Most altcoins struggle to obtain fiat currency gateways. That is not entirely surprising, as the major exchanges pay very little attention to alternative cryptocurrencies until they attain sustainable market capitalizations and trading volumes. In the case of Vertcoin, a community-driven project will solve this problem. The launch of Vertbase is almost upon us, and this platform will focus on USD-based Vertcoin trading first and foremost.
Vertbase Is the Coinbase of VTC
Most cryptocurrency enthusiasts will have noticed an increasing number of social media posts related to Vertcoin. This altcoin is one of the ASIC-resistant currencies which has flown under most people’s radars for quite some time now. Throughout 2017, we have seen VTC get involved with atomic swaps, integrate SegWit, and now receive its first community-built cryptocurrency exchange.
More specifically, the Vertbase project is designed to offer a direct USD gateway for Vertcoin. Although this is a community-driven project, it seems things are progressing nicely. It will function very similarly to how Coinbase operates for Bitcoin and a couple other cryptocurrencies. Whether or not Vertbase will be even remotely successful in this regard remains to be determined. There certainly seems to be a big demand for such a service.
While this exchange will be USD-based, it is unclear if it will support clients outside of the US as well. Vertbase’s success will heavily depend on whether or not it can obtain the necessary licenses to operate as a cryptocurrency exchange. This situation has become a fair bit more complicated in the United States over the years, and it is doubtful that Vertbase will be available across all US states. Obtaining a BitLicense, for example, will be a monumental challenge, to say the least.
No one can deny there is growing demand for services which let users convert fiat currencies to their preferred cryptocurrencies directly. Of course, users could always convert USD to Bitcoin and use BTC to buy Vertcoin on one of several exchanges. There is currently no direct USD gateway for VTC, according to CoinMarketCap. Other fiat gateways exist, but having a native platform supporting USD trading directly will certainly help move this cryptocurrency along in the future.
It also seems the Vertbase platform will give back to the community. According to the Reddit post describing this platform, a portion of the transaction fees collected on the exchange will be donated to the VTC developer team. It is a commendable effort, as most people develop cryptocurrencies in their spare time. Adding a financial incentive to this process will help ensure that developers remain committed to the cause. Their work will have a direct impact on VTC demand, which will yield more money for future developments through Vertbase.
For the time being, there is no official release date in place for Vertbase. There is still plenty of work to be done, as one doesn’t build and launch a USD-based cryptocurrency exchange out of the blue. It will be interesting to see if the team decides to obtain official licenses, even though doing so is pretty expensive. Vertbase is well worth keeping an eye on.
