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What is cryptocurrency?
Digital money that lives on a shared, public ledger.
Cryptocurrency is digital money that doesn't need a bank to move. Instead of a bank's database, transactions are recorded on a shared public list called a blockchain that thousands of computers keep a copy of.
Because everyone has a copy, no single person can secretly change history. That's the big idea: trust comes from math and many copies, not from one company.
The most famous example is Bitcoin (launched 2009). Today there are thousands of cryptocurrencies — each with different rules and uses.
Key takeaway
Crypto = internet money on a shared ledger that nobody owns alone.
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