrarily. This is why reaching consensus is of utmost importance. In Bitcoin, miners use their computer hardware to solve resource-intensive mathematical problems. The miner that reaches the correct solution first gets to add the next block to the Bitcoin blockchain, and receives a BTC reward in return.

A cryptocurrency exchange works similarly like stock exchanges which helps the investors to buy and sell in digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Tether. These platforms work on digital marketplace such as mobile apps or via desktop functions similarly like e-brokerages. They also provide an array of trading and investing tools to its users.

The crypto exchanges also provide trading of various cryptocurrency such as margin or lending trading, and future and options trading.

Cold wallets – also referred to as offline wallets – are cryptocurrency wallets that are not connected to the internet. Cold wallets enable users to store their private keys offline in the form of either a paper wallet, hardware wallet, or offline software wallet. Most cold wallets are hardware wallets and take the form of a USB stick. 

An NFT is a digital asset that can come in the form of art, music, in-game items, videos, and more. They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrency, and they are generally encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos.

Although they’ve been around since 2014, NFTs are gaining notoriety now because they are becoming an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork. The market for NFTs was worth a staggering $41 billion in 2021 alone, an amount that is approaching the total value of the entire global fine art market.