There’s a lot of buzz lately about cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Some say Bitcoin is the currency of the future while others say it’s just a fad that will only remain relevant in techie circles. And unsurprisingly, most people have yet to truly understand the ramifications of cryptocurrenices. But what exactly is a cryptocurrency? To understand what cryptocurrency is, we first need to dissect the term crypto-currency.

The word cryptocurrency comes from joining two words together, Crypto and currency. The first part, crypto, is the abbreviated version of cryptography which is a system of protecting data by means of encryption, decryption and hashing with the main intent of protecting the information being sent by and between computers connected to the internet. Cryptography can either be done online or offline. However, in relation to cryptocurrency, computers connected to the internet are the ones responsible for encrypting the transmitted data. Therefore, in cryptocurrency, everything is done in computer language or digitally. And that quickly covers the word ‘crypto’ in the term cryptocurrency.

Currency, on the other hand, is something that can be used as a medium of exchange that is usually agreed upon by two or more parties. For example, the most common form of currency is money, which, just like cryptocurrency, also have many different types. For example, some types of currencies are the Trinidad and Tobago Dollar, the US dollar and the English pound. People use currency for many things including investing, purchase of goods and services, and collateral for loans. Therefore you can use currency for the acquisition and purchase of things.

When we put the two words together we get cryptocurrency, or simply put, cryptocurrency is a form of intangible digital medium of exchange that can be used to purchase and acquire any good or service once the two parties agree. So, do you think there is a future for cryptocurrencies in Trinidad and Tobago? Would you invest in cryptocurrencies in TnT?