Review:
  • A cryptocurrency is like digital cash but without any banks involved. Instead, there’s a global network of people exchanging value without any intermediaries (so it’s peer-to-peer). 
  • Crypto is borderless, transactions are fast and cheap, immutable (permanently recorded), permission-less and censorship resistant. 
  • A blockchain is a decentralized computer network that processes and records transactions. Blockchain transactions are grouped into blocks which get recorded to the ledger in chronological order (which forms a “chain” of blocks”).
  • Consensus mechanisms such as proof-of-work and proof-of-stake help blockchains prevent counterfeiting.
  • Blockchains process transactions differently. 
  • “Crypto” can describe a cryptocurrency, a culture, a community or an asset. 

Research Question:
  • Why are there so many different Layer 1 blockchains? 

Digging Deeper:
  • Read (or at least glance at) Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper for a deeper understanding of Bitcoin, to read a piece of history and to gain a deeper appreciation for the technicalities behind the world’s most famous cryptocurrency.
  • Link: Bitcoin White Paper