Cryptocurrency, put simply, is a way to reward people for helping secure the transactions between peers on the blockchain (more on the blockchain here). If you have someone buying flowers at a flower shop using a form of cryptocurrency, that currency is secured by other people that are helping to secure the transaction. In return for using the processing power, they’re paid in cryptocurrency.
The more people that use a cryptocurrency, the more value that currency has — that’s why different forms of cryptocurrency hold different values. People also have very different opinions about cryptocurrency. Crypto became popular when Bitcoin shot up in price quickly, and that made lots of people turn their heads and want to invest. Lots of people like it because rather than being backed by the government, cryptocurrency is more or less backed by peers.
Spencer Batten