# What is Altcoin

**Altcoin** is a term used to refer to any other cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin. The name altcoin was formed from "Alternative" & "Coin".\
They share characteristics with bitcoin but are also different from Bitcoin in other ways. As you may have known, we have over 15,000 cryptocurrencies documented today, and all of them can be classified as Altcoin except for Bitcoin. \
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Ethereum is one of the cryptocurrencies we have and it is also the second biggest crypto according to market value. We can call Ethereum an altcoin. \
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refer here <https://coinmarketcap.com/> to view the various types of cryptocurrency we have. (Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Ripple, Matic, Polkadot, Shiba Inu, etc...)<br>

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**Stable Coin**\
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Stable coins are a type of cryptocurrency that does not reduce or increase in value. Stable coins are usually pegged to a traditional asset making 1:1. The aim of stable coins is to reduce the overall volatility by pegging their value to a basket of goods, such as fiat currencies, precious metals, or other cryptocurrencies. \
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Types of stable coins are USDT, USDC, DAI, BUSD... all of these coins have the same value as the US dollars, they do not reduce or increase in value.

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