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Introduction to Crypto and Blockchains

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Avalanche

Avalanche’s main goal is to provide the same capabilities as Ethereum, but solve the main problems of low throughput and extremely high fees. Avalanche splits the three core jobs – transaction validation, exchanging money, and executing "if this, then that" logic – and operates three separate computer networks to crunch them. This allows it to process thousands of transactions per second as opposed to around 17 for Ethereum, and fees that can be thousands of times lower. The other way Avalanche attempts to replace Ethereum is by simply being compatible with it. Computer code written to build smart contracts on Ethereum can be reused on Avalanche, which has helped it gain rapid adoption. 

Binance Coin

Binance Coin is the cryptocurrency powering the BNB Chain (formerly known as the Binance Smart Chain) and is the exchange token of Binance. It was created as an alternative to Ethereum, while solving some of the problems. Transactions on the BNB Chain are fast and inexpensive, and – like Ethereum – support digital financial applications. While Binance has officially given up control over the BNB Chain, they still have close ties.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency ever created and launched in 2009. It was likely created in response to the economic recession in 2008. The initial idea was to create a cash alternative to pay each other with digital money, while blockchain technologies enabled that without the need for a bank or the influence of governments. The supply was capped at 21 million bitcoins. Because of that scarcity it is often compared to gold. Even today, Bitcoin is still the largest cryptocurrency.

Cardano

Cardano was created in 2017 by a former founding member of the Ethereum team and it aims to solve the problems of Ethereum, which suffers from low transaction throughput and high transaction prices. Cardano achieves speed by creating "fast lanes" to process transactions, keeping all other usage separated. The founder of Cardano, who happens to be a mathematician, also made scientific peer-reviews required for any technology changes, in hopes to ensure long-term quality of the project. 

Celo

Celo aims to build a fast, affordable, and scalable blockchain. The name Celo means "purpose" in Esperanto, and hints at the blockchains bigger vision. Launched publicly in 2020 after four years of development, the blockchain wants to bring digital money to everyone, regardless of the tech they use or the sophistication of the banking system they live in.  For that, Celo tries to solve two problems: Reduce the technical knowledge typically needed to use crypto, and avoid crypto's strong value fluctuations. And it does all that while being carbon negative.

Ethereum

The Ethereum blockchain was the first blockchain to make smart-contracts a core feature of the network. Because these smart-contracts are logical statements (if this, then that), software developers can build applications using Ethereum’s technology. The combination of payments & smart-contracts, as well as its long history providing smart contracts have made Ethereum not only a preferred tool of dApp developers but also the foundation of decentralized finance.

Solana

Solana is a blockchain technology that allows developers to build so-called decentralized apps, or financial systems, on its infrastructure. That could be anything from currencies, to loans, to NFTs. It has very similar goals as Ethereum but aims to handle massive transaction volumes without compromising security and decentralization. In other words, it wants to replace Ethereum with none of the bottlenecks. To achieve that, Solana invented a process called “proof of history”, which helps its proof of stake consensus mechanism currently handle an unparalleled amount of transactions per second. 

USD Coin

USDC is a stable coin which follows the US Dollar, making 1 USDC always worth 1 actual US dollar. That makes it, like other stablecoins, more usable for real-life transactions than fluctuating coins like Bitcoin. USDC was created in a joint venture of Coinbase, the popular crypto exchange, and Circle, a finance company based in Boston. Coinbase is a publicly traded and officially regulated exchange, Circle’ backers include big institutions, like Goldman Sachs. USDC is full audited and 100% backed by US Dollars.

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