GlossaryBeginner
Altcoin
A general term for any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.
Altcoin is a general, informal term for any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, covering an extremely broad range of assets with very different designs, purposes, and levels of maturity.
Because the term covers such a wide range of genuinely different assets, it describes a broad category rather than any specific set of shared properties.
Examples
- Ethereum, despite its size and significance, is still technically classified as an altcoin relative to Bitcoin.
- The term "altcoin" alone says very little about a specific asset's actual design or purpose.