wtf is cryptocurrency?
With the world buzzing about cryptocurrency, why is it still so hard for us to wrap our heads around? Well, things are usually confusing because the people who are profiting from them want to keep it that way. But this doesn’t have to be the case with cryptocurrency. That’s why we’ve introduced our “wtf is x” series — to help you go from crypto curious to crypto confident.
wtf is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency combines two of the most unnecessarily complex concepts in the world: technology and finance. So yes, it’s expected that you don’t get it. Most people can’t even tell you how their phones operate or their credit cards work, and that’s completely normal. Truth is, the people in power have somehow convinced us that it’s better we don’t know. We’re here to change that.
So, here is the f3 translates definition:
Let’s begin by breaking down the word: Crypto + Currency
Crypto stands for cryptography, which means secure, private code
+
Currency = money
When we put the two back together, cryptocurrency is [digital] money made up of secure, private code.
Why should I care about cryptocurrency?
For as long as we’ve all been alive, the world has functioned with some form of currency. First, we were trading goods like silk and spices. Then, we moved to gold and silver. And once those became too difficult to use, we moved onto paper money (aka fiat currency). The internet would eventually bring us digital money (ie. Venmo, PayPal, e-transfers for my fellow Canadians 🇨🇦). And now, it’s cryptocurrency.
Where physical currency relies on a central bank to verify transactions, cryptocurrency relies on private, secure code. With this technology, currency isn’t owned, stored, and verified by a single, central bank; instead, it can be owned, stored, and verified by anyone. As we evolved from one currency to the next, entirely new ways of doing business were created. So, not caring about cryptocurrency means that you’ll be missing out on the next billion+ dollar business opportunities.
Give me an example.
As of 2022, there are more than 10,000 different cryptocurrencies. Some you may have heard of include Bitcoin, Ether, and Matic. Since Bitcoin is the first known cryptocurrency and Ether is a close second, every other coin is grouped into what people call alternative coins (Alt-Coins)
Bitcoin is a currency of the Bitcoin network and Ether is the currency for the Ethereum network. These cryptocurrencies represent the very networks that they were created on. Think of these networks like countries with their own currencies.
Just as the United States of America functions with the USD or Japan with the Japanese ¥, transactions within a specific blockchain network like Avalanche will require its cryptocurrency AVAX or on MATIC when on the Polygon network.
Some prices as of February 2022:
Bitcoin (BTC) is worth $38,799.50USD ($313.92 in 2012)
Ether (ETH) is worth $2,618.35USD (under $1 at creation in 2015)
Matic (MATIC) is worth $1.44USD ($0.00263 at creation in 2017)
Feeling curious? Check out these other articles from F3.
wtf is an NFT?
wtf is web3?
wtf is DeFi?
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wtf is f3?
f3 stands for fuck 3. Fuck the less than 3% of all venture capital that went to female founders. f3 stands for funding female founders, and that’s what we’re doing. Join our community today: f3vc.com
