What is an altcoin in crypto?

This means that some crypto enthusiasts define an altcoin as any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin and Ethereum. So “altcoin” refers to any crypto that’s not Bitcoin—or Bitcoin and Ethereum. But if you’re talking about any crypto in the context of its own blockchain network, you refer to them as “coins.” What is a coin?

Is Litecoin a cryptocurrency?

The first altcoin was Litecoin, forked from the Bitcoin blockchain in 2011. Litecoin uses a different proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism than Bitcoin, called Scrypt (pronounced es-crypt), which is less energy-intensive and quicker than Bitcoin's SHA-256 PoW consensus mechanism. Ether is another altcoin. However, it did not fork from Bitcoin.

What is bitcoin & how does it work?

Unlike fiat currency, Bitcoin is created, distributed, traded, and stored using a decentralized ledger system known as a blockchain. Bitcoin and its ledger are secured by proof-of-work (PoW) consensus, which is also the "mining" process that introduces new bitcoins into the system. Bitcoin can be purchased via various cryptocurrency exchanges.

Is bitcoin a monopoly?

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, but, technically, it’s a few other things. It’s software that people run ( Bitcoin Core ), and an underlying blockchain that keeps track of who has which Bitcoins. While the concept of a blockchain was invented by the creator of Bitcoin, Bitcoin has no monopoly on blockchain technology.