I have heard explanations of cryptocurrency before and I think they may be lacking. I want to see if anyone here thinks my explanation is deficient or if it’s acceptable.
Cryptocurrency is a list of business transactions that under normal circumstances exist in an authenticated state. The information comprising this list is stored and communicated over a computer network using a block based arrangement containing a cryptographic value (called a hash) of the block that precedes it, the hash of the immediate block, and the list of transactions. There is also the hash of the next block if the immediate block is not the last block in the series of blocks. This arrangement of blocks is known as a block chain. The hashes at the beginning and end of each block are computationally altered if the list of transactions is altered. A network algorithm called a consensus algorithm is used to ensure that the blocks in the chain match the original blocks corresponding to those containing the list of transactions. With cryptocurrency the consensus algorithm employed creates new blocks when a node on the network presents the algorithm with a hash that matches a certain cryptographic signature.
That’s as much as I think I understand so far. I realize I might be missing some important info. If anyone can enlighten me, then thank you.