Cryptocurrency Basics: Pros, Cons and How It Works
Cryptocurrency Basics: Pros, Cons and How It Works
What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a digital currency, such as Bitcoin, that is used as an alternative payment method or speculative investment. Cryptocurrencies get their name from the cryptographic techniques that let people spend them securely without the need for a central government or bank.
Here are a few examples:
Bitcoin was initially developed primarily to be a form of payment that isn't controlled or distributed by a central bank. While financial institutions have traditionally been necessary to verify that a payment has been processed successfully, Bitcoin accomplishes this securely, without that central authority.
Ethereum uses the same underlying technology as Bitcoin, but instead of strictly peer-to-peer payments, the cryptocurrency is used to pay for transactions on the Ethereum network. This network, built on the Ethereum blockchain, enables entire financial ecosystems to operate without a central authority. To visualize this, think insurance without the insurance company, or real estate titling without the title company.
Scores of altcoins (broadly defined as any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin) arose to capitalize on the various — and at times promising — use cases for blockchain technology.
Why do people invest in cryptocurrencies?
People invest in cryptocurrencies for the same reason anyone invests in anything. They hope its value will rise, netting them a profit.
If demand for Bitcoin grows, for example, the interplay of supply and demand could push up its value. If people began using Bitcoin for payments on a huge scale, demand for Bitcoin would go up, and in turn, its price in dollars would increase. So, if you'd purchased one Bitcoin before that increase in demand, you could theoretically sell that one Bitcoin for more U.S. dollars than you bought it for, making a profit.
The same principles apply to Ethereum. "Ether" is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, where developers can build financial apps without the need for a third-party financial institution. Developers must use Ether to build and run applications on Ethereum, so theoretically, the more that is built on the Ethereum blockchain, the higher the demand for Ether.
However, it's important to note that to some, cryptocurrencies aren't investments at all. Bitcoin enthusiasts, for example, hail it as a much-improved monetary system over our current one and would prefer we spend and accept it as everyday payment. One common refrain — "one Bitcoin is one Bitcoin" — underscores the view that Bitcoin shouldn't be measured in USD, but rather by the value it brings as a new monetary system.
How does cryptocurrency work?
Cryptocurrencies are supported by a technology known as blockchain, which maintains a tamper-resistant record of transactions and keeps track of who owns what. The use of blockchains addressed a problem faced by previous efforts to create purely digital currencies: preventing people from making copies of their holdings and attempting to spend it twice
.
Individual units of cryptocurrencies can be referred to as coins or tokens, depending on how they are used. Some are intended to be units of exchange for goods and services, others are stores of value, and some can be used to participate in specific software programs such as games and financial products.
How are cryptocurrencies created?
One common way cryptocurrencies are created is through a process known as mining, which is used by Bitcoin. Bitcoin mining can be an energy-intensive process in which computers solve complex puzzles in order to verify the authenticity of transactions on the network. As a reward, the owners of those computers can receive newly created cryptocurrency. Other cryptocurrencies use different methods to create and distribute tokens, and many have a significantly lighter environmental impact.
For most people, the easiest way to get cryptocurrency is to buy it, either from an exchange or another user.
Why are there so many kinds of cryptocurrency?
It’s important to remember that Bitcoin is different from cryptocurrency in general. While Bitcoin is the first and most valuable cryptocurrency, the market is large — there are thousands of cryptocurrencies. And while some cryptocurrencies have total market valuations in the hundreds of billions of dollars, others are obscure and essentially worthless.
If you’re thinking about getting into cryptocurrency, it can be helpful to start with one that is commonly traded and relatively well-established in the market. These coins typically have the largest market capitalizations.
Thoughtfully selecting your cryptocurrency, however, is no guarantee of success in such a volatile space. Sometimes, an issue in the deeply interconnected crypto industry can spill out and have broad implications on asset values.
Are cryptocurrencies financial securities, like stocks?
Whether or not cryptocurrency is a security is a bit of a gray area right now. To back up a little, generally, a "security" in finance is anything that represents a value and can be traded. Stocks are securities because they represent ownership in a public company. Bonds are securities because they represent a debt owed to the bondholder. And both of these securities can be traded on public markets.
Regulators have increasingly signaled that cryptocurrencies should be regulated similarly to other securities, such as stocks and bonds. However, with the June 2024 Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo Supreme Court ruling, that may change — Congress may have to clearly define crypto regulation through law making rather than allowing the SEC to enforce rules based on its interpretation. That could have major implications for the asset class in the future.
Pros and cons of cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency inspires passionate opinions across the spectrum of investors. Here are a few reasons that some people believe it is a transformational technology, while others worry it's a fad.
Cryptocurrency pros
Some supporters like the fact that cryptocurrency removes central banks from managing the money supply since over time these banks tend to reduce the value of money via inflation.
In communities that have been underserved by the traditional financial system, some people see cryptocurrencies as a promising foothold. Pew Research Center data from 2021 found that Asian, Black and Hispanic people "are more likely than White adults to say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency
."
Other advocates like the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies, because it’s a decentralized processing and recording system and can be more secure than traditional payment systems.
Some cryptocurrencies offer their owners the opportunity to earn passive income through a process called staking. Crypto staking involves using your cryptocurrencies to help verify transactions on a blockchain protocol. Though staking has its risks, it can allow you to grow your crypto holdings without buying more.
Cryptocurrency cons
Many cryptocurrency projects are untested, and blockchain technology in general has yet to gain wide adoption. If the underlying idea behind cryptocurrency does not reach its potential, long-term investors may never see the returns they hoped for.
For shorter-term crypto investors, there are other risks. Its prices tend to change rapidly, and while that means that many people have made money quickly by buying in at the right time, many others have lost money by doing so just before a crypto crash.
Those wild shifts in value may also cut against the basic ideas behind the projects that cryptocurrencies were created to support. For example, people may be less likely to use Bitcoin as a payment system if they are not sure what it will be worth the next day.
The environmental impact of Bitcoin and other projects that use similar mining protocols is significant. A comparison by the University of Cambridge, for instance, said worldwide Bitcoin mining consumes more than twice as much power as all U.S. residential lighting
. Some cryptocurrencies use different technology that demands less energy.
Governments around the world have not yet fully reckoned with how to handle cryptocurrency, so regulatory changes and crackdowns have the potential to affect the market in unpredictable ways.
Cryptocurrency legal and tax issues
There’s no question that cryptocurrencies are legal in the U.S. Ultimately whether they’re legal worldwide depends on each individual country.
The question of whether cryptocurrencies are legally allowed, however, is only one part of the legal question. Other things to consider include how crypto is taxed and what you can buy with cryptocurrency.
Legal tender: You might call them cryptocurrencies, but they differ from traditional currencies in one important way: there's no requirement in most places that they be accepted as "legal tender." The U.S. dollar, by contrast, must be accepted for "all debts, public and private." Countries around the world are taking various approaches to cryptocurrency. For now, in the U.S., what you can buy with cryptocurrency depends on the preferences of the seller.
Crypto taxes: Again, the term "currency" is a bit of a red herring when it comes to taxes in the U.S. Cryptocurrencies are taxed as property, rather than currency. That means that when you sell them, you'll pay tax on the capital gains, or the difference between the price of the purchase and sale. And if you're given crypto as payment — or as a reward for an activity such as mining — you'll be taxed on the value at the time you received them.
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