This blogpost contains some of the points mentioned in a course on Udemy titled ‘Cryptocurrency Fundamentals’, taught by George Levy

  • Using Ethereum, one can create your own crypto tokens.
  • Key benefits of cryptocurrency
    • Impossible to counterfeit
    • Fast settlement
    • Impervious to currency manipulation by governments
    • Can help 2 Billion unbanked people
  • Not all cryptocurrencies are electronic cash currencies
  • Litecoin was introduced in 2011
  • Ethereum was launched in 2015
  • Smart contracts are digital assets
  • ERC20 tokens can be created on Ethereum network
  • Types of wallets
    • Desktop
    • Mobile
    • Hardware
    • Web
  • Cold storage options
    • Brain Wallet
    • Paper wallet
    • USB Drive
    • Hardware wallet
  • Choosing Desktop wallet
  • Popular Crypto exchanges
    • coinbase.com
    • kracken.com - KYC takes a long time
    • Exclusively cyptocurrency
      • shapeshift.io
      • poloneix.com
      • bittrex.com
  • HODL
    • HODLers are crypto investors who buy and hold their positions regardless of price. Whether the market is up, down or sideways, these folks stay invested, confident in the long-term value of crypto. The term was created in 2013 in a Bitcoin chat forum by an investor who was watching Bitcoin’s price fall sharply but decided not to sell. He wrote a post titled, “I am HODLing,” meaning to write “HOLDing.” The misspelling caught on with the Bitcoin community. Eventually, working backward, they turned it into an evocative acronym: Hold On for Dear Life. Anyone who has watched Bitcoin’s recent volatility knows that the acronym can sometimes feel spot-on.
  • Bitcoin is a legal form of payment in Japan
  • https://blockfi.com/ - Blockchain based wealth management company
  • Stable coin : Digital asset that is pegged to a different asset. Reduces market volatility
    • Avoid price volatility
    • Moves at the speed of cryptocurrency
    • Programmable
    • Regulated
  • Popular stable coins
    • Tether
    • USD Coin
    • Gemini dollar
    • TrueUSD
  • Converting Crypto currency to fiat currency via standard exchanges
    • coinbase.com
    • kracken
    • gemini
    • bitstamp
  • For some exotic cryptocurrencies, you might have to convert to BTC and then use a popular exchange to Fiat company
  • One can use Coinbase card to use cryptocurrency to make payments in fiat currency
  • Coins vs. Tokens : Coins operates independently of platforms. Tokens requires another platform to exist and operate
  • NFT - Non Fungible Tokens
  • Never knew that there were close to 5000 Bitcoin ATMs around the world