Sad the summer months are nearly over? Excited about what the fall may bring for the altcoin community, or the digital currency world as a whole?

You aren’t alone, as many investors, traders, developers and everyone in between are no doubt gearing up for what could be a make-or-break season for block chain technology. While the last few weeks haven’t been easy for those in altcoin circles, the promise of the near future is no doubt exciting for all those involved.

The urocoin project has recently unveiled or released a number of updates that continue to build on the existing infrastructure surrounding the altcoin.

On August 15th, the URO development team unveiled Nuro, a digital currency wallet designed with many elements common in online banking interfaces. The open-source initiative, detailed in a recent Bitcoin Talk forum post, is focused on delivering functionality for both smartphones and less technologically advanced mobile devices.

In a statement, the team behind the project said:

This wallet app release was followed by an announcement last week by the Uro Foundation, the umbrella group overseeing the various initiatives involving the digital currency, that a new exchange system would be developed in emerging markets.

According to the organization, the first exchange is expected to open in Cambodia, with more to follow throughout the region. The exchange system development is part of a broader process described to CoinDesk in an interview with developer Bohan Huang, who said that the goal was to create an environment in which both farmers and traders stand to benefit.

The all-too-common scams in alternative digital currency circles have led to calls for higher standards to be adopted by the community, or at least a greater degree of accountability than exists today.

While grassroots-level initiatives have had an impact and altcoin exchanges are doing their best to improve vetting processes, the fact remains that investors remain at risk – though some argue that research and a critical eye can help greatly as well.

A rather odd attempt to help educate the community about the risks of an altcoin scam has taken shape in the ripoffcoin project, which is best exemplified by the openness of the development team who say that yes, the initiative is not a real coin project. Rather, the team wants to show that too many investors in the space are after a quick buck rather than backing meaningful initiatives.

Much of the content produced by the ripoffcoin team takes a comedic stance, including an open letter addressed to the management of now-defunct bitcoin exchange Mt Gox. The letter stated that the ripoffcoin community was being forced to pull its support for the exchange, citing concerns that it was at risk of being scammed by the site’s operators.

CoinDesk spoke with the lead developer of ripoffcoin, who commented that the project was focused on trying to teach an important lesson while having some fun at the same time, saying:

The developer added that, in time, ripoffcoin could become utilized for the same purpose as dogecoin: social tipping and gifting. That future, he concluded, depends on how the coin’s public image develops in the weeks ahead.

Preparations for dogecoin’s adoption of auxiliary proof-of-work (AuxPOW), which will allow merge-mining with litecoin, are underway, setting the stage for the internet’s favorite meme-themed digital currency to add some extra firepower – and security – to its network.

In recent days, members of dogecoin development community have taken to the alt’s subreddit to help supporters, miners and everyone in between get ready for the hard fork. One post focused on contingency preparations should certain shibes find themselves unable to sync with the updated code.

The post noted that community members shouldn’t wait for near-term updates. As the post explained, the to-be-released code will be the definitive one for the immediate future, adding:

As one commenter added: “Don’t panic!” But with testing underway – the development team began work nearly two weeks ago - the dogecoin community is already pressing ahead on the hard fork.

Here on All Things Alt, we’ve shined the spotlight on more than a few strange ways to back the value of a digital currency. From the unsigned confessions of network participants to the estimated daily oil production of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, many approaches have been taken to establish some level of underlying value to a coin.

Goldenloafyanukovichcoin (sign: GNY) utilizes what may be the strangest commodity backing for a coin to date: a two-kilogram piece of gold known infamously as the “golden bread loaf”. As detailed by The Moscow Times, the lump of gold was confiscated when former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich fled the country as it descended into revolution several months ago.

For this unique form of backing, GNY has won this week’s Strange Alt of the Week Award.

According to the coin’s official Bitcoin Talk post, GNY leverages the X11 hashing algorithm, with a max supply of roughly 130,000 coins. The developer stated in the post that the goal was to create a digital currency with a one-of-a-kind way of underpinning GNY’s value, saying:

Development on GNY appears to have slowed, although the coin is available for purchase on the altcoin exchange C-CEX.

Have a tip about a notable happening in the altcoin world? Email CoinDesk at stan@coindesk.com.

Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement. Please do your own extensive research before you consider investing in the altcoin space.

Images via Bitcoin Talk, Shutterstock