Vertcoin is a digital currency that can be sent from peer to peer over the internet and focuses on resistance of ASICs (Powerful computers specialised for crypto mining). It is very similar to Litecoin and Bitcoin, except Vertcoin’s design prevents huge companies from monopolising the mining process and instead goes down the route of owners of simple GPUs and CPUs having as much opportunity to mine the cryptocurrency as anyone else. Vertcoin never had an ICO and is developed by volunteers, with funding totally coming from donations.
The Basics of Vertcoin
Vertcoin is a very simple cryptocurrency. It uses a proof of work algorithm, and what makes Vertcoin different to the likes of Litecoin and Bitcoin is that it is dedicated to stopping miners using ASIC mining hardware to mine the coin. This means users now only need GPUs and CPUs from everyday computers to mine the coin. This keeps it incredibly accessible for the general public to begin mining and earning money with relatively standard hardware.
Vertcoin first started in 2014 with the Scrypt-N algorithm which has since had specific ASICs developed that are build to mine Scrypt-N based PoW coins. This means that the Vertcoin algorithm was rebuilt from scratch so that it could remain resistant to the miners that use ASICs.
What was developed was a brand new algorithm which they called the Lyra2RE algorithm. This was produced as the result of a fork of Vertcoin, and according to the whitepaper of the Lyra2RE algorithm the team have managed to develop a process that is said to “change memory usage and time cost independently, giving us more leverage against ASICs.”
In 2015 this algorithm was again forked and the team implemented the new version of the Lyra algorithm, the Lyra2REv2. This was needed as there was an apparent botnet that had managed to take control of the network’s hashing power.
Lyra2REv2 is the current algorithm and has so far done a great job at keeping the Vertcoin teams vision intact and only allows mining to take place with consumer grade GPUs and CPUs.
So, as Vertcoin is aimed at people who can mine the coin with basic mining hardware, such as commercially available GPUs and CPUs, surely there must be some software for people to easily mine the coin as well?
Luckily there is! The Vertcoin 1 Click Miner is exactly this. The 1 Click Mining Software is a super easy miner that was created for the exact reason mentioned above. It’s allows absolute newbies who have no crypto experience and limited computer knowledge to easily start mining a cryptocurrency.
In some regards, Vertcoin is like the much more recent Electroneum. A coin that is dedicated to helping new users experience what cryptocurrencies are about. Albeit Electroneum is doing in on a mobile platform where as Vertcoin is solely based on PCs.
Read our review of beginners guide to Electroneum for more information about what they are doing and if it’s worth investing.
The Vertcoin miner is available to be downloaded from the Vertcoin website. Once it’s been downloaded you’ll have to enter a wallet address for any rewards you earn and select a mining pool to join. You also need to tell the miner if you’ll be using a GPU or CPU. After this setup you can run the miner and start earning some Vertcoin.
Roadmap
The Vertcoin team have quite a detailed roadmap of their past and future plans for the coin. They’ve been updating and openly communicating with the public since they started all the way back in 2014.
Currently there are several projects that are in progress. For example they are focusing heavily on the Vertcoin wallet. They want to add more wallet support, improve the user experience and interface with a new design and even create an iOS wallet.
Team
The Vertcoin team is fairly unique due to all being volunteers. They are currently made up of 11 members all with unique skills and various levels of experience in a multitude of sectors. They state on their website that “Our development team of trusted volunteers are working around the clock. It is our goal to work actively in an open source environment. We have a wonderful team; who are passionate about cryptography, programming & other fields (Building, Mining & Branding).”
Having a team that is actively working in their spare time to create a cryptocurrency that is completely open source without anything in return is quite an achievement.
Trading Information
Vertcoin had a very interesting arrival into the crypto scene. It quickly rose to a very high market cap but suffer, like everything did at the time, from the MtGox hacking and subsequent market crash. Since then it remained fairly low until it started to quickly gain to ground during the last few months of 2017. Head over to our post on Cryptos Decoded for more information.
How to Buy Vertcoin
Vertcoin can currently only be bought on crypto to crypto exchanges such as Bittrex, Upbit and Poloniex. To do this you’ll need to first buy some Bitcoin or Ethereum from a website such as Coinbase or Coinmama and then send that to the exchange of your choice to buy the Vertcoin.
Read our reviews of Coinbase and Coinmama to get a better idea of what you need to know when buying Ethereum or Bitcoin.
How to Store Vertcoin
There are a few ways to store Vertcoin once you have bought some. For super safe long term storage, the Ledger Nano S supports Vertcoin. We highly recommend a hardware wallet for long term storage and think that the Ledger Nano S is one of the best around. Find out what makes it so good in our Ledger Nano S review.
If a long term solution isn’t for you then the Vertcoin core wallet or the Coinomi mobile wallet are what we recommend.
Competition
As the main purpose of Vertcoin is to be solely a currency then the main competitors are Bitcoin and it’s forks, like Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. In addition to this companies like Electroneum, that are aiming at bring new users a simple crypto experience are also quite heavy competition for Vertcoin.
Our Opinion on Vertcoin
The team behind Vertcoin is the real strength of the coin. The ability for them to stick to their guns are keep the ASIC miners out is the best part of the coin. The competition is high as they are directly competing with the likes of Litecoin and Bitcoin, but they provide a solution in a small niche that could prove to be very profitable.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Good team that have proven themselves many times.
- Allows new users and GPU miners to mine and use an effect coin.
- Had a successful atomic swap with Litecoin.
Cons
- The team not having any incentives other than doing it voluntarily means it won’t have the same urgency to develop new features and fix problems as other coins.
- Very strong competition means that Vertcoin is likely not to become a hugely popular coin.
Conclusion
Overall, Vertcoin is being slowly driven forward by it’s great team. The simple miner and Ledger Nano S support just strengthens the coin and allows it to be incredibly accessible and perfect for people looking to start mining with simple hardware. The successful addition of the planned new features this year could mean Vertcoin stays firmly within the reach of the very top coins.
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