A Framework for Cryptocurrency

 This article by Jesus Najera was originally published at CoinCentral.com.

With all the hype around cryptocurrency these last 6 months, industry enthusiasts are looking to help educate the general public on what truly is considered crypto and what isn’t.  Thousands of platforms, tokens, protocols, and projects exist today which are all being funneled into the same category based on their use of blockchain technology. However, purpose and usage ultimately differentiate what should be labeled what as a basis for creating an industry framework.

> Cryptocurrency: coins that serve as a future replacement for today’s government backed (fiat) money supply used for only transactions; 

> Platform: the larger blockchain-ecosystem on which smaller blockchains of decentralized applications (dApps) are built on;

> Utility tokens: coins that only have a single purpose for a specific dApp; 

> Cryptosecurity: similar to traditional securities (i.e. stock, equities) which have dividends and voting rights for coin holders;  

Within these general categories exist specific focuses such as developer tools (coins for projects building dApps), fintech (emphasis on facilitating banking transactions and transfers), and authenticity (currency related to connecting digital assets to real world ones). 

Cryptocurrency as an industry is still relatively young with so much growth in the next 5 years that will set the tone for collective standards and core concepts.  As more of the general public learn and establish fundamentals now, the likelihood of mass adoption and acceptance in the world of finance greatly increases for future investors, developers, and users.

 Thanks for reading!  Here are some other articles on cryptocurrency for you to check out.