Altcoin

Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

Educational content only. This page does not provide investment, legal, or regulatory advice.

Why it matters

Altcoin matters because it affects financial interpretation, product decisions, and industry communication.

Altcoin is commonly explained through its core definition and the practical example used in the glossary.

A common mistake is to use Altcoin without understanding its operational and regulatory context.

Altcoin may vary across payment rails, regulations, and market practices.

3D Secure

Security protocol for online cards.

Account Abstraction

Smart contracts as wallets.

Account Updater

A service that refreshes expired or reissued card details for recurring billing merchants.

Algorithmic Trading

Trading using automated algorithms.

API

Application Programming Interface.

API Banking

Banking services provided via APIs.

Coinbase

Coinbase Learn: Crypto glossary

Reference source for crypto infrastructure terminology.

European Commission

European Commission: Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)

Primary source for MiCA regulatory framing.

Google Search Central

Google Search Central: Helpful, reliable, people-first content

Defines trust, helpfulness, and people-first expectations for YMYL-adjacent content.

Author

Founder and multilingual fintech glossary editor

Reviewer

Editorial and source review layer

Reviewed

3/15/2026