Cryptocurrency market
This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals https://hebraicrootsversion.com/.
The validity of each cryptocurrency’s coins is provided by a blockchain. A blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data. A blockchain is “an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way”. For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires collusion of the network majority.
To understand the differences between cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies, imagine regular fiat money, such as US dollars and euros, but entirely digital and independent of banks or governments — that’s cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency, or crypto, is a form of digital payment. Unlike traditional currency which represents physical money, cryptocurrencies are purely digital assets. Although people use it primarily for online transactions, you can sometimes use it to purchase physical assets. While traditional payment methods are regulated by central banks and the government, cryptocurrency is decentralized, meaning it isn’t controlled by one central authority.
On 11 November 2022, FTX Trading Ltd., a cryptocurrency exchange, which also operated a crypto hedge fund, and had been valued at $18 billion, filed for bankruptcy. The financial impact of the collapse extended beyond the immediate FTX customer base, as reported, while, at a Reuters conference, financial industry executives said that “regulators must step in to protect crypto investors.” Technology analyst Avivah Litan commented on the cryptocurrency ecosystem that “everything…needs to improve dramatically in terms of user experience, controls, safety, customer service.”
Top cryptocurrency
Bitcoin is the oldest and most established cryptocurrency, and has a market cap that is larger than all of the other cryptocurrencies combined. Bitcoin is also the most widely adopted cryptocurrency, and is accepted by practically all businesses that deal with cryptocurrency.
Given the thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence and the high volatility associated with most of them, it’s understandable you might want to take a diversified approach to investing in crypto to minimize the risk that you might lose money.
Bitcoin is the oldest and most established cryptocurrency, and has a market cap that is larger than all of the other cryptocurrencies combined. Bitcoin is also the most widely adopted cryptocurrency, and is accepted by practically all businesses that deal with cryptocurrency.
Given the thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence and the high volatility associated with most of them, it’s understandable you might want to take a diversified approach to investing in crypto to minimize the risk that you might lose money.
Crypto market cap matters because it is a useful way to compare different cryptocurrencies. If Coin A has a significantly higher market cap than Coin B, this tells us that Coin A is likely adopted more widely by individuals and businesses and valued higher by the market. On the other hand, it could potentially also be an indication that Coin B is undervalued relative to Coin A.
Cryptocurrency is treated as a capital asset, like stocks, rather than cash. That means if you sell cryptocurrency at a profit, you’ll have to pay capital gains taxes. This is the case even if you use your crypto to pay for a purchase. If you receive a greater value for it than you paid, you’ll owe taxes on the difference.
Cryptocurrency
In terms of annual consumption (kWh/yr), the figures were: Polkadot (70,237), Tezos (113,249), Avalanche (489,311), Algorand (512,671), Cardano (598,755) and Solana (1,967,930). This equates to Polkadot consuming 7 times the electricity of an average U.S. home, Cardano 57 homes and Solana 200 times as much. The research concluded that PoS networks consumed 0.001% the electricity of the bitcoin network. University College London researchers reached a similar conclusion.
Transaction fees (sometimes also referred to as miner fees or gas fees) for cryptocurrency depend mainly on the supply of network capacity at the time, versus the demand from the currency holder for a faster transaction. The ability for the holder to be allowed to set the fee manually often depends on the wallet software used, and central exchanges for cryptocurrency (CEX) usually do not allow the customer to set a custom transaction fee for the transaction. Their wallet software, such as Coinbase Wallet, however, might support adjusting the fee.
Such large amounts of money in cryptocurrencies have attracted the attention of thieves. An early, spectacular theft occurred in February 2014, when Mt. Gox, the world’s third largest Bitcoin exchange, declared bankruptcy because of the theft of about 650,000 Bitcoins, then valued at about $380 million. The largest cryptocurrency hack happened in 2025, when $1.4 billion in Ethereum was stolen from the Bybit exchange. Evidence pointed to the Lazarus Group of North Korean hackers as being behind the Bybit theft. (The Federal Bureau of Investigation had previously identified the Lazarus Group as the culprits in a 2022 cryptocurrency heist of $614 million.)
In terms of annual consumption (kWh/yr), the figures were: Polkadot (70,237), Tezos (113,249), Avalanche (489,311), Algorand (512,671), Cardano (598,755) and Solana (1,967,930). This equates to Polkadot consuming 7 times the electricity of an average U.S. home, Cardano 57 homes and Solana 200 times as much. The research concluded that PoS networks consumed 0.001% the electricity of the bitcoin network. University College London researchers reached a similar conclusion.
Transaction fees (sometimes also referred to as miner fees or gas fees) for cryptocurrency depend mainly on the supply of network capacity at the time, versus the demand from the currency holder for a faster transaction. The ability for the holder to be allowed to set the fee manually often depends on the wallet software used, and central exchanges for cryptocurrency (CEX) usually do not allow the customer to set a custom transaction fee for the transaction. Their wallet software, such as Coinbase Wallet, however, might support adjusting the fee.
Such large amounts of money in cryptocurrencies have attracted the attention of thieves. An early, spectacular theft occurred in February 2014, when Mt. Gox, the world’s third largest Bitcoin exchange, declared bankruptcy because of the theft of about 650,000 Bitcoins, then valued at about $380 million. The largest cryptocurrency hack happened in 2025, when $1.4 billion in Ethereum was stolen from the Bybit exchange. Evidence pointed to the Lazarus Group of North Korean hackers as being behind the Bybit theft. (The Federal Bureau of Investigation had previously identified the Lazarus Group as the culprits in a 2022 cryptocurrency heist of $614 million.)