Is Ethereum an Altcoin?

This post was inspired by the conversation (or was it an argument?) I had with @PVMihalache in the comments section of one of my posts Here's Why Ethereum is the King of All Altcoins.

It started like this...

In my opinion Ethereum is not an altcoin. The ecosystem expanded so much and now defi, stablecoins and utility coins were designed for different purposes. Ethereum is a whole world as it hosts so many other crypto on the chain. It deserve an upgrade from the altcoin status ~PVMihalache

And it continued...

Ok. Now you got an idea of what transpired there.

In this post, I am going to try and understand his sentiment while clarifying what an Altcoin really is.

First Thing First, What is an Altcoin?

Sentiments and a play on semantics aside; according to Investopedia;

Altcoins are the other cryptocurrencies launched after the success of Bitcoin. Generally, they sell themselves as better alternatives to Bitcoin. The term "altcoins" refers to all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.

The Balance also defined Altcoins as:

Altcoins are alternatives to Bitcoin. They are cryptocurrencies that use a technology called blockchain that allows secure peer-to-peer transactions.1 Altcoins build on the success of Bitcoin by slightly changing the rules to appeal to different users.

The word itself is coined from two base words - Alternative Coins.

This is the literal, established, and universally accepted definition of the word Altcoins.

To understand it even better, let's identify and explain the three key elements in the above definition of Altcoins by Investopedia:

• Launched after Bitcoin
• A better alternative to Bitcoin
• Cryptocurrencies, other than Bitcoin.

First, as the origin of the word suggests, Altcoins are cryptocurrencies that present themselves as better alternatives to Bitcoin, an improved version of Bitcoin, and generally any cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin.

So is Ethereum an Altcoin?

From the above definitions of Altcoins, Ethereum is an Altcoin.

However, the meaning of the term is evolving (albeit very slowly) gradually as you will notice even from the same definition by Investopedia.

...There is also some movement toward separating most of these concepts from altcoins. If that trend continues, altcoins might refer only to mining-based cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin in the future.

That means that cryptocurrencies that would be referred to as altcoins in the future are those using the same Proof of Work (POW) mining algorithm as Bitcoin and the rest will be recognized probably on their merits rather than being compared to Bitcoin.

Another way I have been thinking about the change in the term recently is that only those cryptocurrencies that are direct competitors to Bitcoin or exist to serve the same function as Bitcoin in a better way should be considered Altcoins.

This is because something cannot be an alternative to another thing if they both don't intend to serve the same function.

For example, you wouldn't call a singlet an alternative to a suit. Would you?

Certainly not!

Yeah!

Because they're not intended to serve the same function.

So, looking at it in that sense, Ethereum is not an Altcoin because its purpose is vastly different from that of Bitcoin.

Even though we can point out that Ethereum (ETH) can be used for some or even all of the same things Bitcoin is used for, it wasn't designed as a direct replacement for Bitcoin but to serve very different purposes which majorly is to be a smart contracts blockchain that powers decentralized applications (DApps).

Conclusion

As much as we would like to argue it, changing the meaning of a term cannot be done by sentiments.

It's already well established and accepted globally that Altcoins are every other cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

As a result, Ethereum is an Altcoin.

But just like every other English word, the term "Altcoins" can evolve to mean a different thing(s) in the future.

And if generally accepted, becomes the new standard for describing cryptocurrencies that are not Bitcoin.

But until then, we will work with what is. And what is, is that Ethereum is an Altcoin.

Personal opinions, sentiments are allowed but may not be globally applicable.

So in educational posts, it's misinformation (and will be confusing to a newbie) to claim that Ethereum is not an Altcoin.

And if you want to (because you can), associate a different meaning to the term Altcoins, it is only normal to explain your reasoning in detail.

What is your take on this?

Is Ethereum an Altcoin or should we just call it "mom" as suggested by @femalewrestling?

Go ahead. Join the conversation and share your opinion with us in the comments section below.