Digital Currency or Crpytocurrency [Written Report]: For the last few years, cry

Digital Currency or Crpytocurrency [Written Report]: For the last few years, cryptocurrencies have become quite popular. Among them, Bitcoin has received the most popularity with its price increasing from $696 in 2016 to $62,000 recently, an astronomical increase. Along with Bitcoin, several other crypto currencies have now come into financial markets—Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, etc (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cryptocurrencies). The basis for these cryptocurrencies is cryptography and the techniques that we discussed throughout the course. All of them employ blockchain technologies. In fact, blockchain technologies are being extended to other applications beyond cryptocurrencies. During the course, we talked about cipher block chaining.
You should write a 8-10 page report (12-point, Times New Font, single-spacing) that summarizes the developments in cryptocurrencies, their relation to blockchains, and the cryptographic techniques that we discussed in the class. In particular, your report should answer the following questions.
(i) What are cryptocurrencies? What are some examples of cryptocurrencies?
(ii) What is a blockchain? What is in the block of a blockchain? How are they linked?
(iii) When are the blocks added? Who adds the blocks—centralized server or distributed servers? Who maintains the blockchain?
(iv) Are these scalable? In other words, can the chains be as long as you wish them to be? What are the performance implications of having long chains?
(v) How is consistency maintained among copies of blockchains?
(vi) Examples applications where blockchain technologies are being used.
(vii) Are these cryptocurrencies secure? In other words, what gives them the properties of reliability, tamper-proof, and uniqueness (avoid double counting)?
(viii) What has puzzle solving to do with cryptography? Why have they become popular in cryptocurrencies?
(ix) What cryptographic techniques that we discussed during the course are being employed in these technologies?
(x) What are the advantages of cryptocurrencies over physical currencies or other digitalcurrencies such as credit cards and debit cards?
(xi) Summary of your thoughts on cryptocurrencies—technologies used, advantages, and dangers.
Your report should be well organized into sections, starting with an introduction and ending with a conclusion and references. The references should be as per the IEEE (http://www.ijssst.info/info/IEEE-Citation-StyleGuide.pdf)
Do not copy and paste material from your references. Instead, write in your own words what you understand.