The Original Altcoin

The first altcoin, Namecoin, was introduced with the intention of decentralizing the domain name registration, an initiative to resist censorship and promote freedom of expression. By using Bitcoin’s source code, Namecoin paved the way for other altcoins to follow suit and differentiate themselves. Developers began tweaking Bitcoin’s code to improve performance and add new features, ushering in a new era of digital currency.