**WHAT IS CRYPTOGRAPHY?**

Crypto, a Greek word meaning secret, and graphy, meaning writing. Basically, cryptography is secret writing, but in technical terms, you can say cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for securing communication and data from third parties. It involves encrypting a message in such a way that only the recipient can view it using a key.

There are two types of cryptography: Symmetric Key Cryptography and Asymmetric Key Cryptography (Public Key Cryptography).

In **Symmetric** Cryptography, the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt the message.
In **Asymmetric** Cryptography, the message is encrypted using the recipient’s public key, and only the recipient’s private key can decrypt it.

Applications of Cryptography:
* Used for **securing transactions**, ensuring data integrity, and generating cryptographic proofs for consensus.
* Used in systems like **digital signatures** and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to verify user identity.
* Cryptography secures **digital assets**, ensuring privacy and safety in transactions and wallets.
* **Hashing** ensures that files or data stored in untrusted environments haven’t been altered or tampered with.