Altcoin
By Menno — 13 years in crypto, 3 bear markets survived, zero paid promotions
Last updated: March 2026
An altcoin is any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Altcoins range from large-cap platforms like Ethereum to small-cap speculative tokens, and they typically carry higher risk and higher potential returns than Bitcoin.
The term "altcoin" (alternative coin) refers to every cryptocurrency that isn't Bitcoin. This includes major platforms like Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano, as well as thousands of smaller tokens.
Altcoin categories: - Platform tokens: native tokens of smart contract platforms (ETH, SOL, AVAX) - DeFi tokens: governance and utility tokens for DeFi protocols (UNI, AAVE, LINK) - Meme coins: community-driven tokens with no utility (DOGE, SHIB, PEPE) - Stablecoins: price-stable tokens pegged to fiat (USDC, USDT, DAI) - Layer 2 tokens: scaling solution tokens (MATIC, ARB, OP)
Altcoins tend to be more volatile than Bitcoin. During bull markets, altcoins often dramatically outperform Bitcoin ("alt season"). During bear markets, altcoins typically lose 80-95% of their value.
Alpha Factory's Altcoin Rules system helps investors evaluate whether conditions favor buying altcoins by scoring 8 market indicators. The key insight: even great altcoins are bad buys when market conditions are unfavorable.
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Related Terms
Altcoin Rules
Altcoin Rules is Alpha Factory's 8-indicator scoring system that evaluates whether conditions are favorable for buying an altcoin, combining Risk Wave, RSI, Fear & Greed, token unlocks, and more into a single composite score.
Bitcoin Dominance
Bitcoin dominance is the percentage of the total cryptocurrency market cap held by Bitcoin. When dominance rises, Bitcoin outperforms altcoins. When it falls, altcoins tend to rally (alt season).
Market Cap (Market Capitalization)
Market cap is the total value of a cryptocurrency calculated by multiplying the current price by the circulating supply. It's the most common metric for comparing the relative size of crypto projects.
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