Altcoins offer a variety of benefits, including technological innovations that go beyond Bitcoin, such as improved scalability, faster transaction speeds and lower costs. They unlock new use cases through the development of DeFi, smart contracts and DApps. For investors, the high volatility of altcoins also allows for greater profit potential. Trading is not limited to traditional stock exchange hours and can take place 24/7. Bitcoin is considered the “true first” cryptocurrency, but altcoins have still played a significant role in developing the crypto market.

It’s hard to predict, but tokens with strong narratives, mindshare, and growing adoption have higher chances. AI-agent tokens, meme coins, and Layer 1 solutions are currently gaining traction. Altcoin season can be identified when over 75% of altcoins outperform Bitcoin over a set period. BTC dominance is declining, and capital rotation into altcoins is a key indicator. Predicting exact prices is difficult, but coins with low market caps have potential.

Future of altcoins

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To everyone’s surprise, Dogecoin became very popular and reached a market capitalisation of USD $353 million by August 2019. The term “altcoin” is short for “alternative coin” and is used to describe any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, which was the first and most well-known cryptocurrency. Altcoins were created to address some of the limitations of Bitcoin, such as its slow transaction times and high transaction fees, as well as to offer different features and use cases. Examples of altcoins include Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Cardano and Chainlink among others.

Alternative coins — Frequently asked questions

The Polygon (Matic) network significantly boosts scalability and efficiency using Layer 2 protocols. By offloading tasks to separate blockchains, Polygon can process up to 65,000 transactions per second and rivals systems like Visa in speed. Another example is the altcoin Ethereum (ETH), which increases its processing capacity through sharding. By splitting the database into smaller, more manageable segments, Ethereum can handle more transactions simultaneously.

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• However, if you think about the most popular altcoin purely based on market capitalization, it is Ethereum.
• The material is not to be construed as an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell a security nor is it to be construed as investment advice.
• Alt dominance refers to the combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin, represented as a percentage of the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency sector.
• Participating in presale events for new alt seasons can provide early access to promising projects at lowered prices.

By recognizing the varying purposes of altcoins, we can identify the most popular contenders within specific niches rather than struggling to choose from an overwhelming array of choices. Altcoin season happens when capital flows from Bitcoin into altcoins, driving their prices higher. Bitcoin dominance usually decreases as traders seek higher returns in smaller-cap assets. Cold wallets like Tangem are some of the safest ways to store cryptocurrencies, especially during times of high market fluctuations. With Tangem, your altcoins are safe from cyber threats, keeping your investments secure from online risks.

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Their success often depends heavily on the adoption and development of the underlying technology. As a result, Ethereum has established itself as one of the strongest cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin and reached an all-time high of around USD $4,900 in 2021. As of June 2025, its market capitalisation stands at approximately USD $331,000,000,000. Thanks to its strong development team and active community, Ethereum ranks second in the list of top cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. Ethereum demonstrates how vital a strong development team is for a project’s progress. The cryptocurrency benefits from the developers’ deep technical knowledge and innovation.