What is an altcoin?
In one line: An altcoin is any cryptocurrency other than bitcoin. The name is short for "alternative coin." Ether, solana and XRP are well-known examples.
Some well-known altcoins
- Ether (ETH): the coin of Ethereum, a network for apps and smart contracts. See the Ethereum page.
- Solana (SOL): a fast network built for many transactions. See the Solana page.
- XRP, BNB, Cardano, Dogecoin, Chainlink, Litecoin: each with its own purpose and history.
- Stablecoins like USDT are technically altcoins too, though most people talk about them separately.
There are thousands of altcoins. Many are small, thinly traded, or abandoned.
A simple example with numbers
Coin A costs $0.10. Coin B costs $100. Which is "cheaper"?
You can't tell from the price. Check the supply:
- Coin A: 100 billion coins × $0.10 = $10 billion total value.
- Coin B: 50 million coins × $100 = $5 billion total value.
Coin A is worth twice as much in total. That total is its Market cap, the number that matters for comparing coins.
How altcoins tend to move
Bitcoin is the biggest crypto by far, and its moves set the mood. Many altcoins move in the same direction, often by a bigger percentage. If bitcoin drops 5% in a day, many altcoins drop more. When it rises, they may rise more too. Moves of 20% or more in a day aren't rare for smaller coins.
Why it matters
- Bigger swings mean a stop needs more room, so your position needs to be smaller for the same risk.
- Thinner trading on small coins means wider spreads and more Slippage.
- One bet, many coins. Five altcoin trades in the same direction often act like one big crypto bet. See Correlation.
Our crypto trading guide for beginners covers exchanges, wallets and costs.
A common mistake
Buying a coin because the price per coin is low. "It's only 10 cents, it could easily reach a dollar" ignores the supply. Going from $0.10 to $1 would mean Coin A's total value going from $10 billion to $100 billion. Size every trade from your stop with the position size calculator.
Questions
Is ether an altcoin?
Yes. By definition, every crypto other than bitcoin is an altcoin, including ether, the second-largest.
What is "altcoin season"?
A loose name for stretches when many altcoins rise faster than bitcoin. There's no official measure, and it's only obvious looking back.
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