Cryptocurrency continues to be a roller-coaster

Welcome to the age of the Crypto Exchanges, where you can buy, sell or exchange digital (crypto) currency.(stockstotrade.com)

Unique ones disrupt their industry just like Bitcoin did in the financial sector. (steemit.com)

Ethereum has been growing fast, it already sits at a 1000% in value. It's a platform that allows creating smart contract that runs on a decentralized network. (steemit.com)

How many cryptocurrencies are there?

Over the past years, hundreds of new cryptocurrencies came on the market. Most of them are just copy cat or only have a few features that make them different. Only a handful of those cryptocurrencies are real outliers. Those unique ones disrupt their industry just like bitcoin did in the financial sector. (steemit.com)

Growth

There were massive changes in trading volumes in crypto exchanges, like Bitcoin and Ether in the first half of 2017, and it's enough to suggest that the global market is being reshaped—so it's time to learn more about the crypto exchange. (stockstotrade.com)

So if you're ready to start dabbling in the crypt, make sure you're prepared for a wild ride with our guide to this brave new world: You've certainly heard of Bitcoin by now, even though it was 'invested' anonymously (or by an individual using an alias) only in 2009. (stockstotrade.com)

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an alternative currency and it's attractive because: And, yes, you can actually use them, with more and more merchants accepting them because there are no credit card fees. (stockstotrade.com)

Relative to litecoin for instance, it has existed for two years longer and only due to the Bitcoin hype are the value of alternative currencies gaining so much traction. (reddit.com)

Well if you go back to the history of current currencies, the concept and execution of developing these currencies took place over hundreds if not thousands of years. (reddit.com)

Within this crypto circus we dwell in, one can truly find ways to store one's fortune in the most private and secure way, and in complete and utter contrast to the methods the bank system in the old world, have forcibly put upon us. (reddit.com)

Some businesses are even having marketing success by appealing to the communities that support these currencies. (thryv.com)

Let me tell you why you should start accepting cryptocurrencies in exchange for your goods and services. (thryv.com)

How is cryptocurrency different?

Crypto Currency is not tangible and exists completely on the internet in digital form. (thryv.com) Cryptocurrency is a peer-to-peer network of powerful peer machines connected over the internet with a common purpose. (thryv.com)

The blockchain serves a number of purposes, but its main purpose is to track the balance of every wallet address, along with a list of transactions into and out of every wallet address. (thryv.com)

Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is adding around 55,000 new accounts per day. (earlyinvesting.com)

Cryptography has to do with coding to keep data secure, and cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual asset that uses cryptography as a security measure. (twocents.lifehacker.com)

Who made cryptocurrency?

It was launched in 2009 by "Satoshi Nakamoto," a pseudonym that could be a person or a group (it was open source and peer to peer). (twocents.lifehacker.com)

But while companies have IPO's or initial public offerings, cryptocurrencies have ICOs, initial coin offerings, and any entity can launch it as an investment. (twocents.lifehacker.com)

The thing is, there's no central agency (like the government) that issues or regulates these cryptocurrencies. (twocents.lifehacker.com)

Which is why it's been such an attractive option for shady business activities, like money laundering. You can buy and sell it just like any other investment, from company stock to Beanie Babies. But while companies have IPO's or initial public offerings, cryptocurrencies have ICOs, initial coin offerings, and any entity can launch it as an investment. The Atlantic illustrates the problem with not having a central authority regulating these currencies: (twocents.lifehacker.com)

As they put it, "ICO's are catnip for scammers" because there are no checks and balances the way there are with IPOs. So if you're going to invest in a coin, which is an iffy enough move as it is, you certainly want to make sure it's not just any random cryptocurrency that could just be a scam. So what about tokens like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are popular, widely covered options? (And that are actually used as currency.) Are they smart investments? (twocents.lifehacker.com)

Some people say investing is like playing the lottery. That's not entirely accurate, though. Long-term, broad investing, the kind that will help you build a nest egg over time, is very different from speculative, active trading, which is a lot more like gambling. Cryptocurrency, a volatile, unpredictable investment, falls into that category. 

With active trading, you're taking a guess at how a specific investment (or investments) will trade on a short-term basis. The goal isn't to simply keep up with the stock market like it is with long-term investing; the goal is to make a bunch of money and get rich quickly. And you know, some Bitcoin and Ethereum investors did get rich quickly! Seems like a good deal, right? But the thing is, the price of these cryptocurrencies often swings from one extreme to another. (In one day in June, the price of Ethereum plummeted from $319 to $0.10!) (twocents.lifehacker.com)

That said, if you're going to invest in cryptocurrencies anyway here's how to go about it. Website Coinbase seems to be the most popular option for buying Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Litecoin. It's also the easiest, according to Inc.com's Brian Evans. You have to verify your account and then you can add different payment methods for buying your tokens (bank accounts, wire transfers, credit or debit cards). 

Typically you will need to verify your account with a driver's license and add other details to expand your buy limits. Since cryptocurrencies are 'hard currencies,' the exchanges don't want to risk getting ripped off, since you can't reverse a cryptocurrency transaction once it's done." These websites will also let you sell your coins when you're ready. (twocents.lifehacker.com)

Way forward?

We can't advise you to invest or not to invest. It is a tricky one. It's not like a regular company that has products being made and they are selling and you see them as they are tangible. It is not even a real currency that there are parameters to know their rate for the day. It is based on demand and supply. It is banned in China today and it very well could be banned in India in time to come. 

But the US government does not seem to have any plans to stop it. The reality is that you will have to create a great nation for people to syphon money to you. Some countries see the advantage in creating a nation that large and fair that everybody escapes with their money and comes and invests in your country. But not every nation is a good fair democracy and they will try and hold people back and when they try and escape they will try and hold them back. That very well may be the case with many nations. But in the meanwhile continue to watch the world go crazy with cryptocurrency.