There's been a lot of hype and a lot of FUD surrounding Verge. These are the only two factors that have had much impact on the price of XVG from what I've seen.
The development team has been criticized for being noobs but Sunerok, the Lead Core Developer is a self-proclaimed lifetime advocate of decentralization and open-source technology. He has 20+ years in network security and 6+ years in blockchain. I don't see how he could be considered a newbie considering that block-chain tech is only 10 years old and no major news outlets really gave a shit about it until last year when everyone who did know about it got filthy stinking rich. It reminds me of the multiple Steve Jobs movies where he is doubted by everyone when he introduced personal computers, which is now the backbone of most industries and our personal entertainment.
I will admit that their marketing team hasn't been doing as good of a job as Dash, who offer a similar product but use an army of youtubers and podcasters to hype their coin. Verge has the attention of some lesser known vloggers but doesn't seem to offer the coin-for-promotion deals that have fueled other coins on their trip to the moon.
On the FUD side, John McAfee has been a meddling douchebag in the price of Verge. He's all over the place with his support/disdain of Verge after rumors that he allegedly blackmailed Verge for millions by threatening to tweet them back down to a penny coin. I don't know what to believe, he claims he got hacked, trolls twitter, denies. Who knows?
What is for sure is that the Wraith protocol is up and running which is more than Verge could say a week ago. For over 2 years, this coin has been stagnant until it recently announced they had finished the protocol, a week after their original deadline. The boost came in anticipation of the release, a dip after they missed the deadline, and now we are experiencing the start of what looks like another market-wide rally of coins.
Last week was bloody as FUD about China limiting miners and South Korea disliking "darkcoins". LMAO! YEAH! Banks and governments are never going to like a currency they can't track and, more importantly, tax. Bitcoin boomed from sites like Silk Road and other dark web copycat sites, not from government approval. If you want a government-friendly coin, try Ripple (XRP). Crypto's attraction has been anonymity which is why I believe in this coin, because it's the next level.
Remember when Dash went from 9 USD to over 1000 USD after the announcement that the US tax code now includes crypto-specific guidelines? I think the same kind of growth could be expected once verge reaches the implementation stage in a month or two.
(Chart and Stats from coinmarketcap on 1/13/2018)
My prediction is that 1 USD is not only possible, but highly freaking likely when the marketing team figures out wtf they are doing. The protocol is up and running but the hype was too soon after being FUD'd on in my opinion. When I personally saw the announcement, I ran to my computer to trade some coins like it was the Ark before the Great Deluge. Still waiting for the rally. I figure 1 USD because the market cap is pretty low at only 2.3 bn. Dash is the same product and sitting around 8bn. Once again, I think all of this going to depend on whether or not the marketing team delivers because the product is there, fucking try to sell it!
Please let me know if I've left something out, what you think, or what other factors contribute to the success of this coin.
*In case you didn't guess by now, I do own some XVG. Also, I'm not telling you how to live your life, invest in what you want.