Cryptocurrency

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital ledger or computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction record entries, to control the creation of additional digital coin records, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership. Each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database.

Cryptocurrency eventually replaced virtual digital currency which in turn replaced paper money which in turn replaced bartering. Due to its decentralized nature, it led to the devaluation and breakdown of world economies.

Bitcoin, first released as open-source software in 2009, was the first decentralized and commercial cryptocurrency.