Cryptocurrency is a form of payment that can be exchanged online for goods and services. Many companies have issued their own currencies, often called tokens, and these can be traded specifically for the good or service that the company provides.
Think of them as you would arcade tokens or casino chips. You’ll need to exchange real currency for the cryptocurrency to access the good or service.

Cryptocurrencies work using a technology called blockchain. Blockchain is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manages and records transactions. Part of the appeal of this technology is its security.

How cryptocurrency works?

Cryptocurrencies are completely digital currencies. They’re unique compared to other currencies in that

They have no physical bills or coins.
Their value is not tied to anything (doesn’t apply to all coins, for example, stablecoins are an exception).
They are decentralized. There is no single party controlling it.
The last point might not be the case in all cryptocurrencies, but a good example of decentralization is Bitcoin.
No single entity (organization, company, or government) controls Bitcoin. Instead, it’s ledger or blockchain is stored on thousands of computers of Bitcoin users all over the world.

So you now have an idea that a Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that is really secure and whose value is sky rocketing over the time. But the real question is, what can you do with it?

What can you do with Cryptocurrency?

As of March 24, Bitcoin has been added as a payment method along with card and Apple Pay, according to some posters on Twitter. However, we were unable to see the option on Tesla’s website, yet.
Tesla had reported in its SEC filing that it had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin – cash that it didn’t immediately require. In its filing, the electric car maker said that its investment in Bitcoin was intended to “maximise returns”.
Musk said that Tesla is using internal and open-source software. Plus, the company is operating Bitcoin nodes directly. Further, he said that Tesla won’t convert the Bitcoin it receives into fiat currency,
which is interesting since the investment was made only out of excess cash reserves.
If enough Tesla customers switch to Bitcoin as a mode of payment, it could signal an important milestone for cryptocurrency as a mainstream payment mechanism.

Companies accepting Bitcoins:

Fast Food outlets:
1. Burger King
2. KFC
3. Taco Bell

Tech Companies:
1. Xbox
2. PayPal

Drinks Companies:
1. Coca Cola
2. Starbucks

The cryptocurrency landscape is hugely diverse. With few barriers to overcome, pretty much anyone that understands blockchain technology can launch their own cryptocurrency if they are so inclined.
There are currently more than 1600 cryptocurrencies listed on major, middle-sized and specialist exchanges.
Of those cryptocurrencies and digital tokens, it is fair to say the number that has any genuine significance can be reduced down to double figures.
That smaller group can be boiled down again to the cryptocurrencies that are traded enough to have real liquidity or are regularly used to pay for use of a blockchain platform with utility tokens.
In this category, we can probably include somewhere between 20 to 30 different digital currencies.

How can you mine Bitcoins?

Although early on in Bitcoin's history individuals may have been able to compete for blocks with a regular at-home computer, this is no longer the case.
The reason for this is that the difficulty of mining Bitcoin changes over time. In order to ensure the smooth functioning of the blockchain and its ability to process and verify transactions,
the Bitcoin network aims to have one block produced every 10 minutes or so. However, if there are one million mining rigs competing to solve the hash problem,
they'll likely reach a solution faster than a scenario in which 10 mining rigs are working on the same problem.

For that reason, Bitcoin is designed to evaluate and adjust the difficulty of mining every 2,016 blocks, or roughly every two weeks. When there is more computing power collectively working to mine for Bitcoin, the difficulty level of mining increases in order to keep block production at a stable rate.
Less computing power means the difficulty level decreases. To get a sense of just how much computing power is involved, when Bitcoin launched in 2009 the initial difficulty level was one. As of Nov. 2019, it is more than 13 trillion.

All of this is to say that, in order to mine competitively, miners must now invest in powerful computer equipment like a GPU (graphics processing unit) or, more realistically, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). These can run from $500 to the tens of thousands.
Some miners—particularly Ethereum miners—buy individual graphics cards (GPUs) as a low-cost way to cobble together mining operations.

Summary:
- Bitcoin mining involves powerful computers attempting to solve the complex mathematical problems of the Bitcoin algorithm.
- Solving these problems helps keep the blockchain ledger and network secure trustworthy.
- All Bitcoin miners contribute to this process. The miner who successfully solves a mathematical problem is awarded Bitcoin.

Power costs
Power will be the main operating expense. Electricity is charged per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Profitability for mining can float from $0.03 – $0.08 per kWh. A shift in a few cents can make all the difference for mining profitability.
It is imperative that a miner can use power at the lowest possible cost.

Bottomline

Cryptocurrency’s future outlook is still very much in question. Proponents see limitless potential, while critics see nothing but risk.