A cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is created and managed through the use of advanced encryption techniques known as cryptography. Cryptocurrency made the leap from being an academic concept to (virtual) reality with the creation of Bitcoin in 2009. While Bitcoin attracted a growing following in subsequent years, it captured significant investor and media attention in April 2017 when it peaked at a record $266 per bitcoin after surging 10-fold in the preceding two months. Bitcoin sported a market value of over $2 billion at its peak, but a 50% plunge shortly thereafter sparked a raging debate about the future of cryptocurrencies in general and Bitcoin in particular.

The consumer's identity is as anonymous as they want it to be. The public ledger only contains cryptic numbers known as cryptocurrency public keys for the sender and receiver of each transaction. With hierarchical deterministic (HD) technology, even those can be easily masked.

Cryptocurrency can be sent via internet, immediately to and from anyone, anywhere, anytime, in any amount, with very minuscule fees. You need not hire a 3rd party banker, nor wire transfer service.

No one can change the predetermined and publicly published circulation schedule of a cryptocurrency. The government cannot arbitrarily create more cryptocurrency out of thin air and devalue it like they have the US dollar. Cryptocurrency has the same characteristics as precious metals used to back a currency. They work because of their controlled and limited supply. Therefore the Banksters can not inflate away your wealth.

All records are public. All technical specifications, white papers and source code files are published for the public to see. All cryptocurrency transactions are recorded in the public ledger (for example Bitcoin Blockchain) for everyone to see with a publicly provided explorer.