Investments

Cryptocurrency: what is a digital currency?

Do you know what digital currency is? Find out more about the subject today and check out how this type of asset works, which is attracting more and more investors!

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Learn what cryptocurrency, digital currency, is and how it works! 

o que é moeda digital
How digital currency works. Source: Unsplash.

What is digital currency? This is an increasingly relevant question given the emergence of more and more currencies of this type that can be very profitable.

Although they are not new – since the launch took place in 2008 – digital currencies still generate many doubts. The general public began to become aware of them in recent years, when news about their appreciation took over the newspapers and publications aimed at investors.

Since no one wants to be left behind, knowing what digital currency is is the first step. Only then will it be possible to know how to invest in them and which ones really stand out. In other words, it is necessary to start at the beginning.

So today, we brought you a small manual on digital currencies. Below, find out more about them and find out how they can be the starting point for making your money pay off and your finances grow!

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What is a digital currency?

o que é moeda digital
See more about the world of digital currencies. Source: Unsplash.

A digital currency is a type of money that, unlike those we normally know – such as the Dollar, Euro, Real, Peso and the like – does not belong to a nation. They, therefore, have no physical counterpart.

Likewise, they are not managed by a national body, such as the Central Bank, which regulates the Brazilian currency. Therefore, they are managed by groups that launch the currency.

Digital currency, by the way, is encrypted. That is, when you have a currency of this type, as is the case with Bitcoin, it has a code that represents it, since you will not have it in physical form.

It is this code, then, that protects the currency and proves that you have a title of this type. It serves both to represent the currency and to protect it. Therefore, only you can have this key which, in turn, has financial correspondence.

How do cryptocurrencies work?

As we saw above, cryptocurrencies are virtual. In other words, they are not physical and you cannot simply go to a store and pay for your transactions with this type of currency. After all, it is not present in the world of things, being just a virtual code.

This way, digital currencies only exist on the internet and they will not be in your checking account, for example. Likewise, they cannot be stored in safes or other normal means in which we deal with traditional currencies.

This does not mean, however, that they have no value! Quite the contrary, they are like financial assets that correspond to amounts of money (usually in dollars) and that vary. That is, one day they can be worth more and another day less, as is natural in common and national currencies that operate through the Stock Exchange.

Thus, these currencies are managed and acquired through digital wallets that are managed by specific brokerage agencies. 

To obtain a cryptocurrency, then, you need to buy them. To do this, you first open an account with a virtual currency broker. From there, it is then possible to begin negotiations to obtain the coins.

The value of cryptocurrencies, in fact, varies according to their scarcity. And this is natural in the market and in the capitalist world, where something gains value precisely because it is not available to everyone and, therefore, because it is scarce.

Are digital currencies safe?

Imagem de moeda digital com fundo roxo
Learn everything about digital currencies. Source: Unsplash.

It depends. Just like other assets in the financial world, they also have their advantages and disadvantages. In other words, they can be safe or not and this will largely depend on the type of currency being analyzed.

Consider that because they do not have official backing and do not need to be managed by a body such as the Central Bank, digital currencies are more volatile. That is, they can have major changes.

Furthermore, if the group responsible for its management does not have experience or does not take the necessary precautions, it may cause losses to investors. For starters, of course, it can lead to a loss of money.

Furthermore, they can be the opening for scams, as in cases where agencies use their agents' data to access their digital currencies.

On the other hand, as cryptocurrencies have gained more and more fame, they are also increasingly watched. And this is essential to increase the security they offer, since they are being observed more and are the focus of many people.

To guarantee, therefore, access to digital currency in a safe way, always seek help from cryptocurrency brokerage agencies that have a good reputation in the market. Seek recommendations from other investors, find out what the company's reputation is among the public and, thus, have access to a safe service that can make your money go a long way!

How to ensure security when investing in digital currencies?

First of all, you need to do some research on digital currencies. In fact, this research must take into account how they work, which types are available on the market and which ones have the highest values or lowest variation.

Furthermore, it is interesting to know what the rules are behind each of them, as well as who their managers and people are responsible for.

In this sense, it is also extremely important to know the characteristics of the brokerage agency. That is, what fees it charges, what its reputation is in the market and what the opinion of other customers who do business with it is.

This way, it is indeed possible to invest in digital currencies without this entailing major risks. Or rather, these risks are restricted to the appreciation of the currency.

Finally, our last tip is: tread carefully. Start with smaller and varied investments, so as not to concentrate them all on digital currencies, but also without leaving them aside! However, if you are looking for other interesting options for your finances, see which option is best from the comparative post below.

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About the author  /  Aline Augusto

My name is Aline Mesquita, I'm a writer here on the blog, where I write about finance in general, as well as other topics. I have been working with content creation for 10 years, with a postgraduate degree in Project Management, with expertise in SEO practices, in addition to studying finance, market trends and cryptocurrencies.

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