15 Important Facts about "Cryptocurrency"

Many countries worldwide have discussed banning cryptocurrencies; however, despite their desire to ban them, it’s physically impossible. Why? Because anyone can get a crypto wallet. Of course, countries can make regulations, but the cryptocurrency market itself cannot be banned. Some countries that have removed the rights around using cryptocurrencies are Alergia, Cambodia, Bolivia, Educator, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Everyone wants to get in on cryptocurrencies. This is why new currencies are popping up in the industry daily. As of now, there are over 5,000 different currencies in the world. Naturally, most of these currencies aren’t worth much, nor will they be. However, there is always a diamond in the rough that people are hoping to grab. In other words, not all altcoins are useless. With over 5,000 cryptocurrencies available, some creative ones exist out there, such as Coinye, PizzaCoin, and Cabbage.

The trading hours of the crypto market add to the craziness. The exchanges are open 24x7. Neither holidays/Sundays nor weekends exist in the crypto calendar. You can trade not just all day but even all night. This is unlike the stock and bond markets in India which operate from 9 AM to 3.30 PM (opening and closing bells) and remain closed on weekends, prescribed holidays.

Well, who would have thought that? Mining cryptocurrency is the process of verifying transactions before they’re placed on the Blockchain’s ledger. It’s an extremely lucrative part of the business, and as of now, China controls around 75% of the mining network.

Depending on what country you live in. But since cryptocurrencies have now entered the mainstream markets, tax agencies worldwide are trying to make sure they get their slice of the virtual pie. Many countries expect you to pay tax on your cryptocurrency profits. In the United States, the IRS won a court case against Coinbase, requiring Coinbase to provide information on over 14,000 users who had annual transactions over $20,000 between 2013 and 2015. So, double-check the laws in your country.

If you've been following the appreciation of virtual currencies, you've probably heard an awful lot about bitcoin -- and with good reason. It was the first tradable cryptocurrency that was brought to market, and it currently makes up 54% of the aggregate $589 billion market cap of all cryptocurrencies.

Crypto-mining involves using high-powered computers to solve complex mathematical equations on a competitive basis in order to verify and log transactions. Being the first to do so often entitles the miner to a reward, which is given in the form of cryptocurrency coins and transaction fees associated with a block. Though the hardware and electricity costs can be enormous, mining can also be extremely rewarding. NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices have seen a double-digit percentage surge in sales

What makes blockchain technology so enticing is the fact that it's decentralized. In other words, there is no central hub where this information is stored, and therefore no major data center where cybercriminals can attack and gain control of a particular digital currency.

Instead, servers and hard drives across the globe contain bits and pieces of information about a particular blockchain network, but not enough to cripple it should the data inside fall into the wrong hands.

When dealing in cryptocurrency you hold a crypto wallet (digital wallet) that has public and private keys. You are provided with a private key to gain access to it and if you happen to lose your private key, the chances of getting it back are close to never. Your digital funds will disappear into a huge crypto-void. There is very little chance of hacking because of blockchain technology, so you are the only one responsible for losing your digital money.

A cryptocurrency is a safe option for wallet safety but it is still exposed to scammers who use your computer or phone’s processing for the mining of cryptocurrency. They do this for their own benefit without your approval. This is called “Cryptojacking” where the scammers put malicious code in your device.

How do you know if your device is affected? Your phone or computer will become slow or your battery will discharge faster.

Just like a normal share market, there are a lot of external factors that have a direct impact on the value of Crypto money. They are super volatile and really depend on your sense of trading. The value can swing dramatically which is sometimes in your favor and sometimes terribly against it. Its digital-only presence and risk factor are why people choose to steer away from it.

While we are on the subject, there are a few countries where you can’t enjoy cryptocurrency rights as they have been banned. Here’s the list:

• Algeria
• Bolivia
• Ecuador
• Nepal
• Bangladesh
• Cambodia

The world’s fastest supercomputer, the Summit, works at 122.3 petaflops, which is a quadrillion floating-point operations per second. If you look at the entire Bitcoin network, the processing power is about 80,704,290 petaflops. But a supercomputer can do several different things, while the only thing the Bitcoin network does is add blocks to the blockchain.