🤔Crypto Curious? Droplit Can Help! Start Here!
Last updated
Last updated
Welcome to the world of crypto! We’re glad you’re here. We know it can be pretty intimidating. It’s hard to figure out where to begin and everyone seems to be doing something else — that’s where we step in and guide you through this in a practical and simple way.
Even if you’re new to cryptocurrency, you’ve probably heard about Bitcoin. There’s a fairly common misconception that being in crypto means having Bitcoin ($BTC). Yes, Bitcoin is one of the many coins in the cryptocurrency space, but they aren’t one and the same.
Cryptocurrency was coined (see what I did there?) by combining two words. Cryptography, which is the study of secure communications that ensure delivery from sender to receiver, and currency. Essentially, the name says it all. Cryptocurrency means using advanced mathematical algorithms to secure your funds so nobody else can spend it.
If traditional currency exists, then why create cryptocurrency, right?
Traditional financial institutions and currency have a lot of pain points. Because everything is centralized, it’s controlled, it can be manipulated, and there’s a lot of red tape. To address all of that, cryptocurrency's features include:
You’re in control - This means while most financial services are able to stop transactions or freeze accounts, crypto is decentralized, no one can stop you from doing what you want with your funds.
Censorship-resistant - Because of the amazing concept of blockchains, which we’ll touch on in a bit, it’s virtually impossible to hack or tamper with crypto.
Lightning Fast - Unlike most financial services that take a considerable amount of time to get from point A to point B, international transfers are done within seconds and the fees are much lower than a wire transfer would cost you.
💡 WHAT IS A BLOCKCHAIN? The blockchain is the reason why cryptocurrency is so secure. Simply put, imagine that each transaction made (whether deposit, withdrawal or anything else) is a block. In each block, you have not only the details of that transaction, but of the one before it. That’s why it’s called a blockchain. This is why it’s tamper-proof. Because everyone can access this and it is easy to spot discrepancies. Because if they wanted to alter one block, say BLOCK B, they would need to alter BLOCK A which comes before it as well, because the information is there as well, and the one after it, BLOCK C — because that also contains information on BLOCK B. And it goes on and on. The blockchain is sort of like a super-advanced ledger on steroids that keeps track of transactions in a simple and effective way.
Bitcoin ($BTC) is one of the many coins in the cryptocurrency space. A few of the main players include some others you may have heard of: Ethereum ($ETH), Solana ($SOL), Cardano ($ADA). Some coins like Bitcoin are stand-alone coins, while other coins have what is called a network.
Simply put, when we say the coin has a network, it means there are a bunch of smaller tokens that each have their own protocols or ways for how they earn and work.
The smaller tokens work hand in hand with the main coin (in our case, $BNB) providing use for it, as well as providing liquidity for the main coin. You transact or pay gas fees using $BNB— meaning you put money in, you convert to other tokens, you send money, all paying very minimal fees in $BNB.
