What is cryptography and how does it work?

What is Cryptography? Cryptography is the process of hiding or coding information so that only the person a message was intended for can read it. The art of cryptography has been used to code messages for thousands of years and continues to be used in bank cards, computer passwords, and ecommerce.

How do cryptocurrencies work?

Most cryptocurrencies (but not all) generate new units or coins through the process of mining. This is where individuals or groups (miners) use expensive computers that race to solve complicated cryptographic puzzles to verify bundles of transaction records (blocks) to the ledger.

What is secret key cryptography?

Secret key cryptography, also known as symmetric encryption, uses a single key to encrypt and decrypt a message. The sender encrypts the plaintext message using the key and sends it to the recipient who then uses the same key to decrypt it and unlock the original plaintext message.

What was the first cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin was the first, but thousands more have come. In the past few years, thousands of new cryptocurrencies have appeared, all claiming to offer something a little different. Bitcoin was the first, and its value famously rose to around $20,000 in late 2017, then crashed more than 60% in early 2018.