Cryptocurrencies are virtual or digital currencies that utilize cryptography in securing transactions and creating new units. It is decentralized, ridding governments and centralized financial institutions of control over people’s money. Typically considered an option, cryptocurrency can purchase services or products from businesses or peers. Cryptocurrency can be confusing and intimidating at times. Fintech veterans and Earnity executives Dan Schatt and Domenic Carosa want people to learn as much as they can about crypto. Gathering as much correct information about the digital currency as possible is integral before diving into the industry.
Blockchain verifies and records cryptocurrency transactions. Blockchain is an open, apportioned registry developed to record transactions in code, preventing fraudulent acts. The cryptographic processes recorded on a blockchain ensure there won’t be duplicates of users’ holdings. Coins and tokens are individual units of cryptocurrencies. Some units are made for exchange, generally intended to pay for services or goods. Other units are designed as stores of value designed and generated to aid computer networks in running complex financial transactions.
Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency enjoying the largest market cap, is developed through a process referred to as mining. The process requires intense energy wherein computers solve complicated puzzles to verify the authenticity of transactions running through a network. Mining may reward computer owners with newly generated cryptocurrency, but it is not the most environmentally-friendly way to create units. Many global users prefer buying crypto from another user or exchange.
For Earnity’s Domenic Carosa and Dan Schatt, part of the appeal of cryptocurrency comes from its objective to eliminate central banks from managing and monitoring the money supply. Centralized financial institutions tend to lower the value of money through inflation. Individuals advocating for crypto appreciate the blockchain technology that supports cryptocurrencies as the decentralized recording and processing system offers more security than traditional payment methods.
