A Crypto and Blockchain Q&A

Years ago when I started investing in cryptocurrency I had seemingly millions of questions about it. Back then, there was nobody to turn to. It was the wild, wild west. People thought I was crazy for investing in virtual money that probably was going to go away like a ridiculous fad. Well, here we are years later and the same people who ridiculed me back then are asking me questions as they start to invest in crypto, NFTs, and the blockchain. Funny how things change. Anyway, I have compiled this list of questions and answers to make it easier to get started in such investments (by the way, no guarantees but I bet you will be happy if you invest in crypto, etc). Here goes… What is the “Blockchain?” Blockchain is a relatively new technology that has the potential to change the way we do business. It’s taking over in some areas, like finance and government services, but what is it? Blockchain can be defined as an online ledger of transactions that are secured by cryptography. It’s essentially a decentralized database with records organized into “blocks” which cannot be altered without changing all subsequent blocks. If you do a transaction, it is recorded forever and can not be redone. Is blockchain technology growing? Blockchain technology is growing at an exponential rate. It’s projected that blockchain will be worth $60 billion by 2024. That’s a huge jump from about $1 billion in 2017! If you’re not familiar with blockchain, it can be daunting to try and wrap your head around what blockchain is — let alone why it matters for the future of our society. Don’t worry, in the not too distant future, your everyday life will be somewhat based upon the blockchain. You will see. Are blockchain and cryptocurrency the same thing? Blockchain is a type of database that can store digital data in a way that makes it difficult for people to tamper with it. Cryptocurrency is money created by encryption techniques as opposed to being printed or minted like regular currency. For example, Bitcoin was the first blockchain-based cryp