With the regulatory noose tightening around the cryptocurrency industry, many investors are turning to privacy-focused cryptos that are immune to legislative interference. There are a number of cryptos out there that focus on anonymity, but Verge is the only crypto that incorporates identify obfuscation technologies such as Tor and i2p to protect user privacy.

Verge (XVG), like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, focuses on decentralization, immutability, globality, and speed. Unlike other cryptos, however, Verge was created with privacy as its primary goal, using a wholly unique architecture to deliver complete freedom from interference.

Apart from integrating both i2p and Tor anonymity architectures, Verge also delivers muti-algorithmic mining support that makes it possible for miners that use a wide range of hardware to participate in mining and network maintenance.

Verge Quick Summary

• Privacy-focused cryptocurrency
• Market cap of US$957 million
• Extremely high TPS rate – up to 2,000 tx per second after RSK technology implementation
• Total supply of 16.5 billion XVG
• 100% open-source software
• Rebranded from DogecoinDark – although it’s not clear whether Verge is a fork of Dogecoin. Simply put, Verge is to Dogecoin what Java is to JavaScript.
• Multi-algorithm support that enables equal access to mining opportunities regardless of one’s hardware

Key Features

Verge is primarily focused on making cryptocurrency transactions and ownership absolutely private. Importantly, Verge is not the product of a private company or an initial coin offering, but instead is the product of the combined efforts of thousands of community contributors.

Verge uses two different methods of identity obfuscation, which ensures that user identities are obscured at all times. Moreover, Verge has an Electrum wallet that can be used to transact via either i2p or Tor, delivering total anonymity.

The Verge network also allows users to switch between a private and a public ledger via the Wraith protocol. Users such as merchants who prefer to use a public ledger for accounting purposes are able to do so, while users who desire complete anonymity can switch to a private ledger with a single click. This feature makes Verge the only truly untraceable cryptocurrency in existence.

Verge is currently able to process between 5 and 10 transactions per second, and is currently outpacing Bitcoin in this regard. Transaction fees on the Verge blockchain are set at 0.1 XVG, which at the time of this report was equivalent to US$0.06.

When Verge launches RSK tech integration in December 2018, tx capacity is expected to reach over 2,000 transactions per second. Verge will also implement smart contract functionality at that time.

Verge also offers a convenient Tor Wallet for Android, which features streamlined, simple, and intuitive wallet management and QR code payments.

The Verge Android Wallet App

Verge uses five different Proof of Work algorithms on its blockchain: Scrypt, X17, Lyra2rev2, myr-groestl, and blake2s. All of these algorithms have a target block time of 30 seconds, with a difficulty influenced by each algorithm’s hash rate. This broad spectrum of algorithms allows Verge to offer a high level of security as well as the ability for a wide range of individuals and devices to mine.

Lastly, Verge offers peer-to-peer platform integrated portals that make it possible to transfer Verge quickly and easily via Telegram, Discord, Twitter, and IRC. Reddit, Steam, and Slack integration is currently under development.

Verge Wallets and Anonymity

Verge uses Electrum as a wallet solution, as it is the only wallet that delivers native Tor and i2p support. Verge Electrum wallets offer both single-signature and multi-signature support. Electrum wallets deliver four key features:

• Deterministic key generation that allows users to recover a lost wallet from its seed
• Instant On that doesn’t require users to download the entire blockchain. Instead, Electrum wallets request live blockchain information from the server
• Locally signed transactions in which private keys are not shared with the server
• Freedom and privacy that allow users to export their private keys

Verge Electrum wallets can be connected via either Tor or i2p. Tor Verge wallets route communication through a series of hops that protect transaction information from surveillance techniques that rely upon source and destination data, as illustrated in the graphic below:

Courtesy of the Verge Black Paper

Verge Electrum wallets connected via i2p work in a similar manner, but instead of relying upon circuit-based routing, i2p performs packet-based routing that dynamically avoids network congestion and thus delivers a higher level of reliability.

The Wraith Protocol

The Wraith protocol is a unique feature offered by Verge that allows users to dynamically switch between a private or public ledger. While identity information is obscured on both ledgers, the Wraith protocol allows users to decide whether to make it possible for transaction data to be viewed via the blockchain explorer.

The Wraith team has released a simple infographic that succinctly explains how the Wraith Protocol works:

Courtesy of the Verge team

The History of Verge

Verge was originally developed under the name “DogecoinDark”. While this may imply that Verge began as a fork of Dogecoin, the original DogecoinDark shared no attributes with the then-novelty token and instead drew from RC, AXIS, and Shibecoin.

Some evidence on GitHub indicates that Verge may have originated as a fork of Novacoin, but it’s unlikely that this fork eventuated in the Verge that we see today. Regardless of the source of the Verge architecture, it’s an extremely elegant solution to the problem of blockchain privacy that implements robust, established identity obfuscation technology.

Verge rebranded to its current name in February 2016 and recently experienced a significant surge in price when the Wraith protocol was released on the 9th of January.

Uquid, one of the most popular cryptocurrency debit card providers, announced support for Verge on January 7, which also assisted in the recent price action.

Final Thoughts

Privacy is one of the core tenets of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. With regulatory scrutiny increasing, privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Monero, Zcash, and PIVX are elbowing their way into the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

With the high level of usability, security, and anonymity offered by Verge, it’s easy to see why Verge could potentially become one of the biggest cryptos of 2018. If you’re interested in reading more about the technical aspects of Verge, you can check out its black paper here.

If you’d like to get started investing in Verge, XVG trading pairs are offered on Binance.