What is altcoin? Altcoin is a widely used term in the cryptocurrency market, encompassing all tokens other than Bitcoin. In this article, you can find answers to questions that investors wonder, such as what is altcoin, what are its features, how does it work. As Kriptokoin.com, we have prepared it for our curious readers. Let’s examine it together.
What is altcoin?
Bitcoin is the most prominent and established cryptocurrency worldwide. For this reason, some crypto fanatics consider Bitcoin the “primary” cryptocurrency. However, there are thousands of unique cryptocurrencies, each with different monetary values and use cases. Generally speaking, altcoins refer to every cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Any non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies such as Cardano, Solana, Polkadot, and Uniswap are also altcoins. However, assets defined as tokens can also be accepted as altcoins. In fact, the term altcoin is derived from the concept of “alternative money”. However, many cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Dogecoin are increasingly excluded from this definition. According to CoinMarketCap, all cryptocurrencies are currently listed in the altcoin class, except for some assets, including Bitcoin.
How do altcoins work?
Like Bitcoin, altcoin projects operate through Blockchain technology. Blockchain is a database maintained by multiple, sometimes thousands of computers around the world at the same time. This database has a digital, decentralized and distributed structure. They are also often described as “Network”. New transactions on these networks are verified by miners. Thus, transactions are recorded as transaction blocks on the Blockchain. Once transactions are committed to a Blockchain, they cannot be undone.
Many altcoin projects offer various features to make their cryptocurrencies better than others. For example, Stellar Blockchain aims to operate faster, cheaper and more energy efficient than its competitors. Dogecoin, which is among the leading meme coins, is one of them. DOGE was launched as a prank-based cryptocurrency in 2013. Then he came to the fore with the support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
What are the characteristics of altcoins?
Each altcoin project has different use cases. For example, Ethereum provides you with dApps and smart contracts, while Decentraland provides a Metaverse world. In this context, ETH is used to pay for transactions within the Ethereum network. Decentraland’s altcoin, MANA, is for purchasing various items in the Metaverse. It will be useful to find Blockchain networks and altcoins according to what you want to do. However, investing in an altcoin, like all cryptocurrencies, is risky. Altcoins, like Bitcoin, have high volatility. That is, their values can go up and down too much.
What is altcoin? How to take
Altcoin projects take place on cryptocurrency exchanges. However, it would be unreasonable to expect every altcoin to be available on every exchange. This is because exchanges list different assets. For example, the Shiba Inu is traded on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. However, it cannot be purchased from Robinhood, another leading exchange. In other words, it is very important to be a member of an exchange where the altcoin project you are interested in is listed.
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