20 Popular Altcoins to Know

Altcoins (short for alternative coins) refer to all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. They were created to improve upon or offer alternatives to Bitcoin’s original design, addressing issues such as transaction speed, scalability, privacy or functionality. Many altcoins introduce unique features — such as smart contracts, proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms or specialized blockchain ecosystems — that expand the potential uses of cryptocurrency beyond just digital money.

Since the creation of Bitcoin, thousands of altcoins have spawned in the wake of the blockchain breakthrough. Given blockchain’s open-source nature, altcoins (along with their respective platforms) can be created by anyone with an internet connection and come in a growing variety.

Of the over $3 trillion cryptocurrency market capitalization, more than 59 percent is portioned to Bitcoin as of November 2025. Ethereum follows, making up 12 percent in market capitalization, while other altcoins fill out the remaining share.

What Are Altcoins Used For and How Do They Work?

Altcoins are created to fulfill demands and market gaps that Bitcoin does not address. Each altcoin is created for a specific purpose, some of which overlap.

Altcoins can be made from scratch, or more commonly, forked from an existing code. Forks occur when a blockchain splits from its original chain in order to create a new network that follows a parallel software protocol, with parentage most often linked to Bitcoin or Ethereum. Generally, forks occur when developers disagree on a platform’s direction and modify the source code to initiate a separate chain.

Types of Altcoins

There are six major types of altcoins:

• Utility tokens: These provide services within a network, like purchase services, pay network fees or redeem rewards.
• Payment tokens: These are used as currency to exchange value.
• Security tokens: These are tokenized assets offered on stock markets that are held by an entity and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Stablecoins: A stablecoin’s value is pegged to an external reserve asset, like fiat currencies or precious metals, in order to offer relative price stability.
• Memecoins: Crypto inspired by viral internet trends, memecoins are often created to exploit short-term gains.
• Governance tokens: These utility tokens grant users voting rights within a decentralized blockchain.

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How Do Altcoins Compare to Bitcoin?

Bitcoin’s primary focus is functioning as a decentralized store of value and peer-to-peer cash. In comparison, altcoins often introduce new technologies and functionalities — including smart contracts or faster transaction speeds — to improve upon perceived limitations or inefficiencies in Bitcoin’s original design, such as energy usage or transaction throughput.

Altcoins can also provide more utility and have a better chance at market survival in the long run due to their versatility. Their ability to perform different functions in the crypto economy provides adaptability unmatched by Bitcoin, better preparing them for future developments in the market.  

That said, altcoins are considered a risky investment. Despite relative resilience to price fluctuation, altcoins suffer from thin liquidity, high market saturation alongside a smaller market capitalization, a lack of credibility and susceptibility to scams.

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Top Altcoins to Know 

The following rankings are pulled from CoinMarketCap, a market standard in the cryptocurrency space. Its algorithm determines prime performers by multiplying the number of coins in circulation with the live market price of a single coin. 

Below are 20 of the most popular altcoins to know:

1. Ethereum or Ether (ETH)

Ether (ETH) is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, serving as “digital, global money” and the “lifeblood” of the network. It primarily functions as network fuel, required to pay transaction fees (gas) for executing smart contracts and using decentralized applications. Additionally, ETH is staked by validators to secure the Ethereum proof-of-stake network and is fundamental to the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem built on Ethereum.

2. Tether (USDT)

Tether is one of the largest and most widely-traded stablecoin, functioning as a centralized digital asset designed to maintain a 1-to-1 peg with the U.S. dollar, backed 100 percent by its reserves. It operates across numerous popular blockchains, including Ethereum and Bitcoin’s underlying protocols, and the issuing company has expanded to offer stablecoins pegged to other multinational currencies, such as the euro (EURT), Mexican peso (MXN₮) and Chinese yuan (CNH₮).

3. XRP (XRP) 

Ripple owns the XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain, which is home to the XRP native coin. Created as a sustainable alternative to Bitcoin to aid cross-border transactions, XRP is utilized as a “bridge currency” to provide financial institutions with on-demand liquidity, leading to its frequent nickname, “the banker’s coin.” The XRPL network uses a federated consensus mechanism to achieve fast, near-instant settlement and minimal transaction fees.

4. BNB (BNB)

The BNB coin is the premier utility token that powers the entire BNB Chain ecosystem, including the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), where it is mandatory to pay all transaction fees. BNB is used extensively across DeFi for staking and liquidity, Centralized Finance (CeFi) for trading discounts and exclusive token sales and Payment Finance (PayFi) for real-world spending like travel. Additionally, BNB is a deflationary asset governed by an auto-burn system that aims to reduce its total supply to 100 million coins.

5. Solana (SOL)

The SOL coin is the native currency of the Solana network, which is required to pay transaction fees for all network activity, including sending other tokens, minting new assets and interacting with decentralized applications. In addition to covering these costs, a small SOL deposit, called “rent,” is required to maintain each separate token account on the blockchain. Solana also prioritizes expedited exchange and scalability — yielding relative risk to security and criticism of unfair tokenomics that favors venture capitalists.

6. USD Coin (USDC)

USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin pegged 1-to-1 to the U.S. dollar. Peer-to-peer payment services company Circle and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, formed USD Coin to create a currency for the next major era of the internet — one that will facilitate an open, inclusive and evenly distributed global economy. Its reserve is held entirely in cash and short-dated U.S. government obligations, which can be tracked in monthly independent reports.

7. TRON or TRONIX (TRX)

The TRONIX (TRX) token is the native currency of the TRON Protocol, functioning as the basic unit of account and the medium currency for all assets within the TRON ecosystem. Its core utilities include obtaining bandwidth and energy for network transactions, acquiring voting rights for Super Representatives by freezing the token and purchasing tokens issued on the TRON network. TRX is recognized for its broad application scenarios, including being accepted for credit card payments and having been granted statutory status as a medium of exchange in the Commonwealth of Dominica.

8. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin (DOGE) is an open-source, peer-to-peer digital currency and community driven by its philosophy to “Do Only Good Everyday.” It uses blockchain technology secured by a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, plus has prioritized utility as money since its creation with extremely small transaction fees. With a focus on meme culture and fun, Dogecoin features Kabosu (a Japanese Shibu Inu and face of the Doge internet meme) as its mascot.

9. Cardano (ADA)

Cardano (ADA) is the native coin of Cardano, an open-source, proof-of-stake blockchain by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson. Cardano is one of the first large-scale platforms to successfully operate on a peer-to-peer consensus mechanism, also known as a proof-of-stake. The proof-of-stake system relies on an academic process, vetting ideas among the community before granting validation, to better democratize its digital network. 

10. Hyperliquid (HYPE)

HYPE is the native token of the Hyperliquid blockchain and ecosystem. It is primarily used to secure the Hyperliquid network, as it is utilized by Validators who participate in the HyperBFT consensus mechanism. Additionally, the HYPE token is used for decentralized governance, allowing holders to propose and vote on changes through Hyperliquid Improvement Proposals (HIPs).

11. Chainlink (LINK)

The LINK token is the native, multi-chain token for the Chainlink ecosystem, deployed across numerous networks like Ethereum, Arbitrum and Avalanche. Its primary function is to fund Chainlink services, allowing smart contracts to pay Chainlink node operators for external data and off-chain computation. The token is also the transferrable asset used for cross-chain transfers facilitated by the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).

12. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is positioned as “peer-to-peer electronic cash,” aiming to fulfill Bitcoin’s original vision by providing fast, reliable and low-fee transactions globally. To prevent inflation, the Bitcoin Cash network ensures a 21 million coin supply. The BCH ecosystem also supports decentralized development, including a token protocol for creating new token-backed projects.

13. Stellar or Lumen (XLM)

The Lumen (XLM) is the native currency of the Stellar network and was entirely created at the network’s inception, with a total fixed supply currently around 50 billion XLM. Lumens are fundamentally required for network operations, serving three core purposes: paying all transaction fees, funding the minimum balance required for every Stellar account and covering rent for smart contract data storage. 

14. Zcash (ZEC)

Zcash (ZEC) is an altcoin and the first cryptocurrency to use zero-knowledge encryption to enable private peer-to-peer payments. It is designed to be a private, fast and low-fee alternative to Bitcoin, with transactions often costing only a fraction of a cent. Zcash also features a fixed supply of 21 million coins and employs self-funded development to ensure continuous feature and UX improvements.

15. Ethena USDe (USDe)

Ethena’s USDe is a synthetic dollar built on Ethereum and backed by crypto assets combined with corresponding short futures positions to maintain a stable peg to the U.S. dollar. This mechanism, known as delta-hedging, utilizes Bitcoin, Ethereum and other approved spot assets to provide a scalable, crypto-native solution for money.

16. UNUS SED LEO (LEO) 

UNUS SED LEO (LEO) is a dual-chain utility token created by Bitfinex and features a finite life cycle built into its protocol. LEO, which runs on Ethereum and EOS blockchains, launched in 2019 after the U.S. government seized $3.6 billion in funds held by Crypto Capital, Bitfinex’s former payment processor. As a way to regain trust and recover money lost to the iFinex ecosystem, the company’s buy-back scheme commits 27 percent of its gross revenues until no tokens remain in commercial circulation. 

17. Litecoin (LTC)

The “silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” Litecoin leverages Bitcoin properties to become a lighter, faster version of its predecessor. Litecoin is built for speed, boasting a block time — the time in which it takes a verification system, per transaction, to add a block to the blockchain — four times faster than that of Bitcoin, while Bitcoin prioritizes maximum security and immutability. Early crypto adopter and computer scientist Charlie Lee created Litecoin two years after Bitcoin’s genesis block debut, making Litecoin one of the first altcoins to enter the market.

18. Hedera (HBAR)

HBAR (ℏ) is the native token of the Hedera public network, designed with a fixed total supply of 50 billion coins. It acts as network fuel to pay predictably low transaction fees for services like token minting and smart contract calls, and protects the network via a proof-of-stake consensus. By staking HBAR to network nodes, users contribute to the network’s security and consensus weighting, thereby earning a small share of the transaction fees.

19. Sui (SUI)

SUI is the native asset of the Sui platform and serves as the required gas token for all network operations. SUI owners use the token for delegated proof-of-stake, allowing them to stake to network authorities that operate Sui within epochs and are periodically reconfigured based on this delegated stake. The collected gas fees are then distributed back to the authorities and their delegates based on their staked amount and contribution to the network’s operation.

20. Avalanche (AVAX)

The Avalanche (AVAX) token is the native utility token of the Avalanche network, which is hard-capped at a total supply of 720 million and serves as a scarce resource across the entire ecosystem. Avalanche is a Layer 1 blockchain that functions as a platform for decentralized applications (dApps) — software that can run entirely on a blockchain — and custom blockchain networks. AVAX is primarily used to secure the network through staking and to pay for fees on all transactions and custom blockchain operations. 

Frequently Asked Questions