Basics
The Basics
The Basics covers what a newcomer needs to understand cryptocurrency mechanically, before any question of buying it comes up. What a cryptocurrency actually is (and what it isn't), how a blockchain lets thousands of strangers agree on one shared record without a bank in the middle, and the two main ways networks decide who gets to add the next page to that record: proof of work (mining) and proof of stake (staking). Read in order, the articles build a working mental model of the machinery. Most people who own crypto skipped this part. The aim is to make that a choice rather than an accident.
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What Is Cryptocurrency?
A plain-English introduction to cryptocurrency: what it is, what makes it different from the money in your bank account, and what it is not.
Read this first →More in The Basics
How Does a Blockchain Work?
Blocks, hashes, and consensus in plain English: how thousands of strangers keep one shared record that nobody can quietly rewrite.
Read the explainer →How Bitcoin Mining Works
What miners actually do, why the puzzle exists, where new bitcoins come from, and why mining uses so much electricity. Proof of work in plain English.
Read the explainer →Proof of Stake Explained
How proof of stake secures a blockchain with collateral instead of electricity: validators, staking rewards, slashing, and the trade-offs versus mining.
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