This article has been translated from English to Gen Z Slang.

Alright fam, if we wanna get what digital signatures are all about, we gotta vibe with how **encryption** pops off first. 💡

Encryption is like the ultimate boss move in cryptography.

To get the 411 on how transactions get “signed“—which ya need to flex those bitcoins and other cryptos—we gotta be hip to encryption and its glow-up role. Cryptos be using it in a baller way, but to really vibe with it, let's throw it back to how encryption usually rolls. 😎

Cryptocurrencies are like, "Yo, check our encryption game," but first, we gotta get schooled on the OG uses of encryption.

In the secretive world of cryptography, encryption's the art of making your message go all transformer-mode, so only your BFF can decode it. 💌

Everyone else is like, "Whaaat, is this like hieroglyphics or what?" when they see the gobbledygook of random chars.

What is encryption?

Encryption is all about turning your texts from "Hey, what's up?" mode to "Only my BF can read this" vibe using some major brainiac algorithm, or as we say, a mega-brainy “cipher”, so it’s unreadable for anyone not in the know. 📚🔑

What comes out is that encrypted text (a.k.a. “ciphertext”)—aka nerd-speak magic. ✨

Basically, encryption is using “fancy math” and those algorithms doing ninja moves to keep your data safe.

Encryption protects data

So, when you're sending some top-secret tea, you encrypt it, turning it into a code that eavesdroppers just can’t handle. 🙅‍♂️

These nifty algorithms mix up plaintext like a kaleidoscope into what’s called ciphertext, which is all “gibberish” until you drop the special key and crack the code. 🔑

Check out this gibberish gold:

EjQbCXilQmoEssL0tP1395IKLEAwSEhptF6ogdoHGZ1LHgpeon7PFWcADod/ir78LKdc72r17ZzwGCpQbd5XU7Tha7ESBhWe6EzGjxthdGBL+tSsj343yFTp6PgBOcZO

(Legit feels like texting after those late-night drinks, right? 🤣)

Translation: Once we encrypt stuff with an algorithm, decoding it without the key? Not happening. That’s how we keep the nosy peeps away from 'da info.

So here’s the TDLR:

  • Encryption is all about turning regular speak into encrypted text, aka “ciphertext” that low-key rocks the "Invisible Ink" vibe. 📜🔒
  • Decryption is the potion that turns “ciphertext” back into regular talk. AKA, the reverse Uno of encryption, letting those who should be in the loop actually read what’s up. 🔄

How does encryption work?

Check the vibe shift below to see how data morphs from plaintext to ciphertext and back with encryption and decryption “keys“.

How Encryption Works

You can either roll with matching keys (“symmetric”) or go for individual keys (“asymmetric”). 🗝️

Here’s the breakdown for the two major types of encryption:

  1. Symmetric encryption: Think of it as a secret handshake where the SAME key is used for keeping and opening the digital secrets.
  2. Asymmetric encryption: It’s got this whole two-key system like a secret lock and key duo, one public, one private. 🔓💬

So if both sides are sharing the SAME key, it’s a symmetric party. 🎉

But if they’re flipping different keys to lock and unlock, then you’ve got asymmetric vibes.

In the world of cryptography, a “key” is basically a super-sized number or a wild long combo of numbers and letters. 🔢🔡

You use it to switch texts up from plain to encrypted and back (ciphertext to plaintext). 🔄

Cryptos are team asymmetric all the way, so let's dive into their asymmetric encryption scene from here. 🚀