How do cryptocurrencies work?

Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, use blockchain technology to record and verify transactions. Each transaction is grouped with others that have occurred around the same time into a "block," which is then added to a chain of blocks, or a "blockchain." Miners use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical equations and add new blocks to the blockchain. When a new block is added, the miner is rewarded with a certain number of cryptocurrency units as an incentive for maintaining the integrity of the blockchain. This is how new units of the cryptocurrency are created, and how transactions are recorded and verified in a decentralized, trustless system.