What is an altcoin? $BTC
If the entire cryptocurrency universe expanded from a single point, sort of like a big bang, that point of singularity would be Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency. Every cryptocurrency that’s not the original Bitcoin is considered an “alternative” to it, hence an “alternative coin” or altcoin.
From this vantage point, an altcoin is every cryptocurrency that’s not Bitcoin. But there’s a caveat to this definition: Not everyone agrees with it.
Bitcoin was designed as an alternative to our everyday standard currency. Ethereum introduced another region to the blockchain universe: one that allowed for innovations such as smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) to flourish.
What is a coin?
A coin is a cryptocurrency that comes with its own dedicated and standalone blockchain. In other words, a coin is a specific blockchain’s native cryptocurrency.
For example, the Bitcoin network’s native coin is Bitcoin. Ethereum’s coin is called Ether. Ripple Labs’ coin is called XRP. They each have their own standalone blockchain networks.
Some blockchain networks can be used for other cryptocurrencies and other decentralized applications in addition to their own native coin. This is where things can get confusing, because some of them are called “coins” for the sake of convenience. But technically they’re “tokens.”
What is a token?
A token is a cryptocurrency or crypto asset that runs on another cryptocurrency’s blockchain. An example of a cryptocurrency token is USD Coin (USDC), a fiat-backed stablecoin that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. An example of a crypto asset token is a non-fungible token (NFT). Most NFTs run on blockchains built on the Ethereum network.