What is crypto? Explained simply

Crypto is short for cryptocurrency, and by extension the world around it. At its core is digital money that no bank or government issues or controls: ownership is recorded on a shared public ledger, a blockchain, and you control your holdings with a private key. Anyone with an internet connection can send it to anyone else, any hour of any day.

This page is the overview. For how the money itself works, keys, and how it differs from bank money, read what is cryptocurrency.

• Coins are the native currency of a blockchain: bitcoin (BTC) on Bitcoin, ether (ETH) on Ethereum, TRX on Tron. They also pay the network fee for every transaction.
• Tokens are assets issued on top of an existing blockchain, such as USDT or USDC on Ethereum or Tron.
• Stablecoins are tokens designed to hold a steady value, usually one US dollar. They are the part of crypto most used for everyday payments, because the amount doesn't swing with the market.

Holding your own keys gives you full control and full responsibility; letting a provider hold them is easier but means trusting it. The same trade-off applies to businesses — see managed vs self-held payment gateways.

• Sending and receiving payments across borders, in minutes, with no intermediary bank.
• Holding value — some people treat bitcoin as a long-term asset, which carries price risk.
• Paying and being paid in stablecoins, including by online businesses.
• Decentralised finance (DeFi) — lending, borrowing and trading through public programs called smart contracts.
• NFTs — tokens that represent ownership of a unique digital item.

• Prices of most coins can move sharply; stablecoins reduce, but don't remove, that risk.
• Confirmed transfers can't be reversed, so a wrong address or network usually means lost funds.
• Whoever has your private key or seed phrase has your money — never share them.
• Scams are common: be wary of guaranteed returns, urgent requests and fake support.
• Rules and tax treatment differ by country.

1. 01Learn the basics first: what a wallet, an address and a network are.
2. 02Start with a small amount you can afford to lose while you practise sending and receiving.
3. 03Check the network before every transfer — the same token can exist on several chains.
4. 04Back up your seed phrase offline and never type it into a website.
5. 05Confirm local rules before using crypto for a business.

A business that wants to be paid in crypto doesn't need to run blockchain software. A crypto payment gateway creates the payment request, confirms the customer's transfer and tells your systems to ship — see how it works.