Blurttradinghub/ Season 1-Week 1/ Introduction to Cryptocurrency by @hazqdee

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My name is Abdulahi Qudus with username @hazqdee and I'm happy to be joining in on the first edition of crypto this class here on Blurt. This is my entry for the class on Introduction to cryptocurrencies by the lecturer @chiomy.

1 Write extensively about Satoshi Nakamoto

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Cryptocurrencies have almost become a household name in this current generation and if you've not heard of the term, you must've heard of something related to it.

But for proper understanding, I will be defining both terms crypto and currency

to better see how they are relative to one another.

We know that a currency is something that serves as a means by which we can make exchanges or transaction payments between different people. It could be anything as long as it is accepted as a means of making payments.

Over history, humans have used many things as a source of currency, from gold silver, copper, and cowries in Africa.

Crypto on the other hand simply means something hidden or encrypted such that only certain people or there must be certain things in place to have access to it.

Combining both terms we can define a cryptocurrency as money that is encrypted, or digitalized money. This is different from paper money because cryptocurrencies cannot be held and they can only be accessed through an online means.

Today there are lots of cryptocurrencies in existence and people have continued to embrace this technology, this is mainly due to the acceptance of the first cryptocurrency known as the Bitcoin.

THE BITCOIN AND SATOSHI NAKAMOTO

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Bitcoin was created by an anonymous individual or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto. He is believed to have created Bitcoin in an attempt to form a currency that was decentralized and didn't follow the normal financial institutions which were in place such as the banks.

By being decentralized, this currency could not be regulated or controlled by any system of authority, or form of government. Instead, it relied on a system known as the peer-to-peer system where individuals directly perform transactions without the interference of a third party.
The main aim of this was to make people have financial freedom.

The success of cryptocurrencies today can be greatly attributed to the work done by Satoshi Nakamoto on Bitcoin and some regard him as the father of cryptocurrency.

On the 31st of October, he published what is known as a white paper with details showing how this system would work. And the following year the Bitcoin was launched and the first transaction was made in what is regarded as the Genesis block.

The Genesis block means the block which precedes all other blocks, this shows details of the first Bitcoin transaction that was ever made.
Embedded in it was a citation of a newspaper headline from The Times showing the instability of the present financial institutions which is the banks. Also, there is a 50 Bitcoin reward for anyone able to solve the Genesis block.

By being the preceding block the Genesis block is what is known as block 0 and as transactions are continually made and more bitcoins mined, more blocks are continually formed creating a chain and this gave birth to the term Blockchain technology.

Using what is known as Cryptography, which is a system whereby information can be stored on a ledger that cannot be tampered with, this eliminates the risk of fraud or multiple transactions recorded as a timestamp showing the previously recorded transaction is inserted on the new one creating a system where all transactions can be tracked.

Bitcoin uses a consensus mechanism which is called the proof of work of shortened to POW. This system involves the use of computational power by individuals known as validators or miners to solve complex puzzles which are in the form of cryptography. The miners compete with one another to solve them and whichever one first solves the puzzle is rewarded. This forms the basis with which transactions are validated as only the first one to be processed is recorded thereby eliminating the possibility of double-spending.

Although Satoshi Nakamoto has stopped active involvement in the Bitcoin Blockchain, over time many people have been associated with the name. But up till today the identity remains anonymous

UNIQUENESS OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES

The cryptocurrency is quite different from paper money even though both are used to perform transactions, and below are some of its unique features.

UNIQUENESS	EXPLANATION
USE OF WALLETS	cryptocurrencies unlike paper money have to be stored in Wallets and can only be accessed through an online means, this means that they cannot be held.
IT IS DECENTRALIZED	Cryptocurrencies are not under any form of authority, as such is not peculiar to just one country or government.
PRICE CHANGE	Prices of cryptocurrencies are always fluctuating depending on the market and the demand or supply availability.

2 Write short notes on any four cryptocurrencies

Today there are thousands of cryptocurrencies currently in existence and as earlier mentioned with Bitcoin being the first it is sometimes also referred to as the father, while any other from Bitcoin is referred to as altcoins meaning alternative coins.

For this question, I will be writing on the coins listed below.

• Ethereum

• Blurt

• Tron

• Tether

1. ETHEREUM

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Ethereum or Ether is a cryptocurrency Blockchain with the token also named after it, also known as ETH.

After the Bitcoin it is the second most popular cryptocurrency, it was founded in 2013 by a programmer called Vitalik Buterin.

The white paper for this Blockchain was put forward by Vitalik, and it was formally launched in July 2015 with the goal of implementation of decentralized applications.

The current price as at the time of making this post is $3874.1 on the site coinmarketcap.

2. BLURT

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Blurt is a Blockchain with a token also called Blurt, it is a social blockchain with an aim for realism as technically nothing is free here.

By rewarding its users who create contents which are unique, it shares close resemblance to other social blockchains like Hive and Steem. It was originally launched during a break away from the disagreement between the two blockchains.

Currently Blurt token price on the site coinmarketcap is at $0.03311.

3. TRON

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Tron is also a crypto Blockchain with its token known as TRX. It was founded by Justin Sun in 2017 although he recently announced he would be retiring from that role of CEO.

There has been a lot of comparison of this Blockchain to that of Ethereum because of the usage of decentralized applications also called DApps.

One major advantage the Tron Blockchain has is that it provides fast transactions with one of the lowest transaction fees making it quite popular amongst cryptocurrency traders.

It's current price on coinmarketcap site is $0.07779.

4. TETHER

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The tether which is more popularly called the USDT is a cryptocurrency that aims at stability alongside the USD.

Its price is usually at $1, and is commonly used by traders who want to hold their value for their coin for a while before going into trading again.

This makes it a stable coin that is not affected much by the fluctuations of price commonly seen in the cryptocurrency market.

CONCLUSION

Working on this has been quite insightful as one cannot truly Understand how far the crypto world has come without first understanding how it came to be.

Satoshi Nakamoto played an important role in the development and belief people have in cryptocurrency presently. It was eduactional trying to write about him.

I'll be expecting your review lecturer @@@chiomy, thank you for this lecture.