Evolution

As humanity developed and evolved, commodity-money relations were changing too. It all started from
exchange in kind, the barter system. However, this method had a big problem due to the possibility of a
mismatch between the seller’s and the buyer’s needs. Then barter was replaced with so-called
commodity money, meaning some thing of universal value — like salt, tea, tobacco, seeds and so on.
There were exotic options such as silver and gold.

In 1661, paper money was first issued in Sweden. Banks were created and began to use banknotes for
depositors and borrowers to make things easier, thereby replacing huge piles of coins. Since then, the
evolution of money made an incredible leap, taking the form of plastic cards and, finally, in 2009, gave
to the world Bitcoin, a virtual decentralized currency.

Cryptos

Decentralization is the process of distributing and dispersing power away from a central authority.

Transparent in the sense that it provides a fully auditable and valid ledger of every transactions publicly

Immutability also meaning the ability of a cryptocurrencies ledger to remain unchanged,

Block chain

A blockchain is, in the simplest of terms, a time-stamped series of immutable records of data that is
managed by a cluster of computers not owned by any single entity. Cluster meaning multiple computers
(device) combining computing power to carry out a task or solve a problem.

The blockchain network has no central authority — it is the very definition of a democratized system.
Since it is a shared ledger, the information in it is open for anyone and everyone to see. Therefore,

Pretty much any services that run on the blockchain can be decentralized. This includes currencies, data
storage, hosting and more. Since the activities surrounding these processes are distributed, it makes it
near impossible for them to be shut down or controlled by an outside authority and this will actually
become more and more important as time goes on. Anything that is built on the blockchain is by its very
nature transparent and everyone involved is accountable for their actions.

Other uses of blockchain are Monitoring supply chains, creating digital IDs, data sharing. Medical
record keeping, tracking and equity trading.

Peer to peer

the "peers" are computer systems which are connected to each other via the Internet. Data can
be shared directly between systems on the network without the need of a central server. 
Fiat money is government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as gold or
silver, but rather by the government

Tokens

To understand this in simple terms, consider the following real-life example; you have a ticket to a
movie, which allows you to watch a movie at a particular time but the same ticket won’t allow you to
board the train and travel. Similarly, a token is used as a payment source but they carry a value only at a
particular time based on the issued project.

Stable coin

They are normally collateralized. Meaning that the total number of stable coins in circulation is backed
by assets held in reserve. Put simply, if there are 500,000 USD-pegged coins in circulation, there should
be at least $500,000 sitting in a bank.

FIAT VS CRYPTO

• Fiat currency is “legal tender” backed by a “central government.” Is in physical form, or it can
be represented electronically, such as with bank credit. The government controls the supply and
you can pay your taxes with it.

• Cryptocurrency  is not “legal tender” and it is not backed by a central government

or bank (it is decentralized and global). Its form is more like bank credit sans the bank
(in that it is represented digitally, but not backed by a bank or government). An algorithm
controls the supply and you can’t pay your taxes with it (instead you have to pay taxes
on it).

Otherwise, there is no intrinsic difference. Both fiat currency and cryptocurrency can be called
money or currency, both are mediums of exchange that are used to store and transfer value,
both can be used to purchases goods and services, both have their value governed by supply,
demand, work, scarcity, and other economic factors, both have their value affected by the
quality of the system surrounding it, both can be traded on exchanges, etc.

ADVANTAGES
Boosting Global Trade

However, in the 21st century, they are beginning to hold us back. We live in an

increasingly global world where people want and expect things instantly. For example,
people no longer want to wait many hours for a transaction to go through. Domestic and
international money transfers can take hours or even days to go through.

Lowering Costs

It is not just the increased speed of crypto payments that will boost global trade, but also the
lower fees. Not only do regular banks charge you anything from 0.5-5% to transfer money, but
you will also often be hit by an additional one-off charge for the transaction, along with receiving
a worse than market exchange rate when sending money abroad.

This can lead to some companies losing 1-5% of potential earnings on transfer fees alone. This
increases the prices of products in the shops for consumers and even lowers wages as
companies try hard to cut costs in order to break even or make a small profit. With
cryptocurrency charges for transfers tending to be between 0.1 and 1.5%. Therefore, a switch
from the high fees of fiat currencies could see cheaper products in the stores, better wages for
workers, and increased profits for companies.

UNLIMITED TRANSACTIONS

In cryptocurrencies, you can pay using your wallet to anyone, anywhere and any amount.
The transaction cannot be controlled or prevented, so you can make transfers anywhere
in the world wherever another user with a crypto wallet is located.

No Political Risk

Because the price of fiat currencies is dependent on the economy of the country and the
government’s management of it, either printing more of it to lower its value or decreasing how
much is available to increase it. This can make currencies particularly turbulent to political or
economic troubles in a country. A perfect example of this is the crisis in Venezuela at the
moment, which has seen inflation sore to 1.7 million per cent in the last year as a result of poor
government management and a worsening economy. This huge devaluation of money has led
to an average monthly salary now being worth 23 dollars.

Cryptocurrencies can’t be devalued by more being created. As more people use them their
value will actually increase..

Investments

The current monetary system hurts the poorest people and those with the least financial
knowledge the most. For example, some people in this country still save cash at home under
the bed, in a jar or elsewhere. Some may even have hundreds of thousands thousands stored
like this. Because of inflation money is worth less each year, these people are losing money all
the time. The situation is scarcely better for people who keep their money in the bank in a
current account or perharps in a low yielding savings account. Because the rates of interest on
these are often still far below the rate of inflation. Even if you don’t, the banks know how to use
your money and make a profit from it. It is only when people can begin to invest in stocks,
properties and businesses that much higher rates of return, beyond that of inflation, can be
found.

Highly Secured.
All your transactions will be secure as it is using cryptography. It is next to impossible for any
person other than the owner of the wallet to make any payment from the wallet unless they were
hacked, don’t worry there are many ways to protect yourself.

Transactional operating time for fiat sometimes depends on if it’s a working day. For crypto is
24/7

DISADVANTAGES

LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

Most people are not aware of how to use cryptocurrency and open themselves to the
hackers or scammers. The digital currency technology is somewhat complex and therefore
one needs to be mindful of it before investing.

Strong Volatility

Since from the beginnings, cryptocurrencies having highly  volatile nature. This is one of
the main reasons mass adoption is taking longer than it should. Many corporations don’t
want to deal with a form of money that is going to go through huge swings in volatility.

Not Accepted Widely.

Still, cryptocurrencies are not acceptable in countries and online websites,  Very few
countries have legalized the use of cryptocurrencies. It makes it impractical for everyday
use. Due to a lack of acceptance.

Not Able to Reverse the Payment.

If you mistakenly pay someone by using cryptocurrency, then there is no way to get a
refund of the amount paid. All you can do is to ask the person for a refund and if your
request is turned down, then just forget about the money

GRAPH OF TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

WHY BANKERS HATE CRYPTOS

So, why are so many people going out of their way to avoid the banking system. It turns out that
traditional banks can often be more expensive for lower-income individuals to use, as they are at a
higher risk of being assessed fees from overdrafts, bounced checks or late payments.

Market cap

Market cap = Total Circulating Supply * Price of each coin.

Stock market analysts use the market capitalization of companies to make informed investment
decisions. Prices fluctuate for a variety of reasons. Favorable or unfavorable news stories create price
jumps. Government actions play a part. And, exchanges sometimes create dramatic effects in price.
Large Market cap companies like Apple, Amazon, Walmart, or Home Depot have less risk to the investor.
But growing to a certain size limits a company’s growth potential.

How are Cryptos Created?

Cryptocurrency is software. Every function from how transactions are recorded, to how data
is stored, is dictated by code.

Cryptocurrencies are created by algorithms that rely on cryptography. That is why it is

called “crypto” currency. Every transaction relates back to unique cryptographic codes that
secure the network

Cryptocurrency software is decentralized and distributed, meaning it is hosted on many

peoples’ computers across the world instead of just on one server by one company.

Cryptocurrency is created by code. In many cases, new coins are created when transactions are
confirmed by a process known as mining. With that said, while coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum
use mining, not every cryptocurrency uses mining to generate new coins and coins can be
created some other ways as well.

Cryptocurrency mining is painstaking, costly and only sporadically rewarding. Nonetheless,

mining has a magnetic appeal for many investors interested in cryptocurrency because of the
fact that miners are rewarded for their work with crypto tokens

Taking bitcoin as an example. The bitcoin reward that miners receive is an incentive which
motivates people to assist in the primary purpose of mining: to support, legitimize and monitor
the Bitcoin network and its block-chain. Because these responsibilities are spread among many
users all over the world, bitcoin is said to be a "decentralized" cryptocurrency, or one that does
not rely on a central bank or government to oversee its regulation.. 
CRYPTO WALLET

A cryptocurrency wallet is where you store your cryptocurrencies after you have bought them.
You can compare a cryptocurrency wallet with your bank account. In the same way that you
store traditional currencies (USD, JPY, EUR etc.) in your bank account, you will store your
cryptocurrencies in your crypto wallet.

There are a lot of easy-to-use and safe options to choose from. It is important that you choose a
highly-secure wallet, because if your cryptocurrency gets stolen from your wallet, you
can never get it back.

The wallet you need will depend on which cryptocurrency you want to buy. If you buy Bitcoin, for
example, you’ll need a wallet that can store Bitcoin. If you buy Litecoin, you’ll need a wallet that
can store Litecoin. Luckily, there are a lot of good wallets to choose  that can store multiple
cryptocurrencies. 

Buying crypto

Location

To find out how and where you can buy cryptocurrency, it is important for you check your country’s
regulations.

Payment Method

The most common and accepted payment methods to buy cryptocurrency include: credit card, bank
transfer or even cash. Different websites accept different payment methods, so you’ll need to choose a
website that accepts the payment method you want to use.

Type of Cryptocurrency

Not all cryptocurrencies are available for purchase on every website. You will have to find a website that
sells the cryptocurrency that you want to buy.

Cost of Fees

Each website has different fees. Some are cheap, some are not so cheap. Make sure you know how
much the fees cost before setting up an account on any website. You don’t want to waste your time
verifying yourself and then find out the fees are too high!
How much you can afford

As with any investment, you should never invest more than you can afford.

Not Nigeria supported

If you live in Asia, Africa or South America, you probably can’t use Coinbase. It is mainly only
available in Europe, Australia and North America — you can see a full list of the available
countries 

Buying cryptos isn’t expensive, but some exchanges try to make money off people from
deposits.