List of Cryptocurrencies supported by Drupal Module

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As everything is going digital, even money is slowly following this trend. Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that can be used as an investment or to purchase goods and services. Though slow, cryptocurrency has been getting momentum through the last year, and at some point, you will want to include cryptocurrency on your Drupal website. So before we find out how to do that, let’s understand what exactly is cryptocurrency.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency, also known as crypto, is a decentralized digital or virtual currency designed to work as a medium of exchange and can be circulated without a central monetary authority like banks or the government. Cryptocurrency is secured and verified by cryptography, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend.

Cryptocurrency is built on blockchain technology, a distributed ledger enforced by a distributed network of computers. One of the most important features of cryptocurrencies is that they are different from fiat currencies like the United States Dollar or the British Pound. They are not generally issued by any central authority, making them potentially immune to government intervention or manipulation.

Cryptocurrencies can be used to purchase goods and services, but mainly they are used as a means of investment like we usually do for stocks, assets, or even precious metals. They play a crucial part in certain decentralized financial networks, where digital tokens are an important tool to carry out transactions.

The most popular currency, Bitcoin, was the first cryptocurrency, and it remains by far the most known and influential cryptocurrency. It was first outlined in principle by Satoshi Nakamoto in a paper titled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ in 2008. Despite its historically volatile prices, it hit an all-time high of $65,000 in 2021 before falling back.

How does Cryptocurrency Work?

Cryptocurrencies don’t function as money; instead, they are only live on the internet functioning like virtual tokens, the value of which is decided by market forces created by those seeking to sell or purchase them. They use decentralized technology called blockchain to operate cryptocurrencies.

Blockchains are essentially a set of connected blocks, where each block contains a set of transactions that have been verified by each member of the network independently. To explain this simply, blockchain is like an open ledger that records all the transactions in codes. You can even imagine it as a checkbook distributed across multiple computers around the world. These blocks are then linked together on a chain of previous cryptocurrency transactions. 

A better example of this would be an account book where you write down all of your expenses. Each page here is similar to a block, and the book in itself is a blockchain. Everyone who uses cryptocurrency will have a copy of this book to maintain a unified transaction record. The software will log every transaction and simultaneously update it in all the books, ensuring identical records.

All the transactions are checked using a proof of work or proof of stake consensus algorithm to prevent fraud. Proof of Work is a method to verify transactions by submitting a mathematical problem to the computers. Each computer is called a miner, and as these miners solve the problem, it helps verify transactions or blocks and adds them to the blockchain ledger or book. The computer that solves the puzzle first receives a small gift in cryptocurrency. 

On the other hand, proof of stake runs on staking, i.e., the number of transactions verification is limited by the amount of cryptocurrency the member is willing to stake or temporarily lock up for the chance to participate in the process. Think of this as a bank collateral, where the odds of being selected increase with the amount you invest.

While we understand how a cryptocurrency works, you may also want to know how to buy a cryptocurrency. To answer that question, to buy a cryptocurrency, you will need a wallet or, to be more specific, an online app that will hold your currency. You create an account on an exchange, and then you can transfer real money to buy cryptocurrency. You can also go to a few online brokers that offer access to cryptocurrency and stocks.

Drupal Crypto Widget Module

Now that you know what a cryptocurrency is and how it works, you will want to understand further how to display it on your website. The best way to do that is the Crypto Widget module. This module allows you to showcase the cryptocurrency prices through a block on your web page. The Crypto widget module makes use of the Coinbase API to get the prices for the interval that is configured in the configuration form. It does not require any other module outside of Drupal core.

You simply need to select the location to place the block, the cryptocurrencies you want to display, the currencies in which to fetch the price, and the time period to refresh the price, and you then save the block. You will now be able to see the cryptocurrencies on your website.

List of Top Cryptocurrencies Supported by Crypto Widget Module

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Tether
  • Cardano
  • Bitcoin Cash
  • Litecoin
  • Uniswap
  • Chainlink
  • Ethereum Classic
  • Stellar
  • USD Coins
  • Filecoin
  • Wrapped Bitcoin
  • Bitcoin SV
  • Cosmos
  • Dash

Drupal offers quite a few cryptocurrency-focused modules for you to use, but the Crypto Widget module is the only one that allows you to display the prices of the cryptocurrency. Which cryptocurrency module have you used, and how did it benefit you?

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