The emergence of cryptocurrencies (a brief history) and It’s kinds
2009 is a remarkable year for cryptocurrencies, but the movement that gave rise to bitcoin started before that.
The idea of an electronic and anonymous payment system emerged in 1998 , when Wei Dai published the description of “B-Money”.Shortly thereafter, Nick Szabo created Bit Gold, an e-money system to say the least.
It required its users to complete a proof-of-work function, in which solutions would be cryptographically computed and published.
All these instruments ended up working as a kind of validation for a larger project , implemented in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto: bitcoin.
By the way, about Nakamoto, it is known that this is not his real name. Many try to decipher who is the mentor behind the most famous virtual currency, while others don’t even believe in its existence.
Whether Nakamoto is a real or virtual character, what is known is that he was fundamental for cryptocurrencies.From his initiative, others emerged, such as Namecoin and Litecoin, in 2011.
These are just a few examples, as the list of cryptocurrencies could be much longer if many of the ones that were launched didn’t disappear for lack of technical innovation.
But things changed starting in 2014 when a new generation of cryptocurrencies emerged.Among them, Monero, Ethereum and Nxt, some of which remain active and growing, including advanced features such as smart contracts and hidden addresses.
The cryptocurrency RaiBlocks, also created in 2014, solved some known issues with bitcoin, such as delay in transactions, fees and high energy consumption (mining).In 2018, it was renamed to Nano, and today it is instantaneous and does not charge any transaction fees.
What are the different types of cryptocurrency architecture
Cryptocurrency architecture is nothing more than the existing structure for the virtual currency to circulate.
It is like a system, a network, through which transactions take place in a decentralized manner, as already highlighted.In this topic, we are going to talk about the different types of cryptocurrency architectures.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a list of records protected and linked through encryption. It is what gives validity to each cryptocurrency. Roughly speaking, which grants authenticity to transactions.
They can be registered from blockchains efficiently and permanently, even with great resistance to any change in information.
For its functioning, the blockchain depends on the management of a point-to-point network, which also involves a collective adherence to a protocol used in the validation of new blocks.
Once the data of a block is registered, there is no way to make retroactive modifications without this impacting the so-called subsequent blocks.
Timestamping
A timestamping is a timestamp scheme that also plays an important role in moving cryptocurrencies.It avoids having to look for another trust method for logging transactions that are added to the blockchain.
Work proof schemes
This was the first type of timestamp created. The most used are based on SHA-256 and script.The latter is the one that dominates the world of cryptocurrencies, having at least 480 confirmed implementations.
Combined proof of work and participation schemes
There are cryptocurrencies that make use of a combined proof of work and participation scheme.It is very dependent on the coin, and today there is no standard form for it.
For its proof to happen, there must be a method that guarantees a network of cryptocurrencies , producing a consensus based on the request of users to expose the ownership of a certain amount of the virtual currency.
Mining
Remember when we talked about virtual mining ? So, just like in real life, this is a mining process.It is seen as a kind of validation of network cryptocurrency transactions.
Thus, miners, when successful, receive a new cryptocurrency as a premium, which reduces the fees involved in the transaction and creates an additional incentive for the so-called processing power of the network.
portfolios
The cryptocurrency wallet, in turn, serves to store private or public keys , as well as addresses that can be used to earn or spend the cryptocurrency.
Anonymity
Some cryptocurrencies allow true anonymity, making use of technologies such as ring signatures and zero-knowledge proofs.
