# How do Cryptocurrencies Work? Cryptocurrencies are a form of money that lives online in distributed, decentralized databases. * **Database:** Nearly all money today (92%) exists only online and is stored in databases – cryptocurrencies are no exception * **Distributed:** Identical copies of these databases are shared over thousands of computers located all over the world * **Decentralized:** Cryptocurrencies rely on a combination of blockchains, digital key cryptography and consensus mining to ensure decentralization I know this might all seem a bit confusing, so let’s dive into each of these a bit deeper in the next sections. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://www.digitalnations.xyz/web3-overview/the-web3-ecosystem/cryptocurrencies/how-do-cryptocurrencies-work.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.