Risk & Business Magazine Miller Winter 2019 | Page 26

CRYPTOCURRENCY
Cryptocurrency,
Blockchain, And The
Whole Nine Yards
E
arlier this year, Stratford
City Hall was the victim of
a cyberattack that forced
payment of $75,000 in
Bitcoin to the hacker. The
story left many of us wondering
what Bitcoin is and how does it work.
Here is a simple ten-point Q&A that
provides everything you need to know
about the terms “cryptocurrency,”
“blockchain,” and “Bitcoin.”
Let’s start from the beginning.
1) WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY?
A cryptocurrency is a digital currency
used as a medium of exchange that
is tracked through individual ledger
accounts rather than a central
authority, such as a bank. The
underlying technical system upon
which the concept of decentralized
cryptocurrencies is based was
invented in 2009, accredited to
the mysterious group or individual
code-named Satoshi Nakamoto. As
of May 2018, there were over 1,800
cryptocurrencies in existence,
according to the Financial Times.
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