Affiliation:
1. Pailan College of Management and Technology, India
Abstract
Since ancient times, currency has been an integral part of our lives. In the early times, we saw the barter system. No one really knows how currency came into the play. China created the world's first paper money in the early 7th century. Thousands of years later, we are living in the era of internet where after virtual games and friends, we have started using virtual currency. Cryptocurrency is an encrypted, peer-to-peer network for online payments directly between two parties without going through a financial institution. Bitcoin was the first and most popular cryptocurrency that was introduced in the year 2009 which created a huge surge in the market and got a lot of attention from the world. This new type of money is not likely to replace traditional flat currency, but it has the potential to change the way global markets interact with each other. Since the introduction of cryptocurrency, it has gathered a lot of appreciation and criticism. This chapter will provide in-depth discussion on cryptocurrency, its architecture, and also its pros and cons.