Privacy Coins

The Blockchain was created to have a public ledger with transactions. But, what many tend to forget is that public records of transactions remain behind on the Blockchain. Thus details such as cryptocurrency balances along with transaction history are available to anyone.

Privacy coins take anonymity to another level. And they’re much favored by people who prefer to keep in the shadows with no details whatsoever exposed. However, every privacy coin has its unique characteristics. And this is the case for the stable Monero and community driven Verge. A lot of people were wondering who would one in a Monero vs Verge fight – and we’re here to express our opinion:

Monero (XMR)

Monero has paved itself as the most stable and secure privacy coin since it’s one of the oldest in the lot dating back to 2014. The information within the Monero Blockchain is entirely anonymous. Let’s analyse the way it achieves privacy-

Ring Signatures – A digital signature whereby five signers are brought into the transaction, which makes it hard to link a transaction back to a single user.

Stealth Addresses- Gives the option of a user to enable a one-time use address for each transaction which makes it difficult to link the original sender.

Cryptographic Ring Confidential Transactions (RingCT)- The transaction amounts are hidden thanks to cryptography which creates proof that the input and outputs are equal without showcasing the original transaction.

Verge (XVG)

Known as the ‘future of privacy’, Verge is a new age privacy coin which offers not only anonymity but also faster transactions which are low in cost. It was initially known in 2014 as DogeCoinDark but eventually rebranded in 2016 as Verge Currency. Verge does things differently concerning achieving anonymity-

Wraith Protocol – Option for users to choose between a private or public ledger for transactions. Hence users can opt for transactions to be completely anonymous or public.

Stealth Addresses – Similar to Monero it gives the option of unlimited onetime use addresses for transactions to make it difficult to link the sender.

TOR and I2P – Verge unlike other privacy coins doesn’t use cryptography but instead uses TOR and I2P to cloak IP addresses and geographical locations of users.

Monero vs Verge

Verge may use technology such as TOR and I2P. However, it is not as private compared to Monero as you think. You will notice the difference when you look in the publicly listed top 100 addresses for Monero and Verge.

When clicking Verge’s top 100 addresses, you will notice the source of the last transactions is available to the naked eye. However, in the Monero rich list, no details are provided which showcases its ultimate privacy of disabling past transactions.

Use cases of the two privacy coins help to distinguish between which has a better scope. A lot of people associate Monero with dark web. A thing that probably hurt monero’s reputation in the past. Even if Monero is concentrated on privacy – it’s not the most used cryptocurrency on the dark web. According to a report, Litecoin seems to be the favorite cryptocurrency on the dark web.

But on the other hand, Monero can be used to purchase from over 100 stores worldwide, according to Project Coral Reef.

Verge, on the other hand, has partnerships which establish it’s presence as a leading privacy coin. The most noted collaboration is with PornHub. The partnership enables viewers of porn to keep their identity safe by paying in Verge. There are also a lot of websites accepting Verge as a way of payment, the complete list can be found on the official Verge website.

Who would won in a Monero vs Verge battle? It’s up to you on which you found most useful.

The Future of Privacy

Monero has projects such as Kovri which aims to hide the IP like Verge’s Tor and I2P. The roadmap indicates it will release this year, 2018. More details about what Kovri is can be found on the Kovri & Bulletproofs article.

Verge, on the other hand, is aiming to integrate with other projects and develop privacy for platforms such as Android, iOS and Electrum. The XVG Android wallet will be released in 2019. Its main purpose will be to ensure the I2P system helps in mobile transactions. With a great development team, the sky is the limit to Verge’s privacy progress.

Conclusion

Privacy Coins defined as the number of coins owned, sent and received cannot be observed, traced or linked by examining the transaction history on the Blockchain. Monero and Verge both have characteristics which favour a specific type of users. Bitcoin’s revolution or ‘financial freedom’ can be accomplished with the help of these privacy coins.

The ultimate test for Monero vs Verge will be the way regulators respond to the capabilities of privacy coins and how they these coins will bypass the laws when formulated.

Image Source: LetsLearnBlocks