The difference between bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

[Raflesia]

I've come to realise that many people still don't understand that there are other cryptocurrencies apart from the bitcoin,

I don't think so because when we are on the forum we often see long discussions of altcoins so I don't think many people understand other cryptocurrencies apart from bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency if analogous is just a container to facilitate all forms of digital currency and in it there must be bitcoin or indeed altcoins.
I'm not going to describe anything about mum or dad but the most important thing to know is that bitcoin is the biggest and no one can rival them to date for digital currency regardless of whether it's mum or dad I don't really care because when you say the biggest then that answers everything.

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[Ruttoshi]

Bitcoin to me is the only cryptocurrency that is worth investing on and other altcoins were created from the duplicate of bitcoin to scam people of their hard earned money. Bitcoin is decentralized and don't need a third party to help carry out transactions and it is a store of value, while the others are bunch of shitcoins that are valueless and will make you run at loss when you invest in them.

So many people knows about other cryptocurrency but they might not know the difference between them and bitcoin, while some people because of greed they end up  preferring to invest in altcoins believing that they can make big profit from it due to the hype by the dev.

[Helena Yu]

It's simple, Bitcoin is one of cryptocurrency while cryptocurrency is a name of general currency that using cryptography. There's no coin has a name "cryptocurrency", you can check it by yourself.

Bitcoin is decentralized and don't need a third party to help carry out transactions and it is a store of value

Unfortunately most people use Bitcoin through third party e.g. centralized exchange, but it's not mean Bitcoin was failed. Not many people really know the real usage and purpose of Bitcoin is.

[goldkingcoiner]

I've come to realise that many people still don't understand that there are other cryptocurrencies apart from the bitcoin, yes the bitcoin is considered a cryptocurrency but they're two things altogether, bitcoin is the supreme digital currency and all digital currencies around the world are known as cryptocurrency, it is an form of currency be it digitally or virtually that uses cryptography to secure it's transactions,whereas bitcoin uses a decentralized ledger called the blockchain to maintain and secure a transparent record of transactions.

 Let me bring it to layman's term for people to understand better, in a society there's a family and I'll use the family to represent cryptocurrency now, the family has a head and that is the father which I'll use to represent bitcoin, now inside that family there are other members like the mother, sister,brother  which forms the family, that's how their are other digital currencies that makes up the cryptocurrency as well, now you can say the father is a member and head  of the family but can't say the father and family are same thing, same way as saying bitcoin is the head and supreme cryptocurrency but can't say bitcoin and cryptocurrency is same thing, I hope these illustrations will help you understand my explanations better, also there other cryptocurrencies like etherium, bnb, cardano, polkadot etc.

I think it can be summed up into a simple sentence:

Not all Bitcoin is cryptocurrency but not all cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. Now if you were to ask which as the most viable, valuable, tested and trusted cryptocurrency, then the obvious answer would be Bitcoin.

It is better to make people understand that difference otherwise when the scam coins start angering new investors, they should know that not all cryptocurrency is bad. Bitcoin is Bitcoin and altcoins are altcoins.

[GbitG]

I've come to realise that many people still don't understand that there are other cryptocurrencies apart from the bitcoin

You are right, but I don't agree with you because I think that if a person is engaged with this forum and does not even know the difference between Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, then I think he should not stay on this forum. Moreover, for those who don't know about it, I will a little bit describe the literal meaning of cryptocurrency in terms of cryptography. Cryptography is a Greek word that means hidden writing. Bitcoin is The name Bitcoin was later given to it. The first Bitcoin was named after its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who later named it after a white paper.Cryptocurrency is synonymous with Bitcoin; the foundation of cryptocurrency is placed on Bitcoin. If there was no Bitcoin, cryptocurrency would not flow, which means that cryptocurrency is dependent on Bitcoin. Now, because Bitcoin itself laid the foundation of cryptocurrency. And as the founder of cryptocurrency, why is it not possible to say that Bitcoin and altcoin depend on the market, etc. These people think that this altcoin will replace Bitcoin, but this thinking is totally wrong. 

I hope the meaning of the word is understood. Now let's talk about the difference between Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in conceptual terms. Well, both are from the same perspective, but each has its own merits. All other things are similar; the only difference is that the trading supply is limited to 21 million, while the supply of cryptocurrency depends on the coin and how much it holds.

[Alpha Marine]

Let me bring it to layman's term for people to understand better, in a society there's a family and I'll use the family to represent cryptocurrency now, the family has a head and that is the father which I'll use to represent bitcoin, now inside that family there are other members like the mother, sister,brother  which forms the family, that's how their are other digital currencies that makes up the cryptocurrency as well, now you can say the father is a member and head  of the family but can't say the father and family are same thing, same way as saying bitcoin is the head and supreme cryptocurrency but can't say bitcoin and cryptocurrency is the same thing,

This illustration is not entirely correct.
Using the family means all cryptocurrencies sprung up from one or two coins. Like they were all Bitcoin before they started splitting into several coins. That's not correct.
Yeah, Bitcoin is at the top. It was the first crypto coin, it has the highest value, it's decentralized and  it has the highest market cap but all these other coins did not come out from Bitcoin.
Every coin is independent on its own. Bitcoin only paved the way for all of them.

Bitcoin paved the way in the sense that, it was after Bitcoin was created that other coins were created using the technology used by Bitcoin.
So think of it like an industry instead of a family. 

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Unfortunately most people use Bitcoin through third party e.g. centralized exchange, but it's not mean Bitcoin was failed. Not many people really know the real usage and purpose of Bitcoin is.

If people don't know the real usage or purpose of Bitcoin then it means we have failed but that's not what is happening here. What's is happening is that it's those centralized services that are the most accessable means to use Bitcoin currently but things will change in the future when more adoption happens and more people starts working on Bitcoin. We'll have more developers bringing out sites and companies to help facilitate the use of Bitcoin in a decentralized manner. More DEX will be patronages and non custodial wallets will become the norm of the day. We just have to give Bitcoin sometimes because it isn't that long it got developed and launched. We're just 14yrs into Bitcoin existence and alot has already been accomplished which will only keep increasing as the years come by.

This illustration is not entirely correct.
Using the family means all cryptocurrencies sprung up from one or two coins. Like they were all Bitcoin before they started splitting into several coins.

Please understand this, without Bitcoin there'll be no cryptocurency industry. Without the father there'll be no family if we're speaking literally. If Bitcoin didn't exist other altcoins won't have been in existence which means others altcoins came as a result of Bitcoin. But in 2023 saying family has to be made up of biological children isn't entirely right. You can adopt children so Bitcoin can still be the father and other children (altcoins must not come from him), they can adopt children or they come into existence in other ways like through surrogacy. Just because most altcoins didn't come as a result of Bitcoin doesn't mean Bitcoin isn't the father and just so you know we have hundreds of altcoins that are fork of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bcash and the rest.

[uchegod-21]

I've come to realise that many people still don't understand that there are other cryptocurrencies apart from the bitcoin, yes the bitcoin is considered a cryptocurrency but they're two things altogether, bitcoin is the supreme digital currency and all digital currencies around the world are known as cryptocurrency, it is an form of currency be it digitally or virtually that uses cryptography to secure it's transactions,whereas bitcoin uses a decentralized ledger called the blockchain to maintain and secure a transparent record of transactions.

 Let me bring it to layman's term for people to understand better, in a society there's a family and I'll use the family to represent cryptocurrency now, the family has a head and that is the father which I'll use to represent bitcoin, now inside that family there are other members like the mother, sister,brother  which forms the family, that's how their are other digital currencies that makes up the cryptocurrency as well, now you can say the father is a member and head  of the family but can't say the father and family are same thing, same way as saying bitcoin is the head and supreme cryptocurrency but can't say bitcoin and cryptocurrency is same thing, I hope these illustrations will help you understand my explanations better, also there other cryptocurrencies like etherium, bnb, cardano, polkadot etc.

Apart from being the first digital currency to be introduced,  bitcoin offers a whole lot of benefits compared to other coins
(alt coins). Bitcoin supersedes other coins here:

• a means of payment because it is highly divisible
• Decentralization
• Anonymity
• Store of value
• Low transaction costs
• Faster processing speed etc.

Other coins are springing up as the day passes by. The already existing coins are improving and advancing technologically.  Trying hard to match up with bitcoin or even overpower it.  Considering this level of competition between bitcoin and altcoins, the line between these two is becoming thin. This is surely a good sign of cryptocurrency dominance or adoption.

[Fara Chan]

Bitcoin to me is the only cryptocurrency that is worth investing on and other altcoins were created from the duplicate of bitcoin to scam people of their hard earned money. Bitcoin is decentralized and don't need a third party to help carry out transactions and it is a store of value, while the others are bunch of shitcoins that are valueless and will make you run at loss when you invest in them.

I also think as you say, because coins other than Bitcoin are just coins that are only for a moment and in fact some people only use them for fun as long as they can still get profit from them. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is a coin that is very valuable and also very valuable so that some people will not carelessly release it into the market after they buy it at a lower price.

So many people knows about other cryptocurrency but they might not know the difference between them and bitcoin, while some people because of greed they end up  preferring to invest in altcoins believing that they can make big profit from it due to the hype by the dev.

Maybe because they don't know how many victims of hype from unprofitable altcoins have returned to Bitcoin, because Bitcoin can also provide more certain profits in the long term without having to follow the hype moment. Greed is indeed difficult to eradicate, but it can still be eliminated as long as someone has felt bad things about their wrong decisions in the past so that they will eventually return to Bitcoin by no longer trusting any altcoin.

[Blitzboy]

I've come to realise that many people still don't understand that there are other cryptocurrencies apart from the bitcoin

You are right, but I don't agree with you because I think that if a person is engaged with this forum and does not even know the difference between Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, then I think he should not stay on this forum. Moreover, for those who don't know about it, I will a little bit describe the literal meaning of cryptocurrency in terms of cryptography. Cryptography is a Greek word that means hidden writing. Bitcoin is The name Bitcoin was later given to it. The first Bitcoin was named after its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who later named it after a white paper.Cryptocurrency is synonymous with Bitcoin; the foundation of cryptocurrency is placed on Bitcoin. If there was no Bitcoin, cryptocurrency would not flow, which means that cryptocurrency is dependent on Bitcoin. Now, because Bitcoin itself laid the foundation of cryptocurrency. And as the founder of cryptocurrency, why is it not possible to say that Bitcoin and altcoin depend on the market, etc. These people think that this altcoin will replace Bitcoin, but this thinking is totally wrong. 

I hope the meaning of the word is understood. Now let's talk about the difference between Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in conceptual terms. Well, both are from the same perspective, but each has its own merits. All other things are similar; the only difference is that the trading supply is limited to 21 million, while the supply of cryptocurrency depends on the coin and how much it holds.

Is it so black and white?

The symbiotic link between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is intriguing. Bitcoin was a pioneer, but wouldnt another digital asset have taken its place if BTC didn't? With or without Bitcoin, the technological and conceptual foundations were laid. How you view the link between Bitcoin and altcoins, especially in terms of dependency and the idea that one cannot survive without the other, is intriguing. Dont you think its a dynamic ecology where one thing improves the other?

[AnonBitCoiner]

Bitcoin is popular among all cryptocurrency assets because of its success and there are also lots of other coins which is necessary but their success and qualities remains hidden when we talk about Bitcoin's features and success. I think everyone knows about other cryptos but they don't accept it due to uncertainty and risk factors involved in it. Every coin which is present in crypto space are closely related with bitcoin so keep in mind that whenever price goes down then coins with already minimum price will died but bitcoin will move again to top position after sometimes.

By just hearing about bitcoin you cannot be successful because there is higher volatility in its price which you should know about its management. There are also many individuals who have knowledge about bitcoin but due to rules and regulations of every country they become unable to take benefit of bitcoin.

[benalexis12]

Besides knowing that Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, BTC has also remained the first and is always in the top 1 crypto in this industry. Because of adoption and technology, their difference is very wide.

Besides that, their purposes are also very far from each other, because when it comes to security investment, investors prefer to choose Bitcoin in the long term over other cryptocurrencies. Many tried to bring down Bitcoin, but they succeeded, and many other cryptos have already fallen.

[The Cryptovator]

You are actually getting it wrong. Cryptocurrency is called a virtual currency that deployed on a blockchain through cryptography. On the other hand, Bitcoin is a p2p decentralised virtual currency deployed on a blockchain through cryptography. That means all the cryptocurrency deployed on the blockchain through cryptographic. But yes, you can make a difference between Bitcoin and altcoins. Except for Bitcoin, everything deployed on the blockchain through cryptography as a virtual currency is called an altcoin. The major thing is that Bitcoin is fully decentralised, and there is no team that can influence the market. But all other cryptocurrencies have a team that can influence them. So they are not truly decentralised anyway.

[BitDane]

I've come to realise that many people still don't understand that there are other cryptocurrencies apart from the bitcoin, yes the bitcoin is considered a cryptocurrency but they're two things altogether, bitcoin is the supreme digital currency and all digital currencies around the world are known as cryptocurrency, it is an form of currency be it digitally or virtually that uses cryptography to secure it's transactions,whereas bitcoin uses a decentralized ledger called the blockchain to maintain and secure a transparent record of transactions.

You are right there are lots of people that don't understand about digital currency and cryptocurrencies.  It maybe an arguement but according to several articles, digital currencies and cryptocurrency are two different things.
this article: Explained: The difference between cryptocurrency and digital currency states about the difference between digital currency and cryptocurrency.  They even have an infographics about its differences.

We don't even need a family structure as example because it is way off the chart.  Just a simple graphical presentation such as this can clearly show what you are trying to explain.

 Cryptocurrency
  |
  ↓
  ---------------------------------
  |                                         |
  ↓                                         ↓
 Bitcoin                              Altcoins

[Renedelaunay]

Its basically the same thing except Bitcoin is a subset of a cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency is the whole.

[danadc]

This is very easy to determine because a coin/cryptocurrency is always behind what Bitcoin represents, and yes, perhaps it can represent money, but never like bitcoin is, because bitcoin is far above all cryptocurrencies, thanks to the bitcoin is that the others exist, the people who only believe in crypto waves and not in bitcoin is like not loving your mother, because thanks to Bitcoin everything is done, if bitcoin makes a movement all the crypto waves go in that direction, because It is the creation, it is the origin of all that, it is that simple, I can't find any other explanation that could make it clearer.

[ndutndut]

I answered according to my current understanding, if there is something wrong, please correct me. Digital currencies that do not have a physical form are called cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin is one type of cryptocurrency that is popular throughout the world and is much sought after by investors. If asked which is better than cryptocurrency, of course bitcoin because bitcoin can be said to be the cryptocurrency of the solar system. The difference may come from price and technology alone.

In other words, if you buy Bitcoin for investment or trade Bitcoin currency, you are indirectly investing in cryptocurrency because Bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies with the largest trading volume and of course a future asset compared to Altcoins.

[Mr.suevie]

I've come to realise that many people still don't understand that there are other cryptocurrencies apart from the bitcoin, yes the bitcoin is considered a cryptocurrency but they're two things altogether, bitcoin is the supreme digital currency and all digital currencies around the world are known as cryptocurrency, it is an form of currency be it digitally or virtually that uses cryptography to secure it's transactions,whereas bitcoin uses a decentralized ledger called the blockchain to maintain and secure a transparent record of transactions.

 Let me bring it to layman's term for people to understand better, in a society there's a family and I'll use the family to represent cryptocurrency now, the family has a head and that is the father which I'll use to represent bitcoin, now inside that family there are other members like the mother, sister,brother  which forms the family, that's how their are other digital currencies that makes up the cryptocurrency as well, now you can say the father is a member and head  of the family but can't say the father and family are same thing, same way as saying bitcoin is the head and supreme cryptocurrency but can't say bitcoin and cryptocurrency is same thing, I hope these illustrations will help you understand my explanations better, also there other cryptocurrencies like etherium, bnb, cardano, polkadot etc.

Thank you brother, I also had such misconception about Bitcoin and the word cryptocurrency because I was lacking on knowledge concerning these things when I actually started this journey but thanks to how lucrative the forum is and the varse knowledge that is embedded here some senior folks and members like JayJuanGee and also series of reading, helped me understood the whole concept of the actual words and till date so many people still don't understand this.

[rachael9385]

Bitcoin to me is the only cryptocurrency that is worth investing on and other altcoins were created from the duplicate of bitcoin to scam people of their hard earned money. Bitcoin is decentralized and don't need a third party to help carry out transactions and it is a store of value, while the others are bunch of shitcoins that are valueless and will make you run at loss when you invest in them.

So many people knows about other cryptocurrency but they might not know the difference between them and bitcoin, while some people because of greed they end up  preferring to invest in altcoins believing that they can make big profit from it due to the hype by the dev.

Truth be told, I cannot advise someone to put his/her money into some shitcoins or an altcoin. I can only tell a person to invest in Bitcoin because there is prove of a good and bad history of Bitcoin. I would still advise the person to do his/her own research before starting to invest in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is also a cryptocurrency, but Bitcoin is still far much better than altcoins and shitoins in the crypto world. Some people like the government already know that, but I really believe that they are hiding it from others. Shitcoins aren't worth investing in. Sometimes I don't really know why most gamblers use their BTC for gambling when they have some shitcoins to use.

[oktana]

This mistake is commonly made by newbies. The same way a newbie once told me that Binance is better than Trust Wallet (you can imagine such a comparison). While it's great to see new people getting interested in the crypto space, it's important to clarify many misunderstandings. For example, in this case, there's Bitcoin which falls in the category of cryptocurrency and is not a category itself. Educating these newbies about these differences would really help them make informed decisions and avoid misconceptions that could even lead to loss of funds. Thank goodness that we have this platform for people to ask questions and learn.