As the popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continues to grow, more people are investing in this digital money. However, it’s not as simple as buying shares of a company or other financial securities. Understanding the various aspects of cryptocurrency takes time and effort, which is why you should consider getting educated about this growing field before you invest.

The world of cryptocurrency can be complicated for beginners due to its technical nature and numerous terms. There are many websites that offer information about specific coins such as their value, news updates, and graphs with market data. However, if you want to go beyond reading general articles about crypto and dive deeper into the details, there are several subjects worth exploring.

Understanding the different types of cryptocurrency is just the beginning. You’ll also want to learn about mining protocols, blockchain technology use cases, how tokens are created and sold during an ICO, how exchanges work, security measures like crypto wallets or hardware wallets to store your coins safely offline, etc.

Blockchain Basics

The blockchain is the technology that cryptocurrencies are built on. It is a public ledger that records any and all cryptocurrency transactions, like who sent how much to whom. This holds information about all the different wallets, including the amount of currency in them and their wallet address.

It’s important to note that the information is decentralized and distributed among all the computers in the blockchain network. This means that there is no central server or location where information is stored, which makes hacking very difficult.

Crypto Vocabulary

There are many words and phrases related to crypto that you may not be familiar with. If you’re just starting out, you should familiarize yourself with these terms and their definitions so that you understand the conversations happening around you.

Hodl: This is a misspelling of “hold” that has become a commonly used term in the crypto investment community. It refers to when someone decides to hold onto their coins despite a dip in the market.

Dump: This refers to when someone sells off all or part of their coin holdings very quickly.

DYOR: This is an acronym that means “do your own research”. It’s a reminder that when you’re reading about other coins, you should conduct your own research and not just rely on what others are saying.

Bitcoin and Ethereum

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency that was ever created. It was released in 2009 and was the first digital cash that didn’t need a bank or any other financial institution to process payments or transfers. Bitcoin’s blockchain is what underpins all cryptocurrencies today.

Ethereum is another popular cryptocurrency that is often referred to as a “token”. Ethereum’s token is called ether, and it is used to power the Ethereum blockchain. Ether can also be traded and exchanged for other coins.

Security Basics

If you’re using a cryptocurrency exchange to buy or sell coins, or storing them in a third-party wallet, you need to keep your coins safe. Whether you’re investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Icon, or any other coin, you’ll want to keep your funds secure by following a few basic steps. First, if you are storing your coins on an exchange, take advantage of two-factor authentication (2FA) to increase account security.

Next, avoid storing your coins on third-party wallets that might get hacked, like an exchange account, a cloud wallet service, or a login-and-password-based wallet. Instead, use a secure wallet like a hardware wallet or paper wallet, which you have complete control over and can’t be hacked.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrencies are starting to become mainstream, so you’ll want to get more familiar with them and understand how they work. Start by reading articles and watching videos about different coins and the technologies behind them.

You can also join cryptocurrency communities on social media or join a local meetup group to meet other people who are also interested in this field. With time, you’ll learn more about the different types of coins, their uses, and which ones might be worth investing in.