If anyone can create an altcoin, isn't it the same as printing money?

[bitbrasil]

So I'm reading about Bitcoin and a recurrent advantage mentioned is that Bitcoin has a hard limit.

But if anyone can create an altcoin, isn't it the same as printing money resulting in loss of value of all digital coins together?

When so many digital currencies are competing with each other, the average demand for each of them tends to get lower.

[Bono]

Interesting theory, but not "anyone" can create an altcoin.

Even with a model to work with, could you imagine how much time and how many resources an average programmer would need to make it work? He'd need people working under him, the money to pay them assuming they aren't doing it pro-bono, as well as the wherewithal to conduct what they do/how they do it/when they do it.



The TL;DR version:

No. There are millions of people using Bitcoin/altcoins and only 10 or so brands are at all relevant - 9 of them being periods at the end of the sentence that is Bitcoin.

(That wouldn't be grammatically valid but you know what I mean.)

[jonanon]

If someone makes a new coin it still need people willing to mine it and invest in it.

It's getting harder to do this now as there are far too many alt coins already!

If only people would stop making new coins and gave due attention to the ones there already are it would offer a better future for crypto!

[hilariousandco]

So I'm reading about Bitcoin and a recurrent advantage mentioned is that Bitcoin has a hard limit.

But if anyone can create an altcoin, isn't it the same as printing money resulting in loss of value of all digital coins together?

When so many digital currencies are competing with each other, the average demand for each of them tends to get lower.

Not really. It's like printing a worthless currency. It'll only become useful if people value it. If they don't it'll become worth little to nothing.

[djbartek]

So I'm reading about Bitcoin and a recurrent advantage mentioned is that Bitcoin has a hard limit.

But if anyone can create an altcoin, isn't it the same as printing money resulting in loss of value of all digital coins together?

When so many digital currencies are competing with each other, the average demand for each of them tends to get lower.

Not really. It's like printing a worthless currency. It'll only become useful if people value it. If they don't it'll become worth little to nothing.

Like dogecoin

[Mike Christ]

The real value is your labor.  The only thing money does is represent this energy generated by your labor.  Creating new altcoins does not devalue any other altcoin; deciding you will represent your labor in that altcoin, however, shifts the wealth from the first coin, or gold, or fiat, or whatever, to the alt.

However, this is a voluntary change in wealth.  What you're referring to when you say "printing" is an involuntary change in wealth, specifically from you and to the state.  This would be the same case as the bitcoin devs doubling the total amount of coins and keeping the extra 21 mil for themselves; this would be theft.  If a person decides they wanted to use ScoobyDooCoin, although the wealth leaves whatever money they were using before, it is their decision to change this, and it's completely different from printing.

[infinitybo]

@Bitbrasil sure anyone can create an alternative cryptocurrencie however it's not really the same as printing money.

[AldenHurley]

Interesting theory, but not "anyone" can create an altcoin.

Even with a model to work with, could you imagine how much time and how many resources an average programmer would need to make it work? He'd need people working under him, the money to pay them assuming they aren't doing it pro-bono, as well as the wherewithal to conduct what they do/how they do it/when they do it.



The TL;DR version:

No. There are millions of people using Bitcoin/altcoins and only 10 or so brands are at all relevant - 9 of them being periods at the end of the sentence that is Bitcoin.

(That wouldn't be grammatically valid but you know what I mean.)

Steps to create an alt-coin:

• Download source for your favorite/pet algorithm
• Download Qt-Creator
• Replace all references to old coin's name and images with yours
• Create your own repo on github and commit the new source. Don't forget to cite references and previous contributors
• Compile the source for Win32, Linux/Mac
• Tweak the block-reward method to be something different; more coins total, different halving rate, etc.

• Buy a domain for $20
• Grab bootstrap and throw together the standard 'check out my new original coin' website in 20 min
• Post here
• Don't forget to pre-mine
• Profit

Total Time & Effort Spent: 1 Dev, 40 hours. 1 Artist / Designer, 20 hours.

[Soull]

If i make my own monopoly money and me and 10 of my friends decide to make that monopoly money worth something, we have created our own currency. And if that get's illegal, not even children will be able to follow the law haha

Much love!
Soul

[dejikocv]

Of course anybody can make an alt-coin. You can also make you own monopoly money at home.

Other thing is to obtain others things with that coin. So, make money is easy in both worlds, the hard part is to get something useful.This is another story.