Cryptocurrency Lingo: Terms To Know And Why You Should Know Them
Cryptocurrency; it sounds so odd, so menacing. The prefix "crypto" comes from the Greek word "kryptos," meaning "secret or hidden." It is the same root word for "crypt," a place where dead bodies are hidden from view. The point to discussing this very word is to introduce you to the lingo of cryptocurrency itself, and to instruct you about why the lingo is so important.
KYC
KYC is an acronym for "Know Your Customer." It tends to have more than one meaning in the cryptocurrency world. The first meaning applies to knowing who you are dealing with. Cryptocurrency companies do not want to deal with criminals, money launderers, terrorists, etc., who frequently use cryptocurrency to hide the shuffling of funds around for their criminal acts.
The second meaning applies to KYC regulations, which are rules set in place and with which cryptocurrency companies are expected to be in compliance. To be in compliance, the company has to ask you, the consumer, for lots of personal information. This is information they can check to see that you are who you say you are. If, for example, you committed a crime that involved their cryptocurrency, then they have your information for the police. True, it is not foolproof, but by following KYC regulations, cryptocurrency companies are at least in compliance with the rules.
AML
AML stands for "Anti-Money Laundering." Because cryptocurrency converts real cash into invisible coin, like the Bitcoin or the cryptocurrency Basic Ergo Pink coins to buy, it is exceedingly easy to convert fake money or counterfeit into "real" cryptocurrency, and then convert it back again into real cash. To avoid becoming entangled in such crimes, AML protocols have been put in place in the U.S. to prevent anyone who has been red-flagged as a possible terrorist or money-launderer. This protects all of the legitimate and legal buyers of cryptocurrency, while simultaneously blocking illegal traffic. Many of these protocols are akin to the ones traditional banks use to protect paper money, except that the AML protocols all deal with online transactions.
The Exchanges
The exchanges describe the websites where you buy your cryptocurrency. Your real money is exchanged for virtual coin or virtual "notes." You can think of the exchanges like the stock market exchange; you are trading money for stocks, which most of the time remain digital and for which you do not receive any paper documents until the stocks are sold or traded. If you are interested in learning more about cryptocurrencies, visit a website like icooffering.co.
