VIRTUAL VERGE - Verge price and how to buy it – what is XVG and is the digital currency worth as much as Bitcoin?
YES there is another cyber cash on the block, and it's growing fast.
Meet the speedy, anonymous Verge, and find out how to get in on the action.
What is XVG?
Verge is a fast-rising cryptocurrency which aims to make transactions completely anonymous.
Created in 2014 under the name DogeCoinDark, it was rebranded to Verge Currency last year.
The currency is virtually untraceable and the users of Verge can make instant anonymous transactions.
This is achieved through using highly advanced blockchain technology built on top of services such as Tor and I2P that hides your personal data, such as IP-addresses and geolocation.
The currency also differs to other cryptocurrencies through being a 100 per cent open source project, with all members of the community able to give full input into any decisions made about future changes.
It's also meant to be very fast, and by using 'Simple Payment Verification' (SPV) technology confirmation times are kept to around five seconds on average.
What's the price of Verge and how do you buy it?
Over the past few weeks Verge has enjoyed an astronomical rise.
Between December 12 and December 19 the currency soared by 800 per cent.
But at the time of writing on January 10, it was trading at £0.13 ($0.18) each.
On the official website for the currency, users are recommended to buy off any reputable exchanges.
Anyone with an Android device can take Verge on the go and send or receive coins with their mobile Verge wallet app.
What are some of the risks?
Anyone thinking of investing in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency should be very careful.
Their values are volatile, with the ability to plummet as quickly as they shoot up.
And investors are frequently targeted by hackers and other criminals who seek to steal their crypto-cash online.
Be especially careful if you are using direct, peer-to-peer platforms to sell and buy cryptocurrencies.
These are the equivalent of something like Gumtree for Bitcoin – you never know who you might be dealing with.
Is the cryptocurrency as valuable as Bitcoin?
The cybercash is still a long way off being as valuable as Bitcoin, and is currently worth a tiny fraction of one per cent of a Bitcoin.
That said, if the new cryptocurrency continues to take off it could give its big brother a run for its money.
Like Bitcoin, Verge is capped - but at a lofty 16.5billion XVG.
There are far fewer Bitcoins in circulation - capped at 21million - which goes some way to explaining the vast difference in demand.
On the Verge website, they say the number is this high in order to "allow for convenient payment amounts in everyday use".