What is Vertcoin?
Vertcoin is an open source and decentralized cryptocurrency that is fully owned by its users spread in its network. The cryptocurrency was designed to help make blockchain accessibility easy for all people including those with no technical knowledge. This is why it has been branded as the “People’s Coin” because everybody can join and mine without ASICs equipment.
The cryptocurrency was released early in 2014, and its coin has been performing relatively well in the markets. Immediately after release in January, the coin was trading at $0.15 but shot up to $4.0 in the subsequent month. Like other cryptocurrencies, Vertcoin was dealt a serious blow in 2015 by the MT. Gox attack that made it trade below $0.2 up to early 2017. By December 2017, the value shot up by more than 4000% to hit $9.0 before taking a steady decline to $0.7 in August 2018.
What is the problem that Vertcoin Solves?
When Bitcoin was unveiled in 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto did not anticipate the surge in demand that would result in the subsequent years. More importantly, the market evolved rather fast as the tech niche sought to adapt to the new decentralized ways of operations. This resulted in many problems that Vertcoin is seeking to address.
Centralized mining
Mining in most cryptocurrencies is considered the core driver of the networks. The miners do the hard work of confirming transactions, adding new blocks to the respective public ledger, and protecting the networks. However, the industry crafted a method of optimizing mining power through ASICs equipment to increase mining rewards. The effect of the equipment has been devastating.
- The ASICs mining devices are very expensive. This implies that most of the tokens released through the block rewards go to a few people/ mining pools.
- By edging out CPU and GPU miners from mining, only a few players are left to control the bulk of the coins. This puts the party into a serious risk if the coin holders conspire to harm the network.
Lack of privacy in most cryptocurrencies
The original goal of introducing decentralized cryptocurrencies was to promote completely anonymous transactions. However, the advancing technologies are making it impossible to conceal transactions and user details. At Bitcoin, the platform only uses pseudonyms which have become very easy to follow and peg together information that can help to know the details of an individual user.
Privacy in decentralized networks is also being compromised at the exchanges. To trade or exchange one cryptocurrency for another, you are required to use the exchanges. These are centralized platforms that require users to provide a lot of information that can be used to identify them. Indeed, most administrations have regulated cryptocurrency trading to make it easy to pull out users’ information. For example, trading in the exchanges such as Bittrex and Poloniex requires users to provide name, proof of location, personal identification number, and even phone number.
How does Vertcoin Solve the problem?
ASICs resistant mining algorithm
To beat centralized mining brought about by ASICs, Vertcoin opted to revisit the original concept of mining when all that a user needed was graphics cards or CPUs. In 2014, Vertcoin adopted the Scrypt-N based algorithm for users to reach its proof of work (PoW) consensus. But this could not work for long as new ASICs equipment made it possible to mine Scrypt-N based coins.
By the close of 2014, Vertcoin adopted the Lyra2RE algorithm that has helped to make the cryptocurrency more ASICs resistant. Lyra2RE operates by separating time cost and memory cost with independent parameters. With time, ASICs also improved to make it possible to mass mine Lyra2RE. This prompted Vertcoin to upgrade to fork Lyra2RE version 2 in August 2015. This version has been very effective in keeping ASICs at bay entirely.
The Vertcoin Atomic Swaps
Atomic swap is an exchange of two coins that happen instantaneously without requiring third parties. This strategy is implemented at Vertcoin to help reduce the need for third-party players especially in the exchanges that compromise users’ safety and privacy. This means that you can easily send Vertcoin to a Bitcoin address and it will reach there as BTC. The atomic swaps formed the original premise for the creation of decentralized exchanges.
Stealth addresses
One method that parties use to put information together and pull out individual details is following various transactions that point to a specific address. Vertcoin has adopted the stealth addresses that involve generating a one-time-only address for various transactions. Whether you are using the address for public or private payments, they are first sent to the Stealth address and finally privately relayed to the primary address. This technology has become very effective in enhancing privacy on most coins.
The LITbox
This is being referred to as the ultimate tool that the Vertcoin is using to promote greater use. The box-like hardware will run as a standalone device for operating a LIT node to help redefine how the atomic swaps and Lightning Networks work.
The LITbox will allow any person to design nodes and open new channels that can help connect to the router with the Web Interface as the only interface. Therefore, the box will allow users to plug multiple devices including computers and phones to interact with Vertcoin blockchain. It will also handle any other coin that supports LIT implementation of Lightning Network.
The box will make users their own banks by protecting them from user errors and enhancing the privacy of their operations. For example, nodes will be able to send and receive any Bitcoin protocol based coin with a single agnostic LN address per-user. This means that they will never have to re-use on-chain public keys.
What makes Vertcoin better than its competitors?
As more cryptocurrencies enter the market, competition is becoming very stiff. Vertcoin development team has been working extra hard to develop key features that will help to enhance greater value to users. Here are some of the things that make Vertcoin better than competitors.
- The platform is completely private: As other cryptocurrencies grapple with the problem of anonymity, Vertcoin has managed to address it completely. This implies that whether you want to send funds on the Vertcoin network or allow buyers to pay in Vertcoin, third parties cannot easily pull out your details.
- It is more scalable compared to most cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchain networks, though ranked at the top, can only handle very few transactions. For example, the block time and time of transaction take only 2.5 minutes at Vertcoin while Bitcoin requires 10 minutes. This implies that more users especially traders can use Vertcoin without worrying about time lags.
- ASICs resistant mining algorithm makes it possible for everybody to get involved: Unlike other Proof of Work (PoW) based cryptocurrencies that have greatly suffered under ASICs miners, Vertcoin has crafted a reliable solution that now makes it easy for everybody to join and mine even the native coin even with standard CPUs. This is a very important component in advancing decentralization.
- Vertcoin’s development team is very active in creating new features: The success of any cryptocurrency network is the development team behind it. The development team at Vertcoin network has been very active in adding new features to the system. For example, when they noted that Scrypt-N and Lyra2RE were no longer helping to beat ASICs equipment, they promptly introduced newer versions to keep the network completely decentralized. Other items that demonstrate the team’s commitment to progressively advancing the network include Vertcoin 1-Click Miner, merged mining, and use of lightning networks. The ability to change without requiring a fork has made the community believe that Vertcoin could ultimately become the “next Bitcoin.”
- The Vertcoin performance in the market has been very impressive. The growth of Vertcoin from inception to 2018 has been impressive. Though some might argue that the period starting from January to mid-2018 has seen the price of Vertcoin shift downwards, the overall trend gives a different story. For example, between June 2016 and June 2018, the value of Vertcoin grew by more than 3000%. With the new features being introduced progressively into the platform, the community is optimistic that the value will ultimately take an upward trend.
How can Vertcoin be categorized?
Like Vertcoin puts it in their website, the platform can be rightly categorized as a truly decentralized network. The term “people’s coin” perfectly fits the cryptocurrency because it is aimed at reaching more people including those without technical know-how on blockchain technology.
In addition to making Vertcoin mining simple with standard GPU and CPU, the Vertcoin development team is moving ahead to ensure that users have absolute control with LITbox. The LITbox will make it even possible to connect to connect to your phone.
What’s Vertcoin’s vision on Security
Cryptocurrency security was a core goal of the Vertcoin development team right from the beginning. To keep the network secure, they are guided by the vision of making the Vertcoin more decentralized and secure for all people. To achieve this mission, Vertcoin uses the following strategies.
- Progressive updates of the core code to identify and seal all gaps.
- Advanced encryption and stealth addresses to keep the network private.
- Lyra2RE mining that prevents centralized mining to promote even spread of the native coins. This helps to prevent 51% attack.
Examples of Vertcoin’s use cases / applications.
For about ten years, cryptocurrencies entering the market have been fighting for recognition and acceptance. They are designed with the primary goal being to win a bigger market share and increasing adoption at different levels. On this front, Vertcoin has done pretty well because users can apply it in the following ways.
- Sending value across the globe anonymously: Thoughts of the many people who know about your transaction, personal and account details when using a bank have made people to seek alternatives that can guarantee total privacy. Vertcoin is one platform that has provided this enhanced anonymity for users who want to send funds across the globe. The stealth addresses, advanced encryption, and LITbox help users in Vertcoin to enhance the transaction anonymity.
- Paying taxes in jurisdictions that accept cryptocurrencies: As more jurisdictions come to appreciate the crucial role played by blockchain technology, they are starting to accept cryptocurrencies in their systems. For example, Arizona passed bill HB 1091 that allows users to pay taxes using cryptocurrencies. More jurisdictions are also in the race of allowing users to pay taxes with digital coins to increase their revenue.
- Saving and hiding funds from third parties: When people save their funds in the top financial services and institutions like banks, they become an easy target for third-party entities. For example, your bank account can easily be frozen by a court order if you get entangled in a legal tussle. However, Vertcoin encrypts all the user details on the blockchain so that no third party such as tax authorities or even courts of law can know about the details.
- Trading in the exchanges: One of the best methods of optimizing returns from your Vertcoin is trading the native coins in the exchanges. This implies joining the markets and pairing Vertcoin with other coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Note that though trading in the crypto exchanges closely mimics what happens at the forex markets, the price of digital coins can be highly erratic. Therefore, it is crucial to pick the cryptocurrency to pair with Vertcoin with a lot of care.
- Paying transaction fee in the exchanges and on the Vertcoin blockchain: When sending value on the Vertcoin network or trading in the exchanges, users are required to pay some transaction fees. This can be cleared with Vertcoin.
- Use Vertcoin to make direct purchases in the markets: Like other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ripple, Vertcoin can be used to make direct payment for goods and services. You only need to identify a store, whether conventional or online, that accepts payment in Vertcoin. Note that even in stores that only allow other coins, you will only need to convert Vertcoin to the accepted coin.
https://coincheckup.com/coins/Vertcoin
https://medium.com/vertcoin-blog
https://www.reddit.com/r/vertcoin/comments/70x75q/frequently_asked_questions/
https://vertcoin.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Vertcoin_Lyra2RE_Paper_11292014.pdf