Altcoin originally meant “Bitcoin alternative” because, in the early stages of cryptocurrency development, every blockchain-based currency was seen as a sort of Bitcoin (BTC) knockoff. Cryptocurrencies back then were mainly used for payments, such as Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP) and Peercoin (PPC). Altcoin was used as a catchall term for cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.
That’s changed since 2011. With the emergence of more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies, each linked to different types of crypto projects and tokens. We have also seen the dexterity of coins stretch across sectors of public chains, decentralized finance (DeFi), layer 2, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), stablecoins and more.
James Wo founded has served as the CEO of Digital Finance Group in 2015, where he oversees $1 billion in digital assets. He was an early investor in companies including LedgerX, Coinlist, Circle, and 3iQ. He is also the founder and a board member of the Licensed Matrix Exchange in the United Arab Emirates and holds a master’s degree in applied statistics from Columbia University’s Teachers College.