By now, a lot of us are pretty sound about the concept of cryptocurrencies. With a brief introduction to what it is – especially for the readers who are new to this segment, we shall go on to discuss crypto current affairs in the market. 

Cryptocurrencies:

The brainchild of Satoshi Nakamoto, cryptocurrencies have existed in the market since 2009. It has achieved widespread success through time and now is on the verge of giving fiat currencies good competition. These currencies are essentially digital codes that are not floating independently on the web. Rather, it is spun through a niche of many networks of computers which are called blockchains. The blockchain system is on which cryptocurrencies rely. 

Examples- 

The first block using which Bitcoin was mined for the first time is called the Genesis Block. This invariably made Bitcoin the very first cryptocurrency to function freely in the global market. Other cryptocurrencies exist as well and here is a brief list of the names of some of them along with their month and year of inception:

• Litecoin (October 2011)
• Ethereum (July 2015)
• Ripple (2012)
• Dogecoin (December 2013)
• Monero (April 2014) 

Let us now discuss some interesting cryptocurrency current affairs:  

1. Reports and surveys suggest that Indians now are interested in cryptocurrency. The country that has been known for holding more than 25,000 tonnes of gold has started to try its luck in investing in cryptocurrency. Worth $40 billion of crypto is under the investment of Indians. The figure was $200 million last year. 

1. We have come across instances of governments being wary about including a cryptocurrency as their country’s legal tender. However, quite recently, i.e, in June 2021, El Salvador managed to become the first country ever to recognize Bitcoin as their legal tender along with the US Dollar. Quite interestingly, the plan was recommended by the country’s president himself and was later successfully passed in the parliament. 

1. With the news of crypto being welcomed as a legal tender in one country, on the other hand, in Turkey, cryptocurrencies have been banned since April 2021. The central bank along with the government ruled out any kind of ‘risky’ transactions involving cryptocurrencies. Post the ban Bitcoin fell by 4.6% from a surge of 111% in March 2021. 

1. Released in 2013, Dogecoin surged by more than 800% during April 2021, after they announced their space mission of DOGE-1 in collaboration with SpaceX. DOGE-1 is completely backed by Dogecoin which is presently ranked at number 4 in the list of the most valuable cryptocurrencies. The satellite is scheduled to be launched in 2022. 

1. UNICEF is the first public organization that legitimized donations in cryptocurrency. It has also urged other organizations like the American Red Cross to come on board and the future seems positive. Ethereum has collaborated with UNICEF and has pledged to serve needy children and youth all over the world. 

1. Bitcoin mining consumes heavy loads of electricity and it is a real concern keeping in mind the future of crypto and its relationship with the environment. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey will partner with Block-stream Mining, a blockchain company to produce solar-powered bitcoin mining stations. 

Where can you start? 

All these news and current affairs about huge figures and other statistics about cryptocurrency might be heavy for you. You might be thinking about what could be the best way to start. Well, there is a range of options but the simplest of all would be to introduce yourself to crypto trading. There are various online automated software that trades for you going by suitable market conditions. For example, here is bitcoin trading which you can check out. 

Conclusion

Whatever the reason behind crypto appearing in the news, one thing that everyone has to agree on is that there seems to be an interesting future of it, going beyond the dichotomy of mere good and bad.