What is Altcoin Trader?
Let's find out Altcoin Trader meaning, definition in crypto, what is Altcoin Trader, and all other detailed facts.
An altcoin trader is a person who buys and sells alternative cryptocurrencies. These are all cryptocurrencies that are not Bitcoin (BTC), the first cryptocurrency in the world. As of April 2022, there are over 18,000 registered alternative cryptocurrencies.
Altcoin is short for "alternative coin". Like Bitcoin, altcoins are blockchain-based. However, they may differ in their protocol or may use other consensus mechanisms—like Proof-of-Stake instead of Proof-of-Work—for transaction verification.
Altcoins are often developed with the aim to improve on some of Bitcoin’s flaws. They may offer faster and cheaper transactions, resources that are not as energy-intensive, higher levels of decentralization, etc. Altcoins compete with Bitcoin in the market to overtake its leading position in market capitalization.
The biggest altcoin in the market as of April 2022 is Ethereum (ETH). Other alternative cryptocurrencies are Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Binance Coin (BNB). Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies that have their value pegged to fiat currency or an asset like gold, are also considered altcoins. One of the biggest stablecoins in the world is Tether (USDT).
Altcoin traders tend to buy and sell large amounts of altcoins on a day-to-day basis. The goal of altcoin trading is short-term profiting. Altcoin traders follow real-time updates and have strategies to determine the optimal time to earn the highest profits. This can be a high-risk, high-reward strategy, as it may lead to big losses.
Altcoin traders aim to capitalize on the price fluidity and volatility of altcoins. Unlike long-term cryptocurrency holders known as HODLers, they do not intend to keep the altcoin assets for an extended period of time.