.Cryptocurrency, a term that is quite cool and trendy, especially for investors today. If you have never heard of or have heard of it but still haven't imagined what cryptocurrency is, let's take a look at the following article. This article will discuss starting from history, Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is used as a medium of exchange, just like rupiah and dollars. Types of Cryptocurrency based on en.wikipedia.org, based on the last data taken, namely in August 2018, the number reached 1600 types and continues to grow. The next question that arises is why does the type of cryptocurrency continue to grow? Digital currencies are generally safer than physical currencies, because they are decentralized. The first cryptocurrency to be discovered was Bitcoin, which was discovered by Satoshi Nakamoto in January 2009. Uniquely, the inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto is an alias and as of this writing the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has not been identified. The rapid development of Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency, gave rise to other initiators in the world of cryptocurrency. How come? In the last 7 years the selling value of Bitcoin has increased 35,500 times and tends to continue to rise. Other cryptocurrencies that have also risen rapidly are Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. Even though in 2018, the value of Bitcoin went down, but in 2019 the value has increased again. The Bitcoin market is expected to continue to surge in 2019 because Bapeppti (Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency) is rumored to have legalized cryptocurrency as a commodity, so it can immediately make rules of this virtual currency game as legal guarantees for its players.
But how does this Cryptocurrency work? A decentralized money system is a network that is able to connect consumers without going through intermediaries or third parties such as banks or governments. Through smartphones and laptops connected to the internet, consumers can send or receive money anytime, anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes. Whereas a centralized system requires more costs for its operation, besides that it has fairly strict rules, making it less efficient and effective. These problems are trying to solve through the blockchain system, which is a platform on which digital currency is run. Cryptocurrency depends closely on this blockchain system, because all transaction processes are recorded using the blockchain system. The function of this blockchain is to organize and maintain any additional data stored in each block. The blocks that store the data will connect with each other and form a decentralized network or peer to peer (P2P) network. In the blockchain, data that is stored or recorded cannot be faked or edited. P2P network is a network of agreements, where this system is able to present a new payment or transaction system. Each of these networks will have a complete record of the history of all transactions that have occurred and every balance that is owned by each Bitcoin owner account. There will be an explanation for each transaction, for example A has sent a certain amount of money to account B, then it is digitally signed by A by providing a private key to the system. Transaction records are permanent and cannot be deleted, apart from that the process is very transparent, so that anyone other than users can access the transaction history.