Since the beginning of the year, the number of cryptocurrencies has increased dramatically and digital assets have emerged as a new opportunity for retail and professional traders post the Covid-19 disruption to financial markets. Despite this exponential growth, many people still lack knowledge about cryptocurrencies or they think that cryptocurrency refers exclusively to Bitcoin.
To further explain, a cryptocurrency is a digital currency that can be traded for profit or can be used to buy goods and services. In this vein, cryptocurrencies are created and managed through the use of cryptographic encryption, a technology that gained more publicity in 2009 with Bitcoin which formed the first decentralized currency.
Interestingly, Bitcoin remains the most famous cryptocurrency eleven years later although there are currently more than 10,000 different cryptocurrencies. Given this, it is worth noting that In April of this year, the total value of cryptocurrencies reached $2,2 trillion, which is around 4.4% of the total value of money globally.
In this context, there are many different assumptions about how large this market can become in the future or which coin will be the next to challenge Bitcoin. Only one certainty exists though and that is cryptocurrencies are here to stay.