What is altcoins

[solowise]

Pls am a newbie here what is the difference between altcoins and Bitcoin

[mk4]

Bitcoin is bitcoin. "Altcoin", short for "alternate coin", is the term used to call any other cryptocurrency that isn't bitcoin. So yea, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, etc- those are altcoins.

[moooonu]

Every other coin other than bitcoin is named as altcoin. People often call some newly introduced altcoins as shitcoin as in starting they all worth nothing. But with time and based upon their concept they worth sometimes after some time. So they are called altcoins as well as shitcoins.

[jekjekman]

Pls am a newbie here what is the difference between altcoins and Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the pioneer and first cryptocurrency that has been made by Satoshi Nakamoto, there are now many cryptocurrencies out there right after Bitcoin was created, any succeeding cryptocurrencies are called 'Altcoins', so if you think it logically Bitcoin can be called the 'MainCoin' as the meaning of 'Altcoins' is 'Alternative Coins'.

[TianaStam]

Every other coin other than bitcoin is named as altcoin. People often call some newly introduced altcoins as shitcoin as in starting they all worth nothing. But with time and based upon their concept they worth sometimes after some time. So they are called altcoins as well as shitcoins.

Well, I have heard about bitcoin and alternative coins, but what is token? This word is often repeated on the forum. Could you, please, explain what is it and what is the difference between this three things (bitcoin, altcoin and token)? Thank you!

[im posible]

Bitcoin is the main coin That create first in cryptocurrency and altcoin(alternative coin)  are small coins developed by developers that can be obtained through airdrop and bounty.

[joulianet]

Bitcoin is the first then the alts are like derivation of btc. The bitcoin is the mother  

[mk4]

Bitcoin is the main coin That create first in cryptocurrency and altcoin(alternative coin)  are small coins developed by developers that can be obtained through airdrop and bounty.

Altcoins aren't necessarily "small coins". A lot of altcoins has bigger supply than bitcoin; but I'm not saying they're better, as it's debatable.

Not all altcoins are obtained through airdrop or bounty campaigns. A good number of past and new cryptocurrencies are attained through initial coin offerings(ICOs).

[Daniell-IT]

Hi
Why are there so many altcoins now?

[mk4]

Hi
Why are there so many altcoins now?

Next time I suggest creating your own thread and post your question instead of hijacking a thread that isn't yours.

To answer your question:
Because a good number of new cryptocurrency projects are just created to simply make money off people, because they definitely do know that some people would just invest in any ICO that's being hyped in any forum of social media; in contrary to actually making a good project that could help people in general in any industry.

[Arung Palakka]

altcoin is alternative coins
other coins except bitcoin is altcoins, if i dont wrong 

[chathura]

It's meaning is simple if you know what Bitcoin is, an alternative coin for Bitcoin are called Altcoins.

[TianaStam]

I see that people keep replying on the tread, but nobody replied my question about difference between altcoins and tokens. I probably should to use google to find replies on all of my questions my own. Anyway thank you for basic info about bitcoin and alts.

[franpote]

Where i can buy altcoins with minimal commission? Any trusted exchange with not high overpayments?

[btcprospecter]

Altcoins in a nutshell are just any coins that are not bitcoin. Most altcoins are bought with bitcoin on exchanges.

[ali8911]

Every other coin other than bitcoin is named as altcoin. People often call some newly introduced altcoins as shitcoin as in starting they all worth nothing. But with time and based upon their concept they worth sometimes after some time. So they are called altcoins as well as shitcoins.

Well, I have heard about bitcoin and alternative coins, but what is token? This word is often repeated on the forum. Could you, please, explain what is it and what is the difference between this three things (bitcoin, altcoin and token)? Thank you!

Bitcoin is bitcoin, altcoin is a coin other than bitcoin with a different blockchain and wallet (Ether, dash etc). Tokens are usually made on ethereum contract and are stored on a private ethereum wallet. They are usually called ERC 20 tokens. There are also tokens created on waves and NEM platforms.

[mirte86]

Great to read this topic because I was asking myself the same question.! Thanks

[inturist]

Altcoins are the alternative cryptocurrencies launched  when success come to Bitcoin.
Generally, they represent themselves as better choise then Bitcoin but not all of them. (There are alot of "shitcoin" nothing to bring to people at all)
The success of Bitcoin as the first peer-to-peer digital currency paved the way for many to follow.

[Crypbull]

Bitcoin is just Bitcoin , BTC have high potential comparing other crypto currency , BTC like a KING    ,  Altcoins mean Alternative Coins  here most of coin don't have high potential,  All Altcoin base on mostly Eherium

[Varavu]

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency in the digital currency market. Other than bitcoins are called altcoins. Now there are so many altcoins coming in the market because of the success of bitcoin.

[ryoku1996]

Anything but BTC

[naitik01]

Altcoin is the small form of Alternative . Altcoins are referred to as Bitcoin alternatives because, at least to some extent, most altcoins hope to either
replace or improve upon at least one Bitcoin component. Altcoin's market price is much small than that of Bitcoin.

[solowise]

thanks you for your contribution i understand it now

[rony01941]

The currency was created by Bitcoin. But they are creating the market of thousands of penny coins with the responsibility of small developers. The combination of these coins is called altcoin. For example:
ETH is one of the most. After this many more coins are noticed in the market.
Such as:
BCH,
LTC,
DASH,
NEO,
ETC
EOS,
OMG,
SWP,
BCC etc.

[DMC_Ken]

The Altcoin is a digital cryptocurrency the similar to bitcoin, and the term to stand for is "alternative to bitcoin" and its described to any cryptocurrency that is not a part of it, and most popular they use altcoin as the same fundamental building block as bitcoin.

[KristalVang]

altcoins are all crypto currency except bitcoin

[dewynijhof]

altcoins are also cryptocurrencies just like bitcoin, its name means alternative coins, these coin except bitcoin are all altcoins, they are made to have an oppotunity to replace bitcoin in the future, they can also be better than bitcoin.

[leslie4u]

Bitcoin aka BTC is what we started this Crypto world with and then slowly came in other coins and they were tagged as Altcoins. Do note that there are over 1000 altcoins in the market now. Before investing, read the details carefully. On a quick note, do not invest in a Hyped coin as many do because a lot of ICO today are made just to rip people off of their money. Proceed with caution.

Have a nice day.

[babsjoe]

Bitcoin is the first crypto currency that started on blockchain! When people refer to cryptocurrency they talk sbout bitcoin. Altcoin however mean Alternative coin. i.e other coin you can use if you are not using bitcoin. And there are many of them with different function from bitcoin.

[LydiaBob]

It is easy: every other coin other than bitcoin is called altcoin and based on Ethereum

[nik9990]

These are all coins that are not bitcoins. Hence the word alternative. Still there are forks

[joshmontford]

altcoins are basically all cryptocurrencies not including bitcoin, ethereum and bitcoin derivates. that's the short version i believe people already explained in more detail

[geraldgold]

altcoins/shitcoins. only 5% are the real coins. some are just shit coin really. 95% will banish.

[EvaGC]

I read in a different thread about how we need to stop calling "alt-coins" to every coin that's not Bitcoin. Some of them are actually completely different and shouldn't be defined according to their relation to bitcoin

[zchprm]

Altcoin is a cryptocurrecny that you can use like original money but its virtual.

[parekoy]

Altcoins stands for Alternative Coins because Bitcoin is the main Cryptocurrency that is widely supported, used and invested throughout the world and Alternative Coins or alternative cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin's rivals like Ethereum, LiteCoin, Dash etc. There are already a thousand Altcoins in the world today and will be doubled those numbers next year due to unregulated ICOs.

[parekoy]

altcoins/shitcoins. only 5% are the real coins. some are just shit coin really. 95% will banish.

That's isn't true because most Altcoins almost have no value today but they're on their way to increase the value or will vanish  but I don't think only 5% only has the potential to be the next Bitcoin.

[fatenmo]

Bitcoin is the first coin, and Altcoins are everything else after Bitcoin.

[Edsemen]

Bitcoin is just Bitcoin , BTC have high potential comparing other crypto currency , BTC like a KING    ,  Altcoins mean Alternative Coins  here most of coin don't have high potential,  All Altcoin base on mostly Eherium

Well in my understanding alternative coins or so called altcoin is the earnings from bitcoin in any way. In other words altcoin is just bitcoin or a part of the org. Which people highly needed.
Sometimes altcoin can be buy its just a matter of strategy of earnings and to stay resourceful of your account in other way

[priyankg3]

"Altcoin" is a combination of two words: "alt" and "coin"; alt is short for alternative and coin signifies currency.

[Yhan]

Altcoin is a short term of alternativeto bitcoin and it is different from bitcoin in a range of ways. Ethereum is an example of altcoins. Altcoins is a part of cryptocurrency.

[twobits]

Bitcoin is just Bitcoin , BTC have high potential comparing other crypto currency , BTC like a KING    ,  Altcoins mean Alternative Coins  here most of coin don't have high potential,  All Altcoin base on mostly Eherium

Altcoin just like an improvement from the bitcoin code with the scalability fixed. To fix the scalability problem of the bitcoin itself. you can see about the fact that the altcoin has fast transaction rather than the bitcoin itself. that's a simple explanation

[Hamzahaddane]

all coins  except btc are called altcoins

[ghost424]

Alternate coins or altcoins are also part of the whole cryptocurrency system. We can compare that bitcoin is the dollar in the cryptocurrency world where they depend the price of other currency to this currency. Altcoins are cryptocurrency with other values they maybe lower than bitcoin. We can say that bitcoin has the highest value of cryptocurrency and other altcoins like ethereum is following its footsteps.

[Praetorian.1legion]

Pls am a newbie here what is the difference between altcoins and Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the main coin on crypto-exchanges and in relation to it is traded in altcoyne pairs. Altcoins are alternative coins that were initially attached to any projects when they appeared, but they should not be compared with bitcoin. There are a lot of them, and bitcoin is one. Bitcoin is more than a coin. This is the foundation, this is religion and it is already 9 years old.

[Vadimvasily]

Bitcoin is the main coin That create first in cryptocurrency and altcoin(alternative coin)  are small coins developed by developers that can be obtained through airdrop and bounty.

[Albertartur]

Bitcoin is the first then the alts are like derivation of btc. The bitcoin is the mother of all altcoins

[kambaralikhan]

Bitcoin was the very first cryptocurrency of the world. After Bitcoin creation, any other cryptocurrency of the world, existing and upcoming will be classify as Altcoin (Alternate cryptocurrency) Alcoin is the term used to call any other cryptocurrency that isn't bitcoin. Ethereum, Ripple, Zcash, Litecoin etc are very famous and highly demanded altcoins.

[Priyesh_gooner]

Altcoins as the term suggests Alternate to Bitcoin ...there are thousands of alternative cryptocurrency out there...Some have started well...some have a lot of potential...while a lot out there are just scams...

[cryptomarijuana]

Altcoins defines any coin rather than bitcoin itself in the cryptocurrency world.

[Flickkk]

altcoin is an alternative coin .
because bitcoin is the main coin.
it is where you can plan B if bitcoin is dumping .

[f150]

Pls am a newbie here what is the difference between altcoins and Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the parent of all types of altcoin and bitcoin can also stand alone without any altcoin that supports it, whereas altcoin is an alternative way to get bitcoin and altcoin can not stand alone without any support from bitcoin.

[Satish147]

Coins which are other than main coins called as altcoins

Here I assume main coins are Bitcoin, Etherium, litecoin

[Bambinoe]

Altcoins are other cryptos/coins outside Bitcoin...

[ybcuongdz1]

The word “altcoin” is an abbreviation of “Bitcoin alternative,” and thus describes every single cryptocurrency except for Bitcoin. Altcoins are referred to as Bitcoin alternatives because, at least to some extent, most altcoins hope to either replace or improve upon at least one Bitcoin component.

[AlexW333]

BTC is first cryptocurrency

alatcoins is that after btc

[ilhamsugihamin]

Bitcoin is the bitcoin coin that was first created, while altcoin is an alternative coin that only the term coins such as eth, ripple and others.

[Trixie28]

Altcoin is any digital cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin. Stand for “alternative to Bitcoin” and is used describe any cryptocurrency that is not a Bitcoin.

[waitforme]

The coin that is not called bitcoin is a generic word for altcoin. That is the term used to refer to the coin: eth, xmr, dash ... it is altcoin.

[Red Lanterns]

'Altcoin' stands for 'alternative coin'. It could be any of cryptocurrency but Bitcoin which was initially created. Many of them are very similar, changing only a couple of characteristics such as speed of transaction in the network or coin assignment. However some of altcoins are created using unique innovations.

[alisafidel58]

Well bitcoin is the prime of all crypto currency out there and alt coins are copy that has been popping out there in the exchanges,market.
Alt coins have different usage depending on there purpose but primarily bitcoin has the usage of all the alt coins.

[speaktome]

Coins which are other than main coins called as altcoins

Here I assume main coins are Bitcoin, Etherium, litecoin

Well,just to specify a little,ETH and LTC both are considered Altcoins too,it´s good to make that clarification so that you in turn to do to anyone who may have that doubt,then in brief,there are 2 things,BTC and Altcoins,or in other words anything that is not BTC is one Altcoin,one must also distinguish which BTC is the first,because there are already several versions and all are considered Altcoins as well.

[jemarie20]

Hi! Bitcoin is the mother of all cryptocurrency  in the world but altcoin is just a branches of bitcoin or made because of bitcoin.

[CryptoScorpio]

Basically, Altcoins are those which are alternate to bitcoin. It means every coin you see on CMC except bitcoin is an altcoin.

[lelecoeg]

Altcoins can differ from Bitcoin in a range of ways. Some have a different economic model or a different coin-distribution method, like altcoins that were given away to all citizens of a country. Others employ different proof-of-work mining algorithms, perhaps to resist specialized mining hardware — or maybe they don’t even rely on proof of work at all.

Several altcoins offer a more versatile programming language to build applications on top of, while yet others offer more privacy compared to Bitcoin. And there are also altcoins that serve very specific, non-monetary use cases, like domain name registry or data storage pointers.

[Rufsilf]

Altcoin is the alternative for bitcoin and because of the altcoins people can choose whether they will go all in on bitcoin or not because there is a lot of great altcoins in the market to choose and they can make more bitcoins if they will have the good altcoins to invest it and hold it for long term with bitcoin.

[kz06]

Cryptocurrency begins from bitcoin  (BTC)  and BTC is a main coin we can say it father of crypto.  remaining coins are altcoins

[liseff3]

Pls am a newbie here what is the difference between altcoins and Bitcoin

Bitcoin and Altcoin is a form of digital currency, is two different types of cryptocurrency, and transactions are made with no middle men (meaning, no banks).
Bitcoin and Altcoin have helped millions across the world, to reach their destinations faster and more safer (in transacting).

Yes, there are obvious differences that are visible to all, Among others:
Bitcoin is one Koin that has been a types of cryptocurrency in the market for a long time until now. And altcoin is any digital cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin “alternative to Bitcoin” and is used describe any cryptocurrency that is not a Bitcoin.

Bitcoin was created by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. While altcoins are created by diverging from Bitcoin consensus rules (the fundamental rules of the cryptocurrency’s network) or by developing a new cryptocurrency from scratch.

Bitcoins can be attempts to enrich anyoneanyone (investors and traders).
While some altcoins can be attempts to enrich founders and offer little new.

[k@suy]

All coins other than bitcoin are altcoins. It is called altcoins or alternative coins  to bitcoin. They have other purposes or uses and possibly being implemented with different algorithm and blockchain technology.

[mharz]

Altcoins is the coins who alter to bitcoin if in case this coin die, but probably it was not happen due to healthy condition of bitcoin in crypto industry. Hence altcoins have many faces; these are the samples of altcoins that still going in to good price.
*Ethereum
*Waves
*Bitcoin cash
*Bitcoin gold and so on

There's a lot of altcoins in crypto currency society, most of the them wants to surpass bitcoin. Most of them wants to become popular, more users still collecting alternative coins for the reasons of, they believe that someday bitcoin value are fall down and altcoins take over their seat in crypto currency society.

[benjamin11]

Altcoin is a combination of two words: “alt” and “coin”; alt is short for alternative and coin as to do with currency; together they imply a category of cryptocurrency that is alternative to Bitcoin itself. Many of the altcoins are built up on the basic framework provided by Bitcoin. Most altcoins are peer-to-peer, involve a mining process and offer more efficient and cheaper ways to carry out network transactions. Even with many overlapping features, Altcoins have very distinct features and vary widely from each other.

[Alaissa Ganda]

Pls am a newbie here what is the difference between altcoins and Bitcoin

Bitcoins for me is like the main cryptocurrency and the other stuff are like the name itself alternative because altcoins is simply alternative coins. Bitcoins being that main cryptocurrency because i think they are the pioneer in this business so they are the main source except for satoshi or course. I can compared them into all the currencies in the world bitcoins is like the most high valued cash like pound for example and all the other coins represent as the all the cash like peso yen and dollars.

[pia19]

Altcoins are cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. The majority of altcoins are forks of Bitcoin with small uninteresting changes. In General, altcoins are alternatives to bitcoin because they tend to improve and solve the Bitcoin protocol limitations and features. Alternative currencies aim to be better substitutes to Bitcoin.  The success of Bitcoin as the first peer-to-peer digital currency facilitated the introduction of other similar digital currencies that followed.

[Manuj]

Basically, Altcoins are those which are alternate to bitcoin. It means every coin you see on CMC except bitcoin is an altcoin.

CMC or coinmarketcap is not the basis. There are so many altcoins out there that are not yet found on the list of coinmarketcap. The basis is very easy to grasp, each and every coin that is not Bitcoin is altcoin. Shitcoins, pump and dump coins, dead coins, scam coins, and all the rest of alternate coins are not Bitcoin, whether or not they are with the CMC list. They are simply alternate.

[Jannatul Shefa]

Altcoin is launched just as a substitute of bitcoin.And fortunately it was successful.Altcoin is a substituter of bitcoin which is an alternative crypto currency with advantage ."Altcoin" is a combination of two words: "alt" and "coin"; alt is short for alternative and coin signifies currency.
So altcoin is nothing but an alternative of bitcoin.

[nanayueky]

According to my understanding, bitcoin is bitcoin,the other digital currency is Altcoins.

[Honest Tim]

Altcoin" is a combination of two words: "alt" and "coin"; alt is short for alternative and coin signifies currency. Thus together they imply a category of cryptocurrency that is alternative to the digital currency Bitcoin. After the success story of Bitcoin, many other peer-to-peer digital currencies have emerged in an attempt to imitate that success.Many of the altcoins are built up on the basic framework provided by Bitcoins. Thus most altcoins are peer-to-peer, involve a mining process and offer efficient and cheap ways to carry out transactions on the web. But even with many overlapping features, altcoins vary widely from each other.

[mercer007]

Crypto Coins other than Bitcoin are altcoins

[erick94]

altcoin is a balancing coin of bitcoin, so altcoin has a very good price even though its position under bitcoin besides altcoin also has a lot of varieties and prices varies we can choose to sell coins in accordance with the needs and capital we have.

[MiningBattalion]

altcoin is a balancing coin of bitcoin, so altcoin has a very good price even though its position under bitcoin besides altcoin also has a lot of varieties and prices varies we can choose to sell coins in accordance with the needs and capital we have.

Altcoin is a balancing and support coin of the bitcoin system it also price good it based on bitcoin and price varying to sell coin and commination of alt and coin are the altcoin system.