As a kid, I always looked forward to attending the nursery school everyday. Why shouldn’t I? After all, it had a great setup of slides, see-saws and play area toys. I didn’t care much for the other kids in the class. Many of them would be crying incessantly, some always having a runny nose and few were still getting potty trained.
What I looked forward for most in the class was that Star Sticker the nursery teacher would give me every time I completed a task, learnt a chore or answered a question correctly. Some times, the teacher would become very happy with our progress and also give us a tattoo with the star sticker or two stickers. Some days, it was a heart sticker and few other days, it was a smiley sticker.
These stickers and tattoos collection increased my value immensely in the class in two ways – one – I would get to wear them on myself with pride and two – I could exchange surplus stickers and tattoos with my friends in the class who were “not so quick learners” the stickers and tattoos but still wanted them to show off.
Wait! What does the source of Cryptocurrency have to do with nursery school?
Well, they are pretty much the same but on a different scale. Let me elaborate.
The Cryptocurrency networks have created some complex mathematical problems that are to be solved. These problems are attempted and solved by enthusiasts using computer programs. Anyone who is successful in solving the problem is rewarded with the cryptocurrency. The process of solving the problem is called mining and the computer programmer who solves it is called a miner. Once the problem is solved, that currency unit comes into circulation and is allotted to the person who mined it. The miner can then use it in whatever way pleases. In other words, a star sticker of appreciation to the kid who answers teachers’ question(s).
These mathematical problems require vast amount of computer processing power and thus a huge array of servers with uninterrupted power supply. Since this is a very costly affair, lone individuals may find it difficult to fund such an expedition. This is where people with deep pockets come forward to fund such expeditions in exchange for a suitable portion of the prize. This is synonymous to your parents paying huge sums of nursery school fees because there is tremendous potential in what you could become while you are still getting potty trained.
Not very different from a nursery school again!
And finally, there are many Cryptocurrency networks in play and many more could open in the future (like nursery schools mushrooming in every nook and corner) but more importantly, the star stickers of appreciation that the teachers share – they could be coming from anywhere and there may be many more stickers from where they come. Nobody knows exactly how many crypto coins (or star stickers) are or will ever be in circulation, yet there is an image created that they are in short supply, should be mined rigorously and the miners should be rewarded lucratively.
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