CoinClear

Verge (XVG)

4.0/10

Network-level privacy via Tor/I2P with stealth addresses — easier regulatory profile than true privacy coins, but significantly weaker on-chain privacy than Monero or Zcash.

Updated: February 16, 2026AI Model: claude-4-opusVersion 1

Overview

Verge (XVG) was originally created in 2014 as DogeCoinDark and rebranded to Verge in 2016. The project takes a distinctive approach to privacy: rather than using complex cryptographic techniques to hide transaction details on-chain (like Monero's ring signatures or Zcash's zk-SNARKs), Verge focuses on network-level privacy through Tor and I2P integration, combined with dual-key stealth addressing for recipient privacy.

Verge gained significant attention during the 2017 crypto boom, driven by an active community and a high-profile partnership announcement with Pornhub (through the Mindgeek payment processor). The Pornhub partnership was controversial — it was funded through a community crowdfunding campaign and its long-term impact was minimal, but it generated massive media attention.

The project has a multi-algorithm PoW model (five algorithms, similar to DigiByte) and has historically positioned itself as a "privacy coin for everyday use" with faster transactions than Bitcoin and optional privacy features. However, Verge has suffered multiple 51% attacks (in 2018 and subsequent years), damaging its security credibility significantly.

The fundamental criticism of Verge is that its privacy model is significantly weaker than true privacy coins. On-chain transactions are transparent — amounts, addresses, and transaction graphs are visible on the blockchain. Stealth addresses hide the recipient from casual observers, and Tor/I2P hide IP addresses, but blockchain analysis can still trace fund flows. This makes Verge more comparable to Bitcoin with Tor than to Monero or Zcash.

Privacy Technology

Tor and I2P Integration

Verge's primary privacy feature is built-in support for routing transactions through Tor (The Onion Router) and I2P (Invisible Internet Project):

  • Tor integration: Verge's Electrum wallet (Tor Verge) routes all network traffic through Tor, hiding the user's IP address from the network and blockchain observers.
  • I2P integration: An alternative anonymization network that provides similar IP masking through garlic routing.

This provides network-level privacy — observers cannot link transactions to IP addresses. However, this privacy layer is at the network level, not the blockchain level. The transactions themselves remain transparent on the blockchain.

Dual-Key Stealth Addressing

Verge implements dual-key stealth addresses, where the sender generates a one-time address for the recipient. This means the recipient's actual address doesn't appear on the blockchain — only the stealth address is visible. Observers who don't know the relationship between the stealth address and the recipient can't link transactions to a specific user.

Stealth addresses provide meaningful recipient privacy but have limitations:

  • Sender is not hidden: The sending address is visible on-chain.
  • Amounts are visible: Transaction amounts are not hidden.
  • Optional usage: Stealth addressing is optional, and most Verge transactions use standard transparent addresses.

Wraith Protocol

Verge's "Wraith Protocol" allows users to toggle between transparent and private (stealth address) transactions. This optionality is a privacy weakness — similar to Zcash's optional shielding, most users default to transparent transactions, reducing the anonymity set for those who use stealth addresses.

Privacy Comparison

Compared to leading privacy coins:

  • Monero: Hides sender (ring signatures), receiver (stealth addresses), and amount (RingCT) by default. Significantly stronger than Verge.
  • Zcash: Hides all details with zk-SNARKs in shielded pool. Stronger when used, but also optional.
  • Pirate Chain: Mandatory zk-SNARKs shielding. Much stronger than Verge.
  • Verge: Hides IP (Tor/I2P) and optionally receiver (stealth addresses). Amounts and transaction graph are visible.

Verge's privacy is the weakest among dedicated privacy coins.

Security

51% Attack History

Verge has suffered multiple 51% attacks, which is the most significant security failure for any PoW cryptocurrency:

  • April 2018: An attacker exploited a vulnerability in Verge's multi-algorithm difficulty adjustment to mine blocks at extremely low difficulty, producing millions of XVG. Approximately 250,000 blocks were mined in a short period.
  • May 2018: A second attack occurred just weeks later, exploiting similar vulnerabilities.
  • Subsequent attacks: Additional incidents have been reported, though with less impact.

These attacks demonstrated fundamental security weaknesses in Verge's multi-algorithm implementation and difficulty adjustment mechanism. While patches were applied, the history of successful attacks severely damages security credibility.

Multi-Algorithm Mining

Verge uses five mining algorithms (Scrypt, X17, Lyra2rev2, myr-groestl, blake2s). Unlike DigiByte's implementation (which has been secure), Verge's multi-algorithm implementation had vulnerabilities that enabled the 51% attacks. The attacks exploited the ability to switch between algorithms to game difficulty adjustments.

Network Security

The current hashrate across all five algorithms is modest. While the multi-algorithm approach provides some diversification, the historical attack success demonstrates that the implementation had — and may still have — security weaknesses.

No Smart Contract Risk

Like DigiByte, Verge is a UTXO-based payment chain without complex smart contracts, limiting the attack surface to consensus-level issues. Unfortunately, consensus-level attacks are exactly what Verge has experienced.

Decentralization

Mining Distribution

Mining is distributed across five algorithms, theoretically providing broad participation. In practice, the mining community is small, and individual algorithms may have concentrated hashrate. The historical attacks suggest that the mining security model is fragile.

Community Driven

Verge is community-driven with no formal foundation or paid development team. Development relies on volunteer contributors. This provides organizational decentralization but limits development capacity and responsiveness.

Node Network

Verge maintains a modest number of full nodes. The Tor and I2P integration means some nodes operate behind anonymization networks, providing network-level decentralization.

Governance

Governance is informal, driven by community consensus and core volunteer developers. There's no formal governance mechanism or treasury.

Adoption

Pornhub Partnership

The 2018 Pornhub partnership was Verge's highest-profile adoption event. Pornhub (via Mindgeek payment processor) accepted XVG for premium subscriptions. The partnership generated enormous media coverage but actual payment volume was minimal. The partnership was eventually discontinued.

Merchant Adoption

Beyond the Pornhub partnership, merchant adoption has been limited. A small number of merchants accept XVG, but there's no significant commercial ecosystem.

Exchange Presence

XVG is listed on several exchanges, including some major platforms. Liquidity is thin but better than many micro-cap privacy coins. The "weaker privacy" positioning actually helps with exchange access — Verge is less likely to be delisted for privacy concerns than Monero or Pirate Chain.

Community

Verge has a relatively large and active community, particularly on social media. The community has been a driving force in the project's history, funding the Pornhub partnership and maintaining engagement. However, the community discourse can be more focused on price speculation than technical development.

Regulatory Risk

Lower Risk Profile

Ironically, Verge's weaker privacy properties may be a regulatory advantage. Because on-chain transactions are transparent (amounts and sender addresses visible), blockchain analysis firms can trace Verge transactions. This makes Verge less problematic for regulatory compliance than true privacy coins, reducing delisting risk.

Not a True Privacy Coin

Some argue that Verge should not be classified as a privacy coin at all — it's more accurately a cryptocurrency with optional stealth addressing and network-level anonymization. This classification ambiguity could protect Verge from privacy coin-specific regulations.

Tor Usage Considerations

While Tor usage is legal in most jurisdictions, the association between Tor and anonymous activity creates some perception risk. However, Tor is widely used for legitimate purposes and is not itself a regulatory concern.

Risk Factors

  • 51% attack history: Multiple successful attacks fundamentally damage security credibility.
  • Weak privacy: Privacy features are significantly weaker than Monero, Zcash, or Pirate Chain.
  • No funded development: Volunteer-only development limits capacity and responsiveness.
  • Security vulnerability history: The multi-algorithm implementation had exploitable vulnerabilities.
  • Optional privacy: Wraith Protocol's optionality reduces effective anonymity set.
  • Declining relevance: The project has lost significant market position since 2018 peak.
  • Technical debt: Multiple patches for attack vectors suggest ongoing security maintenance challenges.
  • Community-driven volatility: Large, speculative community can drive irrational price movements.

Conclusion

Verge occupies an awkward position in the privacy coin landscape. Its privacy features — Tor/I2P integration and optional stealth addresses — provide meaningful network-level privacy (IP hiding) but weak on-chain privacy compared to Monero, Zcash, or Pirate Chain. The transparent blockchain means transaction analysis is possible, undermining the core privacy promise.

The multiple 51% attacks are the most damaging aspect of Verge's record. A cryptocurrency that has been successfully attacked multiple times at the consensus level has a fundamental security credibility problem that's difficult to overcome. While patches have been applied, the history creates justified skepticism about the chain's security.

Verge's lower regulatory risk (due to weaker privacy) provides some practical advantage in exchange access, but this comes at the cost of the privacy properties that privacy coin users actually need. The project exists in an uncomfortable middle ground — too private for some exchanges, not private enough for privacy advocates.

The 4.0 score reflects weak privacy technology compared to peers, severe security history (51% attacks), and limited technical development, partially offset by a persistent community and lower regulatory risk relative to true privacy coins.

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