In recent years, it's become increasingly common to talk about cryptocurrencies. Do you own any cryptocurrencies? Do you know how they work? And, the main question: do you know the fundamentals behind them?
People from all over the world are buying and selling cryptocurrencies on a daily basis, often without prior information, which is very dangerous.
Cryptocurrencies are hotter than ever. We hear and read about them everywhere. People feel compelled to own units of these assets, often out of fear of exclusion (FOMO syndrome), others because of recommendations from friends, or advertisements seen on websites and social networks. But, unfortunately, they are rarely obtained for the fundamental purpose for which they were created.
Just look at the YouTube videos of influencers or financial advisors showing bullish charts and profit opportunities and, in the comments, people asking whether "currency X, Y or Z is worth buying".
The concept of alternative currencies
Alternative currencies are more present in our lives than we think, even if we're not aware of it. Credit cards offer airline miles and benefit programs, gas stations offer points and various other examples of businesses offering some kind of virtual value for a specific purpose are easy to find in our daily lives.
It's important to understand that the thousands of existing cryptoassets, also known as cryptocurrencies, have specific purposes, be they financial, utilitarian, social – among other functionalities – with the great added advantage of being much more secure, transparent and democratic. Fundamentally, no central institution has the power to control or decide who can and cannot hold or tax them.
Cryptocurrencies operate on a decentralized network known as the blockchain. This allows its users to be solely responsible for the possession of their private keys, which give access to transactions in a specific wallet. The whole process becomes private and fair, in fact, since you are the true and sole owner of your assets. This means you're not dependent on a centralized institution to decide how much and how you can use them. It's already inevitable: a new web generation is emerging, and with good news. Web 3.0 will be decentralized, democratic and give power back to its users.
