Bitcoin Forum

Currently all the new ICO are trying to develop platforms with different use case than Bitcoin, not similar at all, why people keep calling them altcoins although they are not alternative?

What is wrong with calling them altcoin? ;D Because they are not first coins in crypto world they are only an alternative to the first coin, bitcoin. I think it is a quite acceptable reason.

You are right that some cryptos may have really diversified from Bitcoin but the truth still remains that Bitcoin is the crypto pioneer. Every other coin should live with the altcoin tag because one way or the other they are building on what Satoshi started using the blockchain technology. These other coins are alternative to the bitcoin.

They are called altcoins because they are alternative coin to bitcoin which is the foundation of crypto.

All the coins that altcoins. This alternative coins bitcoin. One bitcoin is not altcon. All the other altcoins.

When there is a genuine competition to bitcoin then the names can change, but as there is only one dominant coin in the crypto world then the others will have to be categorised under one umbrella i.e. the altcoins.

They are just an alternative so we are calling it altcoins and that makes sense. Bitcoin is the original coin so if someone says or talks about bitcoin, we are mainly calling it as simple as 'bitcoin'. But when it comes to other coins that are less popular or if it is popular and has a good market cap still we are preferring it to call as an altcoin because they are an alternative to the original.

the answer is already there first think that why is it just because it is alternative and it is not the first currency that are made of so it was answered even you are not able to post it, and how would you say that this is not an alternative , cause at first and as i know they can call alternative.

Because they are alternate cryptocurrencies, why do think that alternate accounts are called "altaccounts"? because of the same ,everything that is the second, is an alternate.

And most if we talk about cryptos, but there is a very different concept about cryptos and altcoins, but this is just like an steriotype about it.

Bitcoin has always been like the "king" or the first one, and that is why it can not be called altcoin.

But those who came after bitcoin, like ethereum, litecoin, they are just altcoins, and most of them are based on bitcoin.

What is your proposal in this case? I think it's a pretty good defined terminology so we must use it just to prevent misunderstanding. That's all.

In the beginning there was only one blockchain based currency which got the attention of many devs and people and it is known as bitcoin. After the success of bitcoin a lot more crypto currencies came into existence which were based on blockchain(the same model as btc) but having a different kind of blockchain or use, and hence they were called alts or alternate currencies.

Well altcoins somehow are improved in terms of hashing algorithims or speed of transactions, and some altcoins innovate by experimenting with features Bitcoin does not offer.
Altcoins are referred to as Bitcoin alternatives because, at least to some extent, most altcoins either replace or improve at least one Bitcoin component, that is why it's an alternative.

Because they are created just like its foundation the BITCOIN was the first and the successors are the alts.

Yes, you are right. Plus all the first altcoins used the bitcoin's blockchain with some new features. I guess altcoins are altcoins mostly because of this.

At this moment they are just called like that because they are 'alternatives'.
This will change in the future.

As it is not an alternative. You can buy coins and trade them not in a pair with bitcoin, but in pairs, for example, with an etherium or other alternative coins.

Bitcoin is the worlds first crypto currency . And other coins are not first coins in crypto. All are alternative to the first coin (bitcoin). Thats why we
call other coins Altcoins or Alternative coins . I think its the reason to call altcoins .  :)

All virtual currencies besides Bitcoin are called altcoins because they are an alternative to the first and the largest crypto in the world. Even those coins that are forks of BTC (Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin God, diamond, etc) are also altcoins.

Bitcoin is ths first crypto currency here and when there are new tokens or coins here they are alternative to btc that why we call it altcoins . There are lots of competetor trying there hard to be in the posution of bitcoin but I think no one can destroy the position of bitcoin especially the price itslef(by making history in entire of crypto world) . But I dont generalize my word some of altcoins only wants to promote there project and technology

Most of the ICO projects these days creates ETH based tokens and they are called as tokens not altcoins. Altcoins is just general term used for all other coins + tokens created on top of smart contract based coins.

Actually I don't think name can create bigger issues  ;D

'alternative coins' who the fuck can call ethereum, dash, oax, or ones more close to bitcoin: digibyte, decred, monero. They are superior to bitcoin today but stil they are alt because community matters

Because they'r alternative cryptocoins to bitcoin, which is the main crypto coin in the world.

This is like a tradition. Seeking logic behind this is not that necessary. From the first days of other coins, they were get called as altcoins and this way people got so used to calling this.

Alts are bitcoin alternatives
Tokens are diffrent story,now mining,real or non real project related.Mostly non real

All crypto currencies or coins which are not bitcoin are considered as an alternative or in short alt coin. Bitcoin is the first crypto currency to be every made and other currencies were made based on bitcoin for which they are known as altcoin. Easier to separate them.

First there was bitcoin, and it was good. Then came a whole host of other coins. They were known as "altcoins" as in "alternative to bitcoin". The name stuck, and now anything that isn't bitcoin automatically gets called an altcoin. Some will debate whether that's changing--that certain blockchains are foundational, like Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash--but for bitcoin maximalists, everything that isn't bitcoin, regardless of whether it's a utility token, a blockchain, a security, or whatever, will be an "altcoin."