An Altcoin is any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and many other digital currencies, also called altcoins, were created as an alternative to Bitcoin. These altcoins may have different features, mining process, governance, or target a specific use case.
Some examples of popular altcoins include Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash. They have their own blockchain and have different tokenomics, mining mechanisms, and governance models than Bitcoin.
Many altcoins are developed to improve upon the limitations of Bitcoin and offer faster transaction speeds, lower fees, or increased privacy. Some altcoins are also created to serve specific industries such as gaming, finance, or supply chain management.
Due to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, new altcoins can be created at any time through a process called forking, where a new version of the software is created from an existing blockchain.
