When a major update is rolled out or a hard fork occurs, interest in a coin will increase along with its price. This has certainly been the case for Bitcoin and Ethereum, but things are not always so smooth for other altcoins.
The long anticipated Wraith protocol update for Verge was expected to be rolled out on New Year’s Day, and hodlers were hoping for a price spike. Prices started to head upwards around the world, and they peaked at just under $0.25 a few hours before we entered into 2018. XVG relies on anonymity as its advantage over other altcoins, and Wraith was the harbinger of new things for the blockchain. It will be the first cryptocurrency to offer the option of anonymity with the transfer.
Privacy Revealed?
According to reports, the result was not what was expected, and Verge slid back to previous levels around $0.15 instead of going to the moon as many had hoped. The issues surrounding Verge were compounded by reports that a website claimed to have peeled back the cloak of anonymity by posting a list of IP addresses that were associated with hundreds of XVG transactions.
The digital woes did not stop there as the Wraith protocol launch missed the deadlines, and the selloff started. The Mac OSX version was the only one released on time; however, the team continues to update its Twitter feed:
Windows Qt wallet is available. We have integrated tor into our core repository. Today we will be adding it to the Makefiles and then pushing another update. We’ve made a ton of updates, and we will be launching a new set of binaries shortly, that will improve upon the existing release.
McAfee Feud
Technical hitches are common with nascent systems and technologies. However, the problems for the digital currency did not end there. Verge was largely pumped by crypto pundit John McAfee during December, which initiated a 2600% surge from $0.009 at the beginning of the month to a high of $0.30.
Things have now turned around with leaked texts and images showing one prominent member of the Verge community, known on Twitter as XVG Whale, spending a cozy weekend with McAfee before the coin was publicly extolled by the outspoken antivirus mogul. According to reports, the pair later fell out over claims that McAfee allegedly wanted millions from Verge and ‘XVG Whale’ to endorse the altcoin. It is possible that accounts were hacked, as was the case with McAfee last week. It’s also possible that one party could be lying, or the story could be true.
Had the most amazing week at @officialmcafee‘s home. An experience I’ll never to forget and hope to repeat. Thank you for the warm welcome! pic.twitter.com/mUSFS3nnTL
— XVG Whale (@XVGWhale) October 20, 2017
XVG has not had the start to the year that it desired. However, a turnaround is possible if the FUD can be overcome and Wraith gets smoothly rolled out, functioning as it was advertised as it is still an extremely viable product. There has been a slight selloff, but XVG seems to have maintained support at around $0.15, where it has been for a week or so before the New Year surge.
[Full disclosure: The author of this article is a Verge (XVG) holder]
Is Verge a terminal case or will there be a revival once technical issues are ironed out? Add your thoughts in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Twitter/@XVGWhale, Bitcoinist archives, and Pixabay.