There has been lots of buzz about altcoins recently, making most crypto investors wonder if they are missing out on something big. But what is the altcoin buzz really about?

To fully understand the altcoin buzz, you first need to know what an altcoin is. 

## What are Altcoins?

Any digital currency that isn't [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) is an altcoin. The word "altcoin" is a portmanteau of "alternative" and "coin" to form "altcoin". It refers to a group of cryptocurrencies - all the coins other than Bitcoin. 

By market capacity, the top three altcoins are Ethereum, USD Coin, and Tether (USDT). Ethereum is the most popular. Other examples of altcoins are Shiba Inu, Solana, Litecoin, Dogecoin, XRP, Binance coin(BNB), ApeCoin(APE), and SandBox.

The first altcoins started in 2011, and now thousands of them exist. Early altcoins strived to improve Bitcoin's traits, such as transaction speeds or capacity efficiency. More recent altcoins perform a variety of tasks.
Different types include:

[Stablecoins](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stablecoin.asp): Cryptocurrencies constructed to follow the price of another currency. Most of the biggest stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar and try to emulate its value. If the price fluctuates, the issuer of the coin will take actions to amend it. Examples include Tether(USDT), USD coin(USDC), and Dai(DAI).

Staking-based: These cryptocurrencies use a technique called staking to verify transactions and augment more coins to the stock. Owners of a staking-based cryptocurrency can select to stake their coins, meaning they're committing those coins to be used for transaction processing. The cryptocurrency's blockchain policy assigns a partaker to verify a block of transactions. In return, participants receive crypto prizes.

Mining-based: This cryptocurrency category uses a mining method to validate transactions and expand more coins to the supply. Miners use gadgets to solve mathematical equations. Naturally, the first miner to decipher the equation gets to validate a block of transactions. In return, miners who validate blocks obtain crypto bonuses.

Governance tokens: They are cryptocurrencies that bestow owners voting rights to help form the future of the project. In most cases, these tokens allow you to develop and vote on suggestions associated with the cryptocurrency.

## Are Altcoins Reliable and the Future of Cryptocurrency?

Future values of altcoins are hard to predict, but if the blockchain they were designed is used and developed, the altcoins are likely to continue and prosper.

With the current state of Bitcoin now, everyone is getting an education on other options they can invest in and use for transactions.

Each time Bitcoin drops in value is an opportunity for altcoins to rise and receive more investment. In recent months, there has been altcoin buzz because of the state of the market.

## Conclusion 

As we all know, Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency. But the value has been hit in recent months, meaning crypto investors have looked at alternatives.

That has increased the altcoin buzz, as investors investigate the top altcoins to invest in and learn more about in times of a crypto crash.

Expanding an investment portfolio beyond Bitcoin can be sensible, especially as some altcoins could deliver significant profits.

As ever, before choosing to invest in any cryptocurrency, ensure you conduct thorough, independent research.


Altcoin Buzz: What's It All About?

The release of Euro Coin (EUROC) was announced by global fintech firm, Circle, on Thursday, June 16, 2022. Circle is the same firm that launched the [United States Dollar Coin (USDC)](/coins/usdc). Like USDC, Euro Coin will be a fully reserved, Euro-backed stablecoin. 

## How the Euro-backed stable coin works

The Euro Coin will function the same way as the Dollar Coin. Thus, 1 EUROC and 2 EUROC will be the equivalent of €1 and €2 respectively. 

As a regulated stablecoin, Euro Coin will be issued under the same full-reserve model of USDC. More importantly, the stablecoin was built on the same standards of security, transparency, and trust that have made USDC one of the most used digital currencies in the crypto finance space. 
 
Circle’s introduction of EUROC will help bridge traditional financial services and cryptocurrencies. Several businesses that do not have direct access to the Euro can use EUROC tokens as on-demand liquidity (ODL) to make and accept payments globally which settle in minutes.
 
Aside from this, the Euro Coins as a tradable token can be used to access crypto capital markets such as lending, borrowing, and trading. 

To ensure the security of the stablecoin to help prevent the ghosts of TerraUSD (UST), Circle has ensured that EUROC has 100% backing of euro-denominated reserves held conservatively in the custody of some of the leading institutions in the financial sector of the United States regulatory perimeter such as Silvergate Bank. 

Speaking on the [launch of EUROC](https://www.circle.com/en/pressroom/circle-announces-a-fully-reserved-euro-backed-stablecoin-euro-coin-euroc), co-founder and CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire said, “There is clear market demand for a digital currency denominated in Euros, the world’s second most traded currency after the U.S. dollar. With USDC and Euro Coin, Circle is helping to unlock a new era of fast, inexpensive, secure, and interoperable value exchange worldwide." 

Starting from June 30, EUROC will be made available to institutional clients through a free Circle Account. Uniswap, Huobi Global, Bitstamp, Curve, and Binance.US are among the exchanges that will be supporting the stablecoin. 

This will play an invaluable role in the lives of millions of people who would love to go about their financial lives with EUROC rather than USDC or other currency-backed stablecoins.


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