The biggest differences between Bitcoin and altcoins?

[headingnorth]

To me the biggest difference is how bitcoins are created. It takes a great deal of investment in time, effort, money and energy just to mine and produce a single bitcoin.
Unlike altcoins, you can't just print a bitcoin out of thin air whenever you want. Any idiot with a PC can create a new crypto altcoin and print an unlimited or nearly unlimited supply for himself to dump onto the market, whenever he wants. But that's not how bitcoin works.

Imagine having a money printer that prints an unlimited amount of dollars anytime you want. You don't have to do shit to earn it. Just enter the amount you want and press the print button. Voila! You are instantly rich. That's basically how garbage like dogecoin, ethereum, solana, XRP, fartcoin, pepecoin, clowncoin, etc. all work. They are just a digital recreation of the unlimited fiat money system but worse, with no discernible value beyond being a high-tech Ponzi scheme.

What are other differences?



A bitcoin mining facility

[Catenaccio]

To me the biggest difference is how bitcoins are created. It takes a great deal of investment in time, effort, money and energy just to mine and produce a single bitcoin.
Unlike altcoins, you can't just print a bitcoin out of thin air whenever you want.

What are other differences?

Many differences between them.

You forgot that altcoins can have Proof of Work algorithm too, so with PoW altcoins, there were not created from thin air. A big risk is premined PoW coins, you must check this information of PoW altcoins.

Bitcoin is unique by having many following things: PoW, no premine, decentralized network, no censorship, and decentralized developments so no issue if one Bitcoin developer left like how Satoshi Nakamoto left the community and no longer developed Bitcoin Core years ago.

Altcoins are centralized, mass premined coins, hidden premined coins, mint from thin air with smart contracts, centralized, censorship, can die any time because development is centralized in founders and core team members.

[nullama]

Whenever you see a shiny new "project" that is based in some altcoin, always ask yourself: "Why are they not using Bitcoin for this?"

The answer to that, in pretty much almost every case is that the creator of that "project" wants to get your money by issuing their worthless altcoin.

If they work with Bitcoin, then you immediately can tell there's some value in there, because they are trading value for value.

Bitcoin is money, altcoins are a distraction.

[Mia Chloe]

Their differences are way more than you actually highlighted. Of course one of them is actually mining and that's thanks to a couple of properties that the bitcoin network possess like it's POW mechanism which is basically proof of work. Other networks do have their mechanisms to like Ethereum which makes use of POS (proof of stake) in contrast to that of bitcoin.

The most important thing that differentiates bitcoin's POW mechanism is it's difficult adjustments and halving protocol.  The bitcoin network actually has one of the best and most efficient difficulty adjustment mechanisms.

[franky1]

Bitcoin is unique by having many following things: PoW, no premine, decentralized network, no censorship, and decentralized developments so no issue if one Bitcoin developer left like how Satoshi Nakamoto left the community and no longer developed Bitcoin Core years ago.

satoshi NEVER worked on bitcoin core. .. core is a brand that came about by colluding devs in 2014 creating the brand in 2014, long after satoshis disappearance
also one dev of core can leave without causing big effect. but if all the colluding devs messed up or left, then there would be issues as its the sole 'reference client' for upgrades and protocol changes..  thus would affect 99% of everyone should an issue arise. and yes core are centralised once you look at the devs funding background and their colleague/partnership interactions. they do not act as independent devs, but a collective

we should not just cower down and give blind loyalty/obedience to core as gods/governors of bitcoin, even if thats how they act. we should remain vigilant and scrutinise and peer review them to ensure their decisions do not cross the line.

too many people have just let core take control and cross the line many times of whats best for bitcoin, people whom have become defensive loyalists of core devs.. there have even been events including their sponsored actions to enforce their roadmap proceeds as planned, even when the greater bitcoin community have asked for other options

dont fear scrutinising core devs, dont fear peer reviewing them, dont fear criticising them. its the only way to limit how much they get to control

and dont confuse the allowance of core devs whom let smaller coders to bug test, grammar check code/translations via push requests VS the core devs with github force-merge/commit privileges

its like saying a newpaper is open(to read) but to become a newspaper editor is a closed circle of employees, even if the newspaper has a comment section for the public to leave public comment, moderated critique and moderated newsmedia suggestions

[nullama]

satoshi NEVER worked on bitcoin core.

Correct, satoshi released the original software, which was simply called Bitcoin.

.. core is a brand that came about by colluding devs in 2014 creating the brand in 2014, long after satoshis disappearance
also one dev of core can leave without causing big effect. but if all the colluding devs messed up or left, then there would be issues as its the sole 'reference client' for upgrades and protocol changes..  thus would affect 99% of everyone should an issue arise. and yes core are centralised once you look at the devs funding background and their colleague/partnership interactions. they do not act as independent devs, but a collective

There's at least 4 other independent Bitcoin clients that do not create a fork that could be used instead:

https://github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin

https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd

https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-node

https://github.com/bitcoinj/bitcoinj

[franky1]

There's at least 4 other independent Bitcoin clients that do not create a fork that could be used instead:

caveat being they follow core as a reference client
bitcoiners cant defend against core issues by using the other brands, if the other brands just blindly copy code changes across from core.. so we need to ensure core dont overstep

also when core make a significant change but the other brands dont blindly copy the change, forks can happen where the other brand is treated as an altcoin, due to core dominance treating core as the sole/central brand of bitcoin('core' name is not coincidence, its the core for a reason)

the other brands are only 'independent' in regards to the aesthetics of the GUI, they have no dominance/power to make their own proposals

[rodskee]

Whenever you see a shiny new "project" that is based in some altcoin, always ask yourself: "Why are they not using Bitcoin for this?"

The answer to that, in pretty much almost every case is that the creator of that "project" wants to get your money by issuing their worthless altcoin.

If they work with Bitcoin, then you immediately can tell there's some value in there, because they are trading value for value.

Bitcoin is money, altcoins are a distraction.

why altcoins do not want to hype up bitcoin any more is because they want to replace bitcoin they do not want to work with bitcoin they want to work against bitcoin you will notice that a lot of projects tend to promote their altcoins like it is the new bitcoin or it is better than bitcoin when in reality it is not even anywhere close

bitcoin will always be superior to altcoins no matter what your preference is you can buy and use altcoins but always approach with risk

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

The problem in the space right now is that, there are just so many scam project in the market, else, some altcoins made some people to earn millions of dollars on their investment too. Bitcoin have it's unique properties, not to be compared with altcoins because it is already a stepping stone for those other altcoins out there.

[Zoomic]

Some altcoins like litecoin and BNB have fixed supply, but why people don't trust them like Bitcoin is because they can hold larger percentage of the coins for themselves and declare another for the public. Only Bitcoin is very transparent and this is why altcoins are still struggling to match up with the standard Bitcoin has set. Bitcoin is the foundation cryptocurrency and this is the key difference between Bitcoin and altcoins. Altcoins look up to it for growth and improvement.

[Zaguru12]

Some altcoins like litecoin and BNB have fixed supply, but why people don't trust them like Bitcoin is because they can hold larger percentage of the coins for themselves and declare another for the public. Only Bitcoin is very transparent and this is why altcoins are still struggling to match up with the standard Bitcoin has set. Bitcoin is the foundation cryptocurrency and this is the key difference between Bitcoin and altcoins. Altcoins look up to it for growth and improvement.

Many of these Altcoins having fixed supplies actually do think it’s all about fixed supply, yes I can say one of the many characteristics of bitcoin blockchain having so much attraction is the supply been fixed as such after mining ends the scarcity which has made some precious metals valuable also will have it to be valuable and pricey. But it is not all about having the fixed supply that creates demand. Demand is actually created through the chain’s utility, bitcoin offers so much utility for been used everyday like been a digital solution to financial crisis through peer to peer transactions. Most of these Altcoins with such fixed supplies do not actually have any utility as such the fixed supply isn’t enough to create any utility.

The only few Altcoins that even get little attention have been those trying to scale the network by making transactions faster and cheaper than bitcoin but still due to some not having a truly decentralized network many do not go for them too, which makes bitcoin clears above them all

[tbct_mt2]

Some altcoins like litecoin and BNB have fixed supply, but why people don't trust them like Bitcoin is because they can hold larger percentage of the coins for themselves and declare another for the public. Only Bitcoin is very transparent and this is why altcoins are still struggling to match up with the standard Bitcoin has set. Bitcoin is the foundation cryptocurrency and this is the key difference between Bitcoin and altcoins. Altcoins look up to it for growth and improvement.

About fixed supply of altcoins, I want to say one funny fact about them.

Like BNB, they created the token with mass total supply, then they do buy back and burn program, to reduce their token circulating supply. It's quite funny that buy back and burn program is used to create hype and they can do a more easier way, create token with smaller total supply.

Do you see their intentional plan by doing these steps?
If create initial mass supply works, token has very high price, they would be very rich. If it works like this, they will not do any buy back and burn program.

[OfficialGratejoy]

Different between bitcoin and altcoin are many but few to mention.
Now let me start by saying that, bitcoin is the first and the largest cryptocurrency.
Secondly bitcoin has a wide adoption,high liquidity,high security and has a limited supply.
On the other hand altcoin,is an alternative cryptocurrency,with a variable supply,smaller user base,low liquidity and different features and use case.

[BALIK]

Some altcoins like litecoin and BNB have fixed supply, but why people don't trust them like Bitcoin is because they can hold larger percentage of the coins for themselves and declare another for the public. Only Bitcoin is very transparent and this is why altcoins are still struggling to match up with the standard Bitcoin has set. Bitcoin is the foundation cryptocurrency and this is the key difference between Bitcoin and altcoins. Altcoins look up to it for growth and improvement.

About fixed supply of altcoins, I want to say one funny fact about them.

Like BNB, they created the token with mass total supply, then they do buy back and burn program, to reduce their token circulating supply. It's quite funny that buy back and burn program is used to create hype and they can do a more easier way, create token with smaller total supply.

Do you see their intentional plan by doing these steps?
If create initial mass supply works, token has very high price, they would be very rich. If it works like this, they will not do any buy back and burn program.

I don't find it funny that altcoins create large supplies and use buyback and burn strategies. This is even a great strategy and BNB is the pioneer of this idea to create scarcity and helping their token increase in value.

The biggest difference between bitcoin and altcoins is: satoshi did not create bitcoin with the intention of turning it into a business or investment tool to make a profit. He simply wanted to create a peer-to-peer currency with a finite supply to overcome the shortcomings of fiat. Meanwhile, altcoins are created for business purposes, profits...It can be said that the purpose of both is not the same so the comparison is also lame.

[MarathonA]

Altcoins can be traded with Bitcoin in an attempt to earn more crypto. You are in an exchange market competition against other traders where a small % of skilled traders win long term and most other people lose. This exciting competition helps identify the rare altcoins with long-term value and utility based on unique features which Bitcoin lacks. People who hate all altcoins frequently have a blind rage which is similar to racism against other humans, since they fail to see some things cannot be done with Bitcoin alone.

[aoluain]

What are other differences?

Well something most people dont comment on is the face that Bitcoin has no "Board of management"
no select few sitting at the table reporting to the leader/CEO etc. [Decentralised]

Altcoins bar a few all have a creator/owner/CEO/leader who is directing the operations of said Altcoin,
they can decide to simply create more of any altcoin and can decide and control any aspect of the
coins development and direction with the sole goal of turning a profit.

[Lida93]

The problem in the space right now is that, there are just so many scam project in the market, else, some altcoins made some people to earn millions of dollars on their investment too. Bitcoin have it's unique properties, not to be compared with altcoins because it is already a stepping stone for those other altcoins out there.

Many scam projects that have taken from their investors as much more than they have given. Generally, in the altcoins market a huge number of those in it have lost so much compared to the few that claim to have made some profits making the rounds that altcoins had made many people millionaires overnight, a number partly made up of the core developers. But has made many investors rich than any altcoin, comparing bitcoin to altcoins is like making comparison between gold and bronze.

[fikrett]

The problem in the space right now is that, there are just so many scam project in the market, else, some altcoins made some people to earn millions of dollars on their investment too. Bitcoin have it's unique properties, not to be compared with altcoins because it is already a stepping stone for those other altcoins out there.

Many scam projects that have taken from their investors as much more than they have given. Generally, in the altcoins market a huge number of those in it have lost so much compared to the few that claim to have made some profits making the rounds that altcoins had made many people millionaires overnight, a number partly made up of the core developers. But has made many investors rich than any altcoin, comparing bitcoin to altcoins is like making comparison between gold and bronze.

Altcoins don't have that much.. you know. Ideals in them.
Mostly, they even can't offer a good utility - although we don't need to say that about all of them.
And if a person says SOL or ETH or big caps are garbage - that's a big statement to say the least, because they propelled their appropriate niches much and much forward.

[Frankolala]

Altcoins are centralized and can be manipulated by the dev but bitcoin is decentralized and open source with the most efficient and secured network. Bitcoin is limited in supply and the halving event makes it very unique because it reduces the miners reward and that will make the demand to be high with lower supply. Bitcoin is a store of value.

[kryptqnick]

Bitcoin used to be way easier to mine, so it's not a difference that was always relevant. Right now, I'd say I agree about mining difficulty and the amount of resources it takes to create Bitcoin. But I'd also say what makes it different is that it's older than other coins (and thus was way more novel than altcoins are compared to Bitcoin), it's more well-known and more respected in institutional investment circles. Bitcoin is also more universally applicable than many other altcoins which were created for specific purposes as tokens.