PART FOUR

Differences between the Coins

Bitcoin (BTC)

Think of Bitcoin as digital gold.

• Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, created in 2009.
  

• It’s mostly used as a store of value, like gold — people buy and hold it, hoping it’ll go up in value over time.
  

• It runs on its own network (the Bitcoin blockchain) and is mainly used for sending or saving money, not much else.
  

  • There’s a limited supply - only 21 million will ever exist - and naturally the law of supply and demand comes into play. Those who bought Bitcoin in its early days when the price was cents, are now worth a fortune (as long as they still held on to it!!).

Ethereum

Think of Ethereum like a giant programmable computer.

• Ethereum is a platform that lets people build apps on top of it, kind of like an app store on your phone but for crypto.
  

• You can still send and receive money with it (using ETH, its currency), but Ethereum also supports smart contracts — code that runs automatically when certain things happen.
  

• It’s more flexible than Bitcoin and is used for things like NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), games, decentralized finance and much more.
  
  

Stablecoins

Think of Stablecoins as if they were digital dollars.

• Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are tied to real-world money, like the US dollar.
  

• The most popular ones (like USDT or USDC) are designed to always be worth US$1.

• People use them for trading, saving or sending money without the price swings that Bitcoin or Ethereum can have.
  
  

• They're like the calm, steady cousin in the crypto family.
  
  

Quick Analogy:

• Bitcoin is like gold — valuable and mostly held (HODL).
  

• Ethereum is like a smartphone — a platform for apps and tools.
  

• Stablecoins are like digital cash — easy to use and always the same value.
  

Altcoins

• Altcoins are any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin. Altcoins = “Alternative Coins” The word just means "alternative to Bitcoin."
  

• Some are big and well-known in the crypto world (like Ethereum, Solana, or Cardano) and some are small and experimental.
  

• Altcoins can have different goals — some focus on faster payments, some on privacy, some on powering apps or games.

A quick way to think about it:

• Bitcoin is the original.
  

• Altcoins are all the other cryptos that came after, each trying to improve or do something new.