Dictionary

altcoin en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos Proto-Italic *aljos Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *aliteros Latin alter Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Latin -nus Latin alternus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin alternō Latin alternātus Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Latin alternātīvusder. Middle French alternatifbor. English alternativebf. English alt- Latin cuneusder. Old French coinbor. Middle English coyn English coin English altcoin From alt- + coin.

Meanings

1. A cryptocurrency other than bitcoin.
   • Indeed, after a week of existence, Dogecoin is already the 24th most valuable altcoin, with a total market value of $1,621,559 based on the exchange CoinedUp, though it might be worth even more elsewhere. 2013, John Stevenson, Dogecoin - Bitcoin's poor cousin?, page 18:
   • Sure, like all the other altcoins, Dogecoin offers some variability, like a theoretical max of 100 billion versus 21 million, and a different proof-of-work algorithm, but we’re reaching Furby levels of ridiculousness here. 2013, sdjf, “Dogecoin ~ internet meme dog coin.”, in uk.politics.misc (Usenet):
   • Most altcoins follow the bitcoin model of having a finite ultimate supply of coins. 2014 June 13, Black Market Cryptocurrencies, page 47:
   • MASTERCOIN […] An altcoin invented by J. R. Willett. According to the Website, “The Master Protocol facilitates the creation and trading of smart properties and user currencies as well as other types of smart contracts. […]” 2014, Deborah Gonzalez, Managing Online Risk: Apps, Mobile, and Social Media Security, Butterworth-Heinemann, →ISBN, page 199:
   • Altcoins use either Scrypt or SHA256 encryption algorithm, because the 'project forks' are from either Litecoin or Bitcoin. […] A few crypto economists believed that Altcoins is contributed ^([sic]) to a diverse crypto commodities marketplace, which is good. 2013, John Davidson, The Digital Coin Revolution - Crypto Currency - How to Make Money Online, JD-Biz Corp Publishing, →ISBN:

Forms

Coordinates

stablecoin · memecoin · shitcoin

Translations (3)

cmn 替代幣 /替代币 (cryptocurrency other than bitcoin) · fr altcoin (cryptocurrency other than bitcoin) · fi vaihtoehtovaluutta (cryptocurrency other than bitcoin)