Bitcoin Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [alternatives]

Questions about alternative blockchains are off topic unless they are applicable to Bitcoin.

This is the tag for all questions concerning alternatives to Bitcoin (altcoins). This includes forks of the Bitcoin Core software with possible modifications and / or a new genesis block (such as litecoin) and also blockchain-based cryptocurrencies which were created using an entirely new codebase. It also covers cryptocurrencies which were created by hard-forking the bitcoin blockchain (eg a deliberate, non-backwards-compatible change to the consensus rules).

Note: questions related to a project that has its own SE site should be moved there eg:

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How does Chaum style e-cash work? (all the Wiki links are broken)

I'm trying to learn how Chaum-style ecash worked specifically how: "the issuer does a blind signature on a serial number" I tried looking up on Wikipedia but the page is pretty light on the details, and all the pages don't work (even the Wayback…
makerofthings7
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Does flattr complement or compete with bitcoin?

I realise that the underlying technologies for Bitcoin and flattr are different, but do they serve the same purpose? For example: if I set up a webapp that uses micropayments for revenue (like github - being able to buy private repositories) would…
Matt Ellen
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Why do we need alternatives to Bitcoin?

I don't understand why people need to create alternatives to Bitcoin such as litecoin. Why were these created? What's the point? You can't answer those questions using the same arguments for why Bitcoin was created.
Emre K.
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What Bitcoin-esque alternatives are there?

I'm seeing lots of bitcoin-esque alternatives mentioned here. What alternatives exist and how do they differ from Bitcoins?
billpg
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Are there alternatives to Bitcoin which take a different approach?

Are there any alternative approaches to decentralized, electronic currencies? Bitcoin was built with certain technical characteristics in mind. I'm hoping to see if there are alternative approaches. I don't mean things like Namecoin or other…
Andrei Railean
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What is TimeKoin?

I just found this (on BitcoinTalk). TimeKoin seems to be an attempt at a cryptocurrency. There is a whitepaper and an about page, and I've skimmed through them, but I haven't been able to answer these simple questions: What problem is it trying to…
ripper234
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Is "Dacoinminster's Second Bitcoin Whitepaper" logically/economically consistent?

Dacoinmister's "The Second Bitcoin Whitepaper" is a new proposal to create another p2p network over Bitcoin (called MasterCoin), that will fix some of Bitcoin's drawbacks. Are there any logical inconsistencies in the paper? How about "economic…
ripper234
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Are there any resources for creating your own coin?

I have some experiments I want to do for creating my own coin. I've seen stuff like coingen.io but I want to do it myself. I also will be messing with other things like the hashing algorithm. Are there any resources out there that gives a bit of…
Earlz
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Is there an easy way to diversify your Bitcoin holding among the other popular forks?

Recently there has been a spread of Bitcoin clones, starting with Namecoin and following with other newer clones. There is a chance these coins will appreciate relative to Bitcoin. Is there an easy way for a Bitcoin holder to automatically diversify…
ripper234
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List of Bitcoin forks or spinoffs

I've just heard about another digital currency called Litecoin, which I believe to be based on Bitcoin, are there any more alternatives to Bitcoin & Litecoin? Any one got a list? A reason why the alternatives are better and/or worse? With what…
user4342
6
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3 answers

What's stopping an infinite number of altcoins with the same protocol from appearing in the future?

My novice understanding of BTC is that BTC is valuable because it's scarce - mathematically, there can only be 21M BTC, no more. What's stopping another altcoins from starting with the same protocol, but a new chain, rendering the limit of BTC to…
RobVious
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Is there an easy way to check out the market cap of the alternative cryptocurrencies?

Ideally, I'd like to see a pie chart with the whole pie being "Bitcoin-derived cryptocurrencies", and each major alternative represented as a market cap in Bitcoins and USD. Currently, from what I gather we have: Bitcoin - 7,415,750 BTC =…
ripper234
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Can a competing cryptocurrency make Bitcoin obsolete?

If a new cryptocurrency is created, with some unknown property that Bitcoin does not have, can Bitcoin be adapted to include this property, or will Bitcoin become obsolete? (I believe I know the answer, but I still think it's an important question.…
ripper234
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How exactly is Rucoin different than Bitcoin?

Rucoin is a "Russian Bitcoin clone" (see announcement thread). Besides the fact the website is in Russian, what other characteristics does this coin have? Is it just a 1-to-1 Bitcoin clone? Is mining limited to clients from Russia? This post claims…
ripper234
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What is fairCash?

There may exist a potential Bitcoin rival, fairCash. The founder mentioned this briefly at the Mobile World Congress in a Q&A session with Google. There a little resources on the internet about fairCash and their homepage is written in an…
Jan
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