100 Best Altcoins - Toplist & FAQ by Crypto Lists (2024)

Altcoins stand for alternative coins or alternative tokens. The phrase ‘alternative’ implies its a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

Today, there are thousands of different altcoins, and it can be hard to select which ones to read more about. For that reason, we’ve selected the 100 best altcoins based on our review ratings for each token or coin. Below are the 100 most popular altcoins right now, according to Crypto Lists.

Top 100 Altcoins and Tokens

This is the toplist with alternatives to Bitcoin for people in United Kingdom. There may still be restrictions on what people in the your geographic region are allowed to do when it comes to crypto currencies. So make sure that you read up on the regulatory restrictions as well as the terms and conditions for each crypto exchange and consider what is or isn’t allowed. Crypto is extremely volatile and not suitable for everyone to invest in. Never speculate with money that you cannot afford to lose.

What are altcoins?

In general, altcoins are all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC). Some people also refer to altcoins as any other alternative cryptocurrencies aside from Ethereum (ETH), as most coins that people have heard about are one of those two.

Most altcoins use different consensus mechanisms that validate transactions and open new blocks to distinguish themselves from BTC. These altcoins provide new and additional capabilities and have other uses and goals. An altcoin combines two words, “alternative” and “coin,” and they belong to the blockchains they were explicitly designed for. There are more than a thousand altcoins in existence!

Lots of altcoins are alternate versions of Bitcoin or Ethereum, with minor changes – hence their names. However, not all altcoins are alternate versions of Bitcoin or Ethereum and have totally different goals. Different altcoins use various algorithms and use a variety of consenus mechanisms.

Digital currencies provide low-price volatility and additional transaction capabilities. The first altcoin was introduced in 2011 and is known as Namecoin. The high prices and limited supply of Bitcoin led to the introduction of these digital currencies as an alternative. The altcoins work on a similar technology where transactions are stored in a block forming a chain. This is a blockchain. The rules of deploying blockchain differ based on the purpose of the altcoin in question. Some are faster and cheaper, while others maintain 100% anonymity.

What are the main opportunities with altcoins?

+ These alternative coins and tokens are an excellent way for cryptocurrency market investors who want to diversify their holdings.
+ Many offer faster transaction processing time, a good example is Litecoin being faster than Bitcoin.
+ Some altcoins provide 100 percent anonymity, such as DASH and Monero (XMR).
+ It is possible to get lower mining costs compared to BTC.
+ Most charge a lower transaction fee as compared to Bitcoin.

What are the main altcoin risks?

– Most altcoins have lower popularity and a smaller market cap.
-Most altcoins are way less liquid than Bitcoin.
-It can be challenging to determine use cases for some altcoins.
-Many of these tokens are scams and lose developer and community interest.
-Many of the altcoins are complicated for a beginner to use.
-Some coins and tokens lack public acceptance and exposure, and have an extremely high market supply.

Which types of altcoins exist?

Different types or varieties of altcoins are readily available in the crypto market. Altcoins use various algorithms and protocols to solve particular problems. The technologies range from simple to advanced, as well as multiple functionalities and consensus methods. The following are classifications of altcoins:

Mining-based

These mining-based cryptocurrencies rely on Proof-of-Work that creates new money by solving complex problems to verify transactions, create blocks, and mine new coins simultaneously. Such currencies include Monero (XMR), Litecoin (LTC), Zcash (ZEC), and DASH. The mining process differs from Bitcoin, and Litecoin uses one known as Scrypt. Pre-mined altcoins do not require an algorithm to generate cryptocurrencies and are rolled out in the market directly.

Stablecoins

Stablecoins reduce overall volatility by tethering their value to commodities such as precious metals, fiat currencies, or other cryptocurrencies. The basket is a backup if the cryptocurrency fails or encounters difficulties, and is limited to a specific range for its price swings. Tether (USDT) is the most widely used stablecoin. Others include USDCOIN (USDC), Maker (MKR), and DAI.

Stablecoin projects claim to be resistant to volatility, and the price remains stable. There are reserve assets that back stablecoins projects. These include the USD, other cryptocurrencies such as DAI, or commodities such as gold. Therefore, there are high trading volumes, similar to national currencies in a traditional market.

DeFi coins

These altcoins have developed due to frustration with the traditional financial system regulated by Central Banks. It has created the surge of decentralized finance, where there is no regulation by a central body and relies on a peer-to-peer system.

DeFi altcoins earn interest and benefit from speculation on the price of altcoins using derivatives. It covers insurance against risk. You can purchase altcoins of these kinds on DEX platforms, and the currencies include Ether, AVAX, AAVE, and Uniswap.

Meme Coins

These coins mimic other cryptocurrencies and are named because they derive from a joke or a ridiculous interpretation of well-known digital currencies. They rise quickly and are fueled by prominent retail investors and cryptocurrency influencers looking for quick profits.

Meme coins get direct inspiration from a meme; for instance, DOGE is inspired by a dog theme. Anyone who has access to the internet can make and distribute a meme. The memes have massive or unlimited supply accounting for their restricted per-unit price.

Utility Tokens

These tokens are a type of cryptocurrency that exists within a network. These tokens can be used to pay for services, redeem rewards, and pay network costs, among other things. These tokens do not distribute dividends or give up ownership interest. For instance, Filecoin is a utility token used to purchase network storage space; Chainlink offers an enhanced blockchain ecosystem and an incentive arrangement to users via a link. XRP is a token that; leverages Defi to facilitate highly liquid trades between various fiat currencies. Theta uses a peer-to-peer network to deliver high-quality video streaming services worldwide.

Governance tokens

Governance tokens issue investors and holders leverage in a project, contributing to the overall decentralization of it. Token owners use the protocol and own it. Decisions are not made through a centralized hierarchy, but a community that votes together on significant platform changes. The tokens exist as part of a Decentralised Authority Organisation (DAO), and users abide by rules written into the code of a network via smart contracts. The number of investors in a project is proportional to the size of their investor. For instance, Maker (MKR) allows investors to vote on various DeFi protocols on the Maker DAO platform.

Play-to-earn tokens

This type of Altcoin exists within the game system or a network of games. Users who play the game can earn crypto as a native token. Thus, it can be used to make in-game purchases, for instance, game-inspired NFTs or trades into the broader crypto market. Popular play to earn altcoins include AXS, SAND, MANA, and GALA.

New Coins and Tokens

There are new and upcoming altcoins almost every day. You can be the first to purchase altcoins that are newly listed and reviewed by Crypto Lists. They present a great opportunity due to their low initial value in the market. However, they have a higher risk than established altcoins. There is limited information about the token, and its founders, and is highly susceptible to being a scam.

Security Tokens

Security tokens are digitally recorded assets that function similarly to equities traded on stock exchanges. The tokens resemble regular stocks and provide investors with equity or a dividend payout. The prospect of price appreciation for the tokens is a crucial incentive for investors to invest in them. These tokens are accessible through initial coin offerings (ICOs), known as token sales in the cryptocurrency community. These tokens have been subject to regulatory backlash due to their existence between crypto and traditional markets, for instance, Blockchain Capital (B cap).

Which is the best altcoin exchange?

There are lots of different exchanges focusing on altcoins and the one you select can depend on where you live, the design you prefer, the altcoins you like to trade and other personal factors. Some of the best ones are:

Binance
Binance (review) is preferable due to its lower fees and escrow services and more than 600 altcoins, charts, and indicators expressing these details. It is an educative exchange, and it has a mobile app with a decentralized wallet known as Trust. On the downside, some consider it to still be centralized, even if they’ve indeed separated the blockchain and coin from the company. Sign-up for Binance today!

FTX
FTX (review) is suitable for buying altcoins due to its low transaction costs and a large selection of altcoins. However, it does not list major altcoins such as Cardano and Polkadot. FTX have bought a lot of crypto sites in the bear market, adding value and money into the acquired sites while getting significant ownership. Hopefully, this makes FTX an even better altcoin exchange over time. In November 2022, FTX encountered difficulties which threatens the future of the platform. But if you’d like to give it a try, you can sign-up for FTX now!

Skilling
Skilling (review) is a Scandinavian CFD site that offers a regulated trading crypto platform suitable for beginners and professionals. It does not require a crypto wallet and has over 17 languages available. However, it charges a 0.1% commission and is not available to US traders. Sign-up for a Skilling demo account now!

Paxful
Paxful (review) has a wide range of payment methods and a reputation system to identify scammers because it does not require a complete verification procedure. The downside is that it is not regulated, since they offer peer-to-peer transfers and they don’t require any KYC. Sign-up for Paxful without KYC now!

StormGain
StormGain (review) offers margin trading, instant deposits, and demo accounts with no percentage commission on trades and free trading signals. However, it has a limited number of altcoins and charges 10% on all profits. Give Stormgain a try today!

Local Cryptos
Local Cryptos (review) allows the purchase of altcoins with a reputation system and escrow service. It also facilitates cash gifts as a payment method. However, there are only 3 altcoins that limit buying altcoins in variety. Give Local Cryptos a try now!

Biswap
Biswap (review) provides low transaction fees, liquidity pools, and a live NFT marketplace. However, the exchange is totally anonymous and unregulated. If that is what you are looking for, register with Biswap today.

To select the appropriate exchange, one needs to focus on factors such as regulation and trust, supported altcoin markets, availability of leverage and margin, fees and commissions, trading tools and features, and minimum deposit fees.

Altcoin history – How did it start?

The first Altcoin came out in 2011, two years after the launch of Bitcoin. The rate of altcoin launches started to grow from 2013 to 2014 and has increased more till now. There are over 600 new cryptocurrencies since then. To understand the Altcoin value, an important metric is the Market Cap in response to the unitary cost multiplied by the number of coins in circulation.

Namecoin was the first Altcoin that came to life in 2011 with the purpose as to replace the domain name system in a decentralized way. It is essential to send a transaction to the Namecoin system to register. As the first altcoin, it has very many fascinating properties. For instance:

• Lets you register an unused domain name for a small fee, approximately 0.01 Namecoin (0.05$). The cost is lesser than using the standard procedures.
• There is no need to pay a renewal fee to keep the domain.
• Namecoin similarly manages subdomains as the current domain system.
• It is the first to feature merge mining, an exciting mining approach.
• The first memory-hard mining puzzle was Litecoin, born in 2011. It was the second main cryptocurrency after BTC and is different due to its mining puzzle. The purpose was to be GPU resistant, and it was possible to improve its mining using GPUs and then with a specific Litecoin ASIC.

The first proof-of-stake mining puzzle, known as PeerCoin, was born at the end of 2012 and used a different mining puzzle. It involves mining by making transactions using coins owned by the miner. Peercoin mining is complicated as it is a hybrid mining protocol and supports proof-of-work for mining. The blocks are not included in the calculation to determine the longest Peercoin blockchain, and their purpose is to create new coins.

Other pioneering coins include Dogecoin, born at the end of 2013, to have fun with cryptocurrency. The currency was featured in many marketing campaigns and public events. For instance, Dogecoin sponsored a NASCAR driver who competed with the coin’s logo on his car. Additionally, the community raised over 30,000 dollars to support the Jamaican bobsled team that lets them travel and competes in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. It’s also been publicly hyped by Elon Musk – founder of Tesla and owner of Twitter.

Ethereum was born at the beginning of 2013 and is the first smart contract cryptocurrency that allows the creation of these contracts via a Turing-complete programming language. It uses a token known as Ether (ETH) to pay the computational power required and run the programs. Ether is the second largest crypto in the world, after Bitcoin.

What does ‘Altcoin season’ mean?

Altcoin season refers to the time when non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies outperform BTC. There are no guaranteed profits due to market volatility, but the season is a good time for traders and investors to diversify their portfolios. The season sometimes affects Bitcoin’s dominance in the market.

The cryptocurrency market shows that there will be a successful altcoin season in 2022. The top coins have performed better than Bitcoin in many regards, making it a plausible ‘Altcoin Season’. The season index recorded a near-maximum value of 98, and there is an expected strong altcoin season soon that could go on to 2023.

New trends influence the season in the cryptocurrency industry that has launched many new projects. For one, the rise of ICOs provided a new avenue for startups to raise funds when there was no working product, and many cryptos nibbled away at Bitcoin’s dominance. Crypto Lists predicts an altcoin season only when 75 percent of the top 50 coins do better than Bitcoin. We can expect a new altcoin season in 2023 if there is an upturn in certain trends. Many big-cap altcoins go up and down along with Bitcoin as the original crypto is still the standard for the industry. Though that could change should Ether overtake it as ‘the big one’.

Is there an altcoin index?

Yes, there is an altcoin index that shows the performance of the altcoins and aligns to assess the Top 50 coins that have performed better than Bitcoin over the last 90 days. The leading site to see the altcoin season is https://www.blockchaincenter.net/altcoin-season-index.

FAQ about Altcoin

Below are some of the most common questions we receive about altcoins.

What is meaning of altcoin?

Altcoin means “alternative coin”, a substitute or replacement for Bitcoin.

How do I buy altcoins?

You can buy them from a decentralized exchange, crypto platform, crypto exchange, or even a crypto CFD broker. It depends on what you prefer to invest in altcoins. There are easy ways to consider to get them in your wallet.

The easiest way is to determine the percentage of your crypto portfolio dedicated to altcoins and research to identify the best and buy an altcoin for yourself. Since most altcoins cannot be purchased by Fiat money, you can buy BTC and swap it for the preferred altcoin on the fair exchange. Then, locate the currency pair and trade the BTC for you to purchase altcoins. Then you can transfer your purchased coins to your wallet.

Are there any new altcoins in 2022?

If they are? Well, every day over 70 new altcoins and tokens are launched. Crypto Lists section with new cryptocurrencies take up the most promising new launches from 2022. On our Telegram group called “CryptoLists_com” you can see every newly listed altcoin entering the market. Subscribe to never miss a new altcoin in 2022.

Which are the best altcoins to buy?

What are your intention with the altcoin purchase? Some people buy altcoins for fun, not the least with Dogecoin and similar meme coins. Others try to maximise their investment, while others are looking for the highest staking reward. Check out our toplist above in order to get inspiration, or go to our top list over the best coins and tokens, which is sorted by category. That way, you can find specific categories that best fit your purpose. Alternatively, if you’d rather go short in any altcoin, a crypto CFD broker can be a good alternative.

Best cryptocurrency to invest in 2022

How long is your investment horizon? Days, weeks, months, or years? Would you rather have a stable increase, or are you ready to take a higher risk? For those looking for lower risk, some of the top 10 altcoins might be worth looking into – especially if you can select one with a decent staking yield. For those into higher risk, the newer altcoins have higher potential but also more volatility. It’s always worth doing extra due diligence before selecting a new altcoin. If you want to know the best altcoins to consider for the time being while we’re still in the bear market, then feel free to check out this article.

Is it altcoin season right now?

Depends who you ask. One of the main sites for analysing altcoin seasons, says that it’s not really altcoin season right now. Check out BlockChainCenter’s altcoin index to learn more.

Which are the best exchanges for altcoins?

It depends what you value when it comes to crypto exchanges. While Kucoin stands out for having low fees and extremely many pairs with USDT and a great compatibility with other blockchains, making it simple to send money from one chain to another. Binance is the crypto exchange with the highest daily volume, while Crypto.com’s exchange might be the most user friendly.

Can I mine altcoins?

Yes, a number of these coins are available for mining. These include:

+Ethereum Classic
+EthereumPoW
+Monaco
+Monero
+Vert coin
+Grin
+Zcash
+Haven
+Raven coin
+Litecoin
+Aeternity

Which altcoins have a somewhat limited supply?

BNB
Cardano
Ripple
Avalanche
Algor
Litecoin

What are the best altcoins for 2023?

It’s impossible to say for certain, and we can only speculate like anyone else. However, as the Bitcoin halving event is set to occur in spring 2024 by most estimations, it’s expected that 2023 could be a year of accumulation. With this will see mini bull runs and small bear markets, which is similar to what happened in 2019, in the run up to the halving of 2020. You can see some of our predictions for the first part of 2023, and we’ll also continue to update you throughout the year.