Money Money Money
Did you ever buy something using dollars or any other currencies? It is a rhetorical question, but this is a first step to understand what the crypto really is, because simply it is just a money! Some of you may not even know what money is. Could you agree with me, that it is a store of value?
Back to the past
Current system of payments is not an only one in our history. We used to use alternatives to euro/dollars/yens etc. for instance: gold, salt, shells, amber, cocoa beans, jade, ivory, copper, silver, gold, pigs, oxen, feathers, tobacco and so on. A cryptocurrency is another form of cash.
What makes it different from your money in the bank ?
Let's focus on the name itself. Cryptocurrency is a combination of two words: cryptography and currency. It is because it secure the transactions using cryptographic techniques between you and another users. Thanks to the cryptographya good cryptocurrencies should obtain your trust.
Using a crypto is cozier than you could imagine. Another feature is decentralization.
What does it change? Look at extreme case, where main server of your bank has been destroyed. All possible backup's were also located in the same place. They are losing information about all account balances plus you can not operate your money. In opposite, decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have scattered 'servers' over the world resulting in 24/7 uptime without any interruptions. Instead of one server, it uses nodes, where every unit holds a copy of the whole ledger of transactions called blockchain. Greate example is a Mythical Hydra. Once you cut off the Hydra's head, two more would grow on their place. This is a metaphor of nodes in bitcoin ecosystem. Even if you get rid off a one node, the thousands are running on and on keeping Bitcoin live. It is just a matter of time until new nodes will connect to the grid.
Become a bit of this party
You do not have to be just a user of cryptocurrencies. You could also participate in the system by setting up a Bitcoin node. Become your own bank.