Cryptocurrency
Digital money or assets recorded on a blockchain instead of in a bank's books.
A cryptocurrency exists only as entries in a blockchain's shared record. Most coins and tokens pay no profit or interest, so their price is only what the next buyer is willing to pay. Prices can swing very hard, and there is usually no deposit protection like a bank account.
Related terms
Explained in these lessons
- Investing, trading and gambling: what is the difference?
- Ups and downs: what long-term investors must sit through
- What crypto is, without the hype
- Why crypto prices swing so hard
- Wallets, exchanges and keys: who really holds your coins
- Common crypto scams and their red flags
- Check before you buy: a five-question crypto checklist
- Crypto futures and leverage: how liquidation works
- Your emergency fund: how much, where, and how to build it
- Everyday money scams and how to check them