Altcoin - Revision history

Furunodo at 14:35, 28 July 2020

2020-07-28T14:35:39Z

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	{{seealso\|List of alternative cryptocurrencies}}		{{seealso\|List of alternative cryptocurrencies}}
	Altcoins are cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.		'''Altcoins''' are cryptocurrencies other than [[Bitcoin]].

	The majority of altcoins are forks of Bitcoin with small uninteresting changes. This page categorises different ways altcoins have modified Bitcoin.		The majority of altcoins are forks of Bitcoin with small uninteresting changes. This page categorises different ways altcoins have modified Bitcoin.

Furunodo: Some people are able to make money when trading altcoins, but for most people it's much preferred to simply buy and hold bitcoin for the long run. A lot of people would have been much better off with this simple strategy. Many people think that they make

2020-07-28T13:31:53Z

Some people are able to make money when trading altcoins, but for most people it's much preferred to simply buy and hold bitcoin for the long run. A lot of people would have been much better off with this simple strategy. Many people think that they make

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:31, 28 July 2020
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	The two main innovations in Bitcoin are its digital scarcity and its censorship resistance. For every altcoin you can point out that 1. it's trying to copy Bitcoin and that 2. there's a clear person or group of people in charge. Thus it's very easy for someone else to copy an altcoin and try to push it with even more marketing efforts than the "original" altcoin. Additionally it's relatively easy for government actors to interfere with the workings of an altcoin (such as Ethereum) by simply knocking on the doors of whoever is behind the altcoin.		The two main innovations in Bitcoin are its digital scarcity and its censorship resistance. For every altcoin you can point out that 1. it's trying to copy Bitcoin and that 2. there's a clear person or group of people in charge. Thus it's very easy for someone else to copy an altcoin and try to push it with even more marketing efforts than the "original" altcoin. Additionally it's relatively easy for government actors to interfere with the workings of an altcoin (such as Ethereum) by simply knocking on the doors of whoever is behind the altcoin.

			Some people are able to make money when trading altcoins, but for most people it's much preferred to simply buy and hold bitcoin for the long run. A lot of people would have been much better off with this simple strategy. Many people think that they make money, but if you look at their total net worth in Bitcoin terms they lost both money and time by trading on so called shitcoin casinos.

Furunodo: attempt at some clarification

2020-07-28T13:26:58Z

attempt at some clarification

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	The majority of altcoins are forks of Bitcoin with small uninteresting changes. This page categorises different ways altcoins have modified Bitcoin.		The majority of altcoins are forks of Bitcoin with small uninteresting changes. This page categorises different ways altcoins have modified Bitcoin.

	Many people prefer the term "shitcoin" to clearly distinguish all these altcoins from Bitcoin. This term has even been used in US Congress.		Many people prefer the term "shitcoin" to clearly distinguish all these altcoins from Bitcoin. This term has even been used in US Congress in 2019.

			The two main innovations in Bitcoin are its digital scarcity and its censorship resistance. For every altcoin you can point out that 1. it's trying to copy Bitcoin and that 2. there's a clear person or group of people in charge. Thus it's very easy for someone else to copy an altcoin and try to push it with even more marketing efforts than the "original" altcoin. Additionally it's relatively easy for government actors to interfere with the workings of an altcoin (such as Ethereum) by simply knocking on the doors of whoever is behind the altcoin.


	==Different proof-of-work algorithm==		==Different proof-of-work algorithm==

Bitcoinmuc: fix typo/grammar

2020-06-15T15:42:51Z

fix typo/grammar

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:42, 15 June 2020
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	An example of a nothing at stake attack is an attacker buying lots of "old stake" from users inexpensively (inexpensive to users who no longer have stake in the currency). This can be made convenient by offering small payments to users for uploading their wallet.dat. Eventually after accumulating enough "old stake", the user can begin creating blocks and destroying as many or more coin days than the network was at that time. This block generation can be repeated until it catches up to and beats the current main-chain very cheaply.		An example of a nothing at stake attack is an attacker buying lots of "old stake" from users inexpensively (inexpensive to users who no longer have stake in the currency). This can be made convenient by offering small payments to users for uploading their wallet.dat. Eventually after accumulating enough "old stake", the user can begin creating blocks and destroying as many or more coin days than the network was at that time. This block generation can be repeated until it catches up to and beats the current main-chain very cheaply.

	There are also "stake grinding" attacks which require a trivial amount of currency. In a stake<ref>[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=131901.0 Peercoin Security Analysis]</ref> grinding attack, the attacker has a small amount of stake and goes through the history of the blockchain and finds places where their stake wins a block. In order to consecutively win, they modify the next block header until some stake they own wins once again. This attack requires a bit of computation, but ~~definately~~ isn't impractical.		There are also "stake grinding" attacks which require a trivial amount of currency. In a stake<ref>[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=131901.0 Peercoin Security Analysis]</ref> grinding attack, the attacker has a small amount of stake and goes through the history of the blockchain and finds places where their stake wins a block. In order to consecutively win, they modify the next block header until some stake they own wins once again. This attack requires a bit of computation, but definitely isn't impractical.

	Because these attacks exists, including Peercoin<ref>[https://github.com/ppcoin/ppcoin/blob/master/src/checkpoints.cpp#L370 Peercoin Source \| Centralized Checkpointing Public Key]</ref> and Blackcoin<ref>[https://github.com/rat4/blackcoin/blob/master/src/checkpoints.cpp#L361 Blackcoin Source \| Centralized Checkpointing Public Key]</ref> proof of stake cryptocurrencies have "master" public keys that control the blockchain.		Because these attacks exists, including Peercoin<ref>[https://github.com/ppcoin/ppcoin/blob/master/src/checkpoints.cpp#L370 Peercoin Source \| Centralized Checkpointing Public Key]</ref> and Blackcoin<ref>[https://github.com/rat4/blackcoin/blob/master/src/checkpoints.cpp#L361 Blackcoin Source \| Centralized Checkpointing Public Key]</ref> proof of stake cryptocurrencies have "master" public keys that control the blockchain.

Furunodo: Many people prefer the term "shitcoin" to clearly distinguish all these altcoins from Bitcoin. This term has even been used in US Congress.

2020-06-02T21:07:46Z

Many people prefer the term "shitcoin" to clearly distinguish all these altcoins from Bitcoin. This term has even been used in US Congress.

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	{{seealso\|List of alternative cryptocurrencies}}		{{seealso\|List of alternative cryptocurrencies}}
	Altcoins are cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.		Altcoins are cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.

	The majority of altcoins are forks of Bitcoin with small uninteresting changes. This page categorises different ways altcoins have modified Bitcoin.		The majority of altcoins are forks of Bitcoin with small uninteresting changes. This page categorises different ways altcoins have modified Bitcoin.

			Many people prefer the term "shitcoin" to clearly distinguish all these altcoins from Bitcoin. This term has even been used in US Congress.

	==Different proof-of-work algorithm==		==Different proof-of-work algorithm==

Charlespax: Added brackets to airdrop in preparation of making and airdrop wiki page.

2017-12-01T21:31:12Z

Added brackets to airdrop in preparation of making and airdrop wiki page.

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	This is a new class of altcoin that is targeted at a certain demographic.		This is a new class of altcoin that is targeted at a certain demographic.

	All of these cryptocurrencies have a large premine intended to be paid to members of that demographic. Ultimately, all of these coins have suffered (or are suffering) their fate of an immediate sell off after the "airdrop" (term for distribution of coins to the target demographic) begins.		All of these cryptocurrencies have a large premine intended to be paid to members of that demographic. Ultimately, all of these coins have suffered (or are suffering) their fate of an immediate sell off after the "[[airdrop]]" (term for distribution of coins to the target demographic) begins.

	Note: These cryptocurrencies aren't government initiatives, but are independently created for that demographic.		Note: These cryptocurrencies aren't government initiatives, but are independently created for that demographic.

Luke-jr: Reverted edits by Sunnankar (talk) to last revision by Lapp0

2015-08-17T05:02:29Z

Reverted edits by Sunnankar (talk) to last revision by Lapp0

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	==References==		==References==
	<references/>		<references/>

	~~==External References==~~

	* [https://www.weusecoins.com/what-is-litecoin/ What is Litecoin?]
	* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/what-is-litecoin-mining/ What is Litecoin Mining?]
	* [https://www.weusecoins.com/what-is-dogecoin/ What is Dogecoin?]
	* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/what-is-dogecoin-mining/ What is Dogecoin Mining?]

Sunnankar: /* References */ References

2015-06-17T03:42:49Z

References: References

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	==References==		==References==
	<references/>		<references/>

			==External References==

	* [https://www.weusecoins.com/what-is-litecoin/ What is Litecoin?]		* [https://www.weusecoins.com/what-is-litecoin/ What is Litecoin?]
	* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/what-is-litecoin-mining/ What is Litecoin Mining?]		* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/what-is-litecoin-mining/ What is Litecoin Mining?]
			* [https://www.weusecoins.com/what-is-dogecoin/ What is Dogecoin?]
			* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/what-is-dogecoin-mining/ What is Dogecoin Mining?]

Sunnankar: /* References */ References

2015-06-17T03:42:12Z

References: References

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:42, 17 June 2015
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	==References==		==References==
	<references/>		<references/>

			* [https://www.weusecoins.com/what-is-litecoin/ What is Litecoin?]
			* [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/what-is-litecoin-mining/ What is Litecoin Mining?]

Lapp0: typo

2015-01-12T17:24:21Z

typo

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	*Acting as a keystore for things like decentralized domain registration.		*Acting as a keystore for things like decentralized domain registration.
	*Having demmurage or some other economic system that is one of the [[prohibited changes ~~\| Prohibited_changes~~]].		*Having demmurage or some other economic system that is one of the [[prohibited changes]].
	*Allowing creation of and transmission of digital assets.		*Allowing creation of and transmission of digital assets.

	==References==		==References==
	<references/>		<references/>