All cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC) were first described as altcoins for a single reason: There was a rise of projects that copied and pasted Bitcoin’s source code. The cryptocurrencies in the early stages weren’t unique enough to have a distinctive term, so “altcoin” (alternative coins) best fit their description. The community, at that point, didn’t put too much thought into other cryptocurrencies due to Bitcoin’s potential advancement — its future price growth, use cases, mainstream adoption, etc. It was the leading head in crypto. But things changed when people caught onto Ethereum’s smart contract platform, as it can produce …

What are altcoins? The word “altcoin” is derived from “alternative” and “coin.” Altcoins refer to all alternatives to Bitcoin. Altcoins are cryptocurrencies that share characteristics with Bitcoin (BTC). For example, Bitcoin and altcoins have a similar basic framework. Altcoins also function like peer-to-peer (P2P) systems and share code, much like Bitcoin. Of course, there are also marked differences between Bitcoin and altcoins. One such difference is the consensus mechanism used by these altcoins to validate transactions or produce blocks. While Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, altcoins typically use proof-of-stake (PoS). There are different altcoin categories, and they can …

Solana (SOL) price may fall to $70 a token in the coming weeks as a head and shoulders setup emerged on the daily timeframe and possibly points toward a 45%+ decline. The chart below shows that SOL price rallied to nearly $217 in September 2021, dropped to a support level near $134 and then moved to establish a new record high of $260 in November 2021. Earlier this week, the price fell back to test the same $134-support level before breaking to a 2022 low at $87.73. This phase of price action appears to have formed a head and shoulders …

2021 was a sort of "coming-of-age" for many layer-one (L1) blockchain protocols because the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) forced users to look for solutions outside of the Ethereum (ETH) network where high fees and network congestion continued to be barriers for many. Protocols like Fantom (FTM), Avalanche (AVAX) and Cosmos (ATOM) saw their token values rise and ecosystems flourished as 2021 came to a close. Meanwhile, popular projects like Polkadot (DOT) underperformed, comparatively speaking, despite the high expectations many had for the sharded multi-chain protocol. Setting aside the specific capability that each protocol offers in …

Brenda Gentry, a former USAA mortgage underwriter from Texas, believes that the cryptocurrency ecosystem offers a fighting chance to overcome the generational curse of poverty. Gentry, a.k.a. MsCryptoMom, left her decade-long job as a banker to pursue a full-time crypto career as her initial investments from early 2020 confirmed the “unprecedented opportunities offered by crypto.” She currently runs Gentry Media Productions, a firm that advises decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) projects — generating up to 20 ether (ETH) each month, nearly $50,000 at the time of writing. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Gentry recollected the moment she first bought crypto: …

Blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) gaming had a breakout year in 2021, and as the cryptocurrency ecosystem evolves in 2022, the P2E gaming sector and those that invest in it will need to consider what the next steps are. During bull markets, vaporware, speculation and euphoria can lead to unrealistic valuations and expectations, and this appears to also have impacted the P2E sector. Now that the hype is “over,” investors and developers will need to identify new value propositions that catalyze growth and steady investment into the blockchain gaming sector. Here’s a closer look at some of the trends that could emerge …

Attracting liquidity has become a de facto arms race in the growing decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape. Projects constantly battle to attract investors funds by offering enticing yields for crypto holders willing to take a risk and lock up their assets and protocols use this funds to build out their products and attract attention from larger investors. One protocol that has been gaining traction in the total value locked (TVL) race is MetisDAO (METIS), a layer-two rollup platform designed to fully support the application and business migration from Web2 to Web3. Alongside the growth in the TVL on its protocol, the …

Ether (ETH) price lost the $3,600 support on Jan. 5 as minutes from the Federal Reserve's December FOMC meeting showed that the regulator was committed to decreasing its balance sheet and increasing interest rates in 2022. Even with that looming overhead, Ether has problems of its own, more specifically, the ongoing $40 and higher average transaction fees. On Jan. 3 Vitalik Buterin said that Ethereum needs to be more lightweight in terms of blockchain data so that more people can manage and use it. The concerning part of Vitalik's interview was the status of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, which is …

Bitcoin (BTC) and most major altcoins continue to witness a bloodbath on Jan. 21 and the result of the most recent downturn has been a $200 billion reduction in market capitalization. A new report by Huobi Research, in collaboration with Blockchain Association Singapore, forecast Bitcoin to enter a bear market in 2022. The liquidity tightening measures undertaken by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks across the world and the regulatory action by authorities could play spoilsport and keep crypto prices under check. The calls for a bear market have not shaken up the resolve of MicroStrategy CEO Michael …

On Friday, CasperLabs, a blockchain software firm, announced a partnership with China's Blockchain-based Service Network, or BSN. Through the agreement, which has been minted as a nonfungible token, or NFT, as a sign of commemoration, Casper Network will be added as the blockchain of choice to the Fuzhou City Chain for use in public and private crypto infrastructure developments in the region — dubbed "Fuzhou Chain powered by Casper." RockTree Capital, an investment company, based in New York, played a critical role in bridging the entente between Casper and Fuzhou City. As told by stakeholders, the partnership's main goal is …

Bitcoin (BTC) stayed lower on Friday after an overnight bout of volatility sent the largest cryptocurrency to six-month lows. $40,000 optimism unwinds Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reversing at $38,250 after shedding over $4,000 in hours. Circling $39,000 at the time of writing, traders were reeling from the sudden downside, which came just as BTC had hit multi-day highs, passing $43,000. Liquidations across trading platforms were thus predictably significant. For Bitcoin and altcoins combined, 24-hour position unraveling totaled $725 million, with BTC positions accounting for $292 million. The vast majority of the casualties were long positions, …

Bitcoin (BTC) has dumped 7.5% in the past 12 hours, plunging to 6-month lows from $43,328 at 4pm UTC yesterday to $38,258 by 4am UTC today. At the time of writing Bitcoin was trading at $38,761 according to Cointelegraph. Today’s price crash has so far wiped about $50 billion from the overall crypto market. The total crypto market cap has been on a slow decline since early November 2021 when it reached a peak of $3 billion. Without a single bombshell piece of news that many could blame the dump on, investors are wondering what caused the price action. Some …