Fork

Fork

 

A fork can be defined variously 1) as what happens when a blockchain diverges into two potential paths forward (eg. a situation that occurs when two or more blocks have the same block height) 2) a change in protocol (Soft fork, Hard fork).

A fork or accidental fork is a split in the digital recordings, known as the blockchain. A blockchain is the technology for creating permanent, secure digital recordings.

Imagine the blockchain as a book of records where each new page in that book is what is known as a “block”. Blocks are attached to each other making what is known as the blockchain.

There are hundreds of blockchains created by many groups to record all sorts of information. Each blockchain is maintained simultaneously by a network of computers connected by the Internet. Updates to the blockchain are seen immediately and manipulation is extremely difficult, perhaps impossible.


With blockchains, only one recording (block) should be made at a time. However, sometimes two blocks are created at once by two computers, both valid. Because all recordings are shared among the network of computers, one block will reach one group of computers first while the second block will reach the other group of computers. This creates a split in the blockchain record, known as a fork.


Eventually, a computer in the network will build another block on one of the forks and it will grow. The computers always identify the longer fork as the correct one, and so will smoothly switch over, abandoning the shorter one.

See also: Soft fork, Hard fork, Coin split

 

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Flippening: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Flippening: Defined in CryptoCurrency

The flippening is the shift of other cryptocurrencies growing bigger, more important and more valuable than bitcoin.

Because the first major cryptocurrency was bitcoin, the prices and technology of most other cryptocurrencies have been compared and aligned to bitcoin.

However, there are some other coins doing very well, and it is thought that ethereum or bitcoin cash will cause the flippening.

Flappening: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Flappening: Defined in CryptoCurrency

The Flappening is the shift of Litecoin growing bigger, more important, and more valuable than Bitcoin Cash (not bitcoin).

The Flappening is a word created by Litecoin’s founder, Charlie Lee, in a tweet on the 25th of February, 2018.

For years, Litecoin has been associated with chickens. 

Why? Most people think when Litecoin was experiencing its first big price spikes, people in a chat group were getting feverishly excited. 

One of the random things said was “arise chicken” a line from a TV show called Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

What we do know is that Charlie Lee has an affection for chickens and mentions them frequently in his Twitter. 

Using the slang word “Flippening” (when another crypto overtakes bitcoin) he changed it to “Flappening”.

Fiat Currency: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Fiat Currency: Defined in CryptoCurrency

 

Fiat currency is defined as money that has been declared to be valuable by the government or other official organization. 

Fiat currency doesn’t have any value by itself and it doesn’t represent anything valuable. 

Instead, fiat currency maintains its value because it is an idea powered by the people’s confidence and trust in the government and banks that created it. US dollars are a type of fiat currency.

Cryptocurrency: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Cryptocurrency:

 Cryptocurrency: Defined in Cryptocurrency is a cryptocurrency (or less formally a coin) is a decentralized payment network with an independent currency-like asset that functions on the network and is essential to its function.

As opposed to government electronic money, cryptocurrencies use modern cryptography and decentralization to secure transactions and creation of monetary units. Cryptocurrency assets cannot be seized from their owners by a decree. Cryptocurrency transactions are global and cannot be easily censored.

As opposed to government electronic money, cryptocurrencies use modern cryptography and decentralization to secure transactions and creation of monetary units. Cryptocurrency assets cannot be seized from their owners by a decree. Cryptocurrency transactions are global and cannot be easily censored.

Cryptocurrency is an electronic money that uses technology to control how and when it is created and lets users directly exchange it between themselves, similar to cash.

Crypto- is short for “cryptography”, and cryptography is computer technology used for security, hiding information, identities and more. Currency simply means “money currently in use”.

Cryptocurrencies are a digital cash designed to be quicker, cheaper and more reliable than our regular government issued money. Instead of trusting a government to create your money and banks to store, send and receive it, users transact directly with each other and store their money themselves.

Because people can send money directly without a middleman, transactions are usually very affordable and fast.

To prevent fraud and manipulation, every user of a cryptocurrency can simultaneously record and verify their own transactions and the transactions of everyone else.

In the real world, a book used to record transactions is called a ledger. And so it is with this digital money. But unlike in the real world, with cryptocurrencies, anyone can keep their own complete copy of this ledger.

Because the data is public and maintained by many thousands of people, transactions are permanent and very secure.

With public records, cryptocurrencies don’t require you trust a bank to hold your money. They don’t require you trust the person you are doing business with to actually pay you.

Instead, you can actually see the money being sent, received, verified, and recorded by thousands of people. This system requires no trust. This unique positive quality is known as “trustless”.

Coin: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Coin: Defined in CryptoCurrency

A coin is a unit of digital value. When describing cryptocurrencies, they are built using the bitcoin technology and have no other value unlike tokens which have the potential of software being built with them.

Bubble: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Bubble: Defined in CryptoCurrency

A bubble is a large increase in prices for the whole economy or a part of the economy, followed by a massive, rapid drop.

 

It’s important to notice that a bubble is only a bubble if it applies to an entire economy or part of the economy. If the massive price swings are just between you and your circle of friends, it’s probably not a bubble.

Famous historical examples of bubbles are the Dutch Tulip bubble of the 1630s, the Dot-Com bubble of the 1990s, the housing bubble of the early 2000s and some like to say the Bitcoin bubble of 2017.

Let’s first look at the definition of “natural price”. 

Natural price is an amount of money being charged, set by the cost of producing a product. For example, if it costs $3.00 to produce 12 duck eggs, than the natural price is $3.00.

If demand goes up from unreasonable, unnatural causes, then prices will shoot up.

Here’s a ridiculous example of a bubble with duck eggs:

Let’s imagine that Joe buys 12 duck eggs every week from a duck farmer for $5. Under normal circumstances, the price will probably stay fixed at $5. But then let’s say the Kardashians tell the world they love duck eggs and themselves eat 3 every single day!

Suddenly millions of people also want duck eggs and the duck farmer is overwhelmed with of customers asking for his eggs. When Joe asks the farmer for his usual 12 eggs for $5, Bill who watched the Kardashians offers more money for those same eggs.

• Joe offers $10 for 12 eggs.
• Alice hears Bill’s offer and wants the eggs even more and offers $20.
• Susy hears Alice’s offer and offers a massive $50. In minutes, those $5 eggs are worth 10X at $50!

Several weeks later, the Kardashians and their friends don’t care about duck eggs. Silly Susy may have stocked up on hundreds of eggs, but now the Kardashians don’t care and neither does she. Susy begins to sell her duck eggs and the price of duck eggs drops rapidly.

Now Joe can continue buying his duck eggs for $5. The bubble has popped.

Prices only go up for two reasons: 

An increase in demand as we’ve seen above ora decrease in supply.

If the farmer’s ducks always make 24 eggs each week but this week they only make 12, the farmer could charge Joe more than $5 simply because they both want those 12 eggs.

By definition, a bubble must burst, if it doesn’t, then it wasn’t a bubble to begin with.