altcoin
3 synonyms and 1 antonyms for altcoin, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Antonyms
How to Use Altcoin
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Informal industry jargon. Some speakers use it dismissively; others use it purely descriptively. A few also exclude Ethereum from the category, though this is not a settled convention.
Etymology
A compound of alternative and coin, meaning a coin offered as an alternative to Bitcoin.
Full origin of altcoin →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a coin and a token?
A coin normally has its own blockchain, as Bitcoin and Ether do. A token is issued on top of somebody else's blockchain, using that network's rules and fees. In casual speech the two words are often swapped, but the distinction matters when you are checking which network something lives on.
Is Ethereum an altcoin?
By the plain definition, yes: it is a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. In practice some people treat Ethereum as a category of its own because of its size, and reserve "altcoin" for smaller projects. Neither usage is wrong; context tells you which is meant.
How many altcoins are there?
Thousands, and the number changes constantly as new ones are created and old ones are abandoned. Listing sites track different subsets, so published counts vary a great deal.