Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4 Beginners' Course - Homework Post for Task 3: The Genesis Block

WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY? WHAT IS CRYPTOGRAPHY AND HOW DOES IT MAKE CRYPTOCURRENCIES SECURE? EXPLORE THE STEEM GENESIS BLOCK AND SIGN IN AS PROOF OF COMPLETION.

WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY?

A cryptocurrency could be said to be a digital currency that can be exchanged online for goods and services. A cryptocurrency uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to make its online transactions secure. Because cryptocurrency is a type of currency that uses digital files as money, digital signatures are used to keep the transactions safe and let others check that the transactions are real.

Cryptocurrencies work using decentralized technology that is called blockchain, that is spread across many computers that manages and records transactions. Cryptocurrencies uses decentralized control which indicates that it is not controlled by the government or one body. Rather, the control works through a distributed electronic ledger technology.

The term cryptocurrency is used to describe coins and tokens. Cryptocurrency units can be owned exclusively and the ownership changed during transactions.

WHAT IS CRYPTOGRAPHY?

First, we want to note that the prefix crypto means hidden, and the suffix graphy stands for to write. Cryptography can be said to be the method of protecting information by changing it into a secure format that only the sender and the intended receiver is allowed to read and process it. Let's say it's a study of securing techniques that transforms data into formats that cannot be recognized by unauthorized users. Which means it is only the authorized users that can decode the information.

Characteristics of modern cryptography include: confidentiality, data integrity, authentication and non- repudiation. Its important to note that encryption is one of the most aspect of cryptography.

HOW CRYPTOGRAPHY MAKES CRYPTOCURRENCY SECURE?

It is important to note that cryptocurrencies make use of cryptography to achieve 3 objectives which include: to secure transactions, control the creation of additional units, and to verify the assets. To get all these done, cryptocurrencies rely on the following methods:
1. Public Key Cryptography.
Here a user has both a public and a private key that are encrypted. The aim of the public key is to give people an address to send money to. While the purpose of the private key is to unlock the public key to be able to receive the money that was sent. You will notice that only the individual who is in possession of the private key that can only unlock the public key, thereby having access to the money. This makes the process highly secured.

2. Symmetric Encryption Cryptography.
This one uses the same secret key to encrypt the raw message at the source, transmit it to the receiver, and then decrypt the message at the recipient end.

3. Hashing.
This is another cryptography method. This is used to verify the integrity of data of transactions on the network. Hashing helps to encode the peoples' account addresses. Its a very important part of the process of encrypting transactions between accounts, and also makes block mining possible.

It is also important to note that digital signatures complement these various cryptography processes because it gives genuine users the opportunity to verify their identities to the network.

EXPLORE THE STEEM GENESIS BLOCK AND SIGN IN AS PROOF OF COMPLETION

First, I have to go to the site https://steemworld.org. The next thing I did is to click on block explorer.

Then I click OK for block 1.

The Genesis block of steem is denoted block 1. You now see the details of the Genesis block.

Some basic details found there are:
Timestamp: 2016-03-24, 17:05:00
Block ID: 0000000109833ce528d5bbfb3f6225b39ee10086

The previous Block ID: 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Its not available as there is no block before it.
Witness: initminer
Then i signed in from the top right corner

Once I clicked on sign in, a dialogue box will come up requesting for my username and posting key. I supplied the information and click ok.

This is then the final page with my sign on.

CONCLUSION

The invention of cryptocurrency is actually a good development. It has impacted positively on people. The use of cryptography in cryptocurrency is also an important aspect not to be overlooked. With the successful launch of Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto, a lot of cryptocurrency will continue to be launched.

I am grateful to professor @awesononso