Crypto mining is when recent cryptocurrency transactions are checked, and new blocks are added to the blockchain.
Review transactions
Mining computers select pending transactions from a pool and check whether the sender has enough credit to complete the transaction. This includes comparing the respective transaction details with the transaction history, which is stored in the blockchain. The second check confirms that the sender has authorized the credit transfer by entering the private key.
Create a new block
Mining rigs compile valid transactions into new blocks and create a cryptographic link to the previous block by finding a solution to a complicated algorithm. If a computer successfully generates the link, it adds the block to its version of the blockchain file and makes it available to the entire network.
What influences the price of cryptocurrencies?
The cryptocurrency markets move according to demand and supply. However, they are often unaffected by economic and political events that usually affect the traditional currency because they are decentralized. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies, but what is certain is that the following factors have a significant influence on their prices:
Supply: The total amount of coins and the rate they are issued, destroyed or lost.
Market capitalization: The value of all existing coins and the users' perception of the price development.
Press: The presentation of the market and the presence of the topic in the media.
Integration: The extent to which the cryptocurrency is easily integrated into the existing infrastructure, such as the payment systems in electronic commerce.
Key Events: The main events such as regulatory updates, security breaches, and economic setbacks.How does trading in cryptocurrencies work?
IG allows you to trade cryptocurrencies through a CFD trading account. CFDs are financial derivatives that allow you to speculate on falling or rising prices of the chosen cryptocurrency. Prices are given in conventional currencies such as the US dollar. You do not take physical possession of the respective cryptocurrency.
CFDs are leveraged products, which means that you can only open a position for a fraction of the total value. While leverage increases your profits, it can also lead to higher losses if the market turns against you.
What is a spread in cryptocurrency trading?
In the financial world, a spread is a difference between the buying and selling price. As is the case with many financial markets, you will be offered two prices when you open a position on cryptocurrencies. If you open a long position, trade at the purchase price, slightly above the market price. But when you open a short position, you trade at the selling price, which is slightly below the market price.
Crypto or cyber currency is digital money. Cryptography is the science of encrypting information. Digital currencies are based on this principle. All data on owners and movements are stored in encrypted form. And not just on one server, but on several thousand at the same time. Each transaction is stored decentrally in a network. That is why it is almost impossible to forge transactions. This system is called a blockchain.
Proponents see cryptocurrencies as the answer to traditional finance. Because digital money no longer needs banks, the owners themselves become financial institutions. There is no central body that controls the flow of money and the currency. The buyers are always in control but are also responsible for the security of the property.
How long have cryptocurrencies existed, and who invented them?
In the early 1990s, a group of programmers and cryptographers discussed protecting privacy in digital space via email. Based on the term «cyberpunk,» they called themselves Cypherpunks. A well-known representative is the Briton Adam Back. He developed the first proof-of-work method on which cryptocurrencies are based. The sending computer proves that it requires a certain amount of computing effort for the outgoing message. The original aim of the proof-of-work method was to avoid spam.
An active member of the cypherpunk movement is also the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin: Satoshi Nakamoto. The name is, however, a pseudonym; the identity is still unknown today. Because of the proof of Work method is presumed that Adam Back is hiding behind the pseudonym. Others are convinced that Satoshi Nakamoto is not a single person but a group.
On November 1, 2008, Satoshi presented the idea of a cryptocurrency in “The Cryptography Mailing List.” He called it Bitcoin. The first transaction with Bitcoin was made just two months later, on January 12, 2009. Since 2011, the inventor has withdrawn more and more and leaves the further development of his idea to others. Anyone interested in the detailed history of Bitcoin can find out more on this interactive timeline.