What does altcoin mean?

"Altcoin" is a combination of the two words "aalternative" and "coin." It is generally used to include all cryptocurrencies and tokens that are not Bitcoin. Altcoins belong to the blockchains they were explicitly designed for. Many are forks—a splitting of a blockchain that is not compatible with the original chain—from Bitcoin and Ethereum.

What are NEO tokens?

The Neo blockchain has two native tokens for its ecosystem: GAS and NEO. The GAS token is used to represent the right to use the Neo blockchain, and its NEO token represents the right to manage the blockchain. NEO token holders can participate in both on-chain and off-chain governance structures.

How many altcoins are there?

Altcoins make up nearly 40% of the total cryptocurrency market, according to CoinMarketCap. "With more than 5,000 altcoins out there, it is safe to say that most of them will never be able to materialize into anything useful or provide substantial returns in the long term," says Ben Weiss, chief operating officer of CoinFlip.

What are altcoins & payment tokens?

It is possible for an altcoin to fall into more than one category, such as TerraUSD, which is a stablecoin and utility token. As the name implies, payment tokens are designed to be used as currency—to exchange value between parties. Bitcoin is the prime example of a payment token.