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Considering the horrible 2018 that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have had, PR would be rightfully wondering if the digital currencies are still worth the time and investment. After all, Bitcoin's value has plummeted-the currency was $ 19,352 on December 17th, 2017, but had a value of just $ 3,360 almost a year later, on December 12th, 2018. Add to this the fact that several cryptocurrency startups have been forced to the last year, and the digital gold rush seems to have ended.
Cryptocurrencies are not without their brand value, though. Cryptocurrencies-and more importantly, the implementation of a brand of cryptocurrencies, a ledger of crypto transactions known as blockchain-can be artfully used to assuage consumer distrust or questions about the honesty of your brand's dealings. If you know how to talk about crypto, of course.
Here are 10 terms that can make communicators sound smart when discussing how to use cryptocurrency might help their businesses.
Blockchain
Understanding what blockchain is remains crucial to understanding how cryptocurrencies are traded and kept track of. Blockchain is essentially a digital ledger that records cryptocurrency transactions in chronological order and makes them publicly available.
Is key to communicators, especially if your organization has a problem related to its finances. Because the blocker can not be altered, the ledger also serves as an authoritative voice. Just look at Ticketmaster, which partnered with a blockchain company that focuses on live events that have been the subject of the past few years.
Design Goals
What are your organization's reasons for getting into blockchain? In the popular Blockchain 3 Layer Model, setting goals for the property that you want your smart contract, or the terms of a transaction that are written into lines of code, to have. It should be tailored to your needs and to be clearly communicated to those thinking of transacting with the business.
Digital Signature
While this one is self-explanatory, it's still important. A digital signature lets you know who is transacting on your ledger. Trust is your way.
disintermediation
This term simply refers to the removal of the middlemen from a transaction, which is a large draw for many potential blockchain customers you might take on. More specifically in Blockchain, the term refers to the removal of financial intermediaries from transactions such as credit card companies or banks. Is a core principal of trading via blockchain can be a big boon for your business, or a big gray area. Communicate this concept carefully, especially if you work in a regulated industry.
Hardfork
A fork is what happens when two paths emerge in a blockchain's potential protocol. It is called a hardfork, but when a change to your blockchain A hardfork usually requires customers to update their client blockchain. Those who are newer to blockchain might not know why this is necessary, or what the hardfork's changes mean for the way that they can transact on your ledger in the future. Therefore, understanding the reasons behind a hardfork, and communicating them in a simple and clear way to your investors, is essential.
immutability
Immutability, which refers to a block that can not be modified after it is created. Simply put, it means that you can not go back and change the contents of a block. Depending on the consensus protocol that your business has set, you can not change blocks without everyone else agreeing to it.
Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) refers to an event in which a new cryptocurrency sells advance tokens in the exchange for upfront capital. Developers use ICOs to raise capital for their platform, and to be able to announce that the cryptocurrency exists in the first place.
Master Node
While in the real world, the master node is the computer storing a real-time copy of the blockchain. Like a server, it's always running. Building a trust, and communicating about it, building a trustworthy and stable security master node for a transaction's privacy, allowing transactions to become private, and allowing for governance, voting, budgeting and treasury systems to run around your cryptocurrency.
Private Key / Proof of Authority
Private keys are sort of like passwords for your blockchain. They are generated by Proof of Authority, a consensus mechanism that grants users the right to use their private keys in order to make specific transactions for a specific wallet.
Pump and Dump
A notoriously shady form of securities on the stock market, pumping and dumping occurs when traders artificially bolster the price of a stock through a deceptive public campaign or other nefarious doings after the stock is purchased cheaply. With newer and lesser known cryptocurrencies, this process is still alive and well. It's something that communicator should look out for in its own ranks, and seek partners to fight if their business is ever to be viewed as legitimate user of blockchain.
