Altcoin

Altcoin is short for “alternative coin” or “bitcoin alternative“.

The term “altcoin” is also a category given to any and every coin or token other than Bitcoin (BTC).

Ethereum is an example of an altcoin.

As of 2022, there are roughly 10,000 different altcoins.

Altcoins are meant to be different in some way from Bitcoin(BTC) and all other altcoins.

Various types of altcoins exist including:

Stablecoins
Meme Coins
Utility Tokens
Security Tokens
Governance Tokens

When considering the cryptocurrency’s total market capitalization (“market cap”) as a whole, Bitcoin’s market cap dominance, as a percentage, is often compared to the altcoin market cap (the market cap of all altcoins grouped together).

This market cap metric, and the rise and fall of Bitcoin (BTC) dominance, are used by many traders and analysts to better understand the cryptocurrency market as a whole, gauge trader sentiment, and determine if the current market conditions offer any trading opportunities.

Related Terms

Token

A Token is a digital asset that operates on a parent blockchain or on another digital asset’s blockchain because it doesn’t have a blockchain of its own. The term “token” also tends to describe almost all other cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies in existence today. Tokens have multiple purposes and use cases.

Bitcoin Dominance (BTCD)

Bitcoin Dominance (BTCD) is a ratio that measures the market capitalization of bitcoin (the largest digital asset by market cap) against that of all other cryptocurrencies, or altcoins. It’s a ratio calculated by taking the market cap of BTC and dividing it by the market cap of all other altcoins. Crypto traders use bitcoin dominance […]

Flippening

Te point in time when Bitcoin (BTC) loses its throne atop the cryptocurrency mountain of market capitalization and hands the reins to Ethereum (ETH). Nobody knows when this will happen or if it will ever happen.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin (BTC) is most well known as a digital decentralized cryptocurrency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries, such as payment gateways or banks or routing services. Think of bitcoin as Internet money, that you can send and receive directly, to and from anyone, and you can use it to pay for stuff.

Market Capitalization (Market Cap)

Market Capitalization (Market Cap) is a total dollar value given to an asset (like Bitcoin), or an entire asset class (all cryptocurrencies), calculated by taking that asset’s circulating supply and multiplying it by the market price of that asset.