Will Vertcoin’s Vertpig and Vertbase help altcoins break away from Bitcoin?

The Vertcoin ecosystem is sprouting a new branch. Vertpig, a newly announced cryptocurrency exchange based on Vertcoin (VTC) trading pairs, will try to deliver on altcoin investors’ pleas: Free Us from Bitcoin! Vertpig is scheduled to launch at the end of February.

Although Bitcoin has maintained its dominance at 32%, suggesting that many traders who hold altcoins support Bitcoin in both spirit and investment, many want off of the rollercoaster. Why, they ask, should a precipitous drop in Bitcoin’s price trigger an altcoin bloodbath.

With dozens, if not hundreds of solid ERC20 altcoin projects underway, development teams deserve a break from the raucous ride of surging and plunging valuations, artificially tethered to Bitcoin’s problems, criticisms and hater headlines. Ethereum-based cryptocurrency projects are standing on their own two feet, with their own use cases, their own revelers and their own goals.

Aside from the numerous ERC-20 tokens, there are digital ledger technologies such as NEO, Qtum and IOTA sowing roots that are evolving into substantial ecosystems, spawning smart cities. But Bitcoin hovers above them as well, spraying its dank mist every time it takes a downturn.

Enter Vertpig: a cryptocurrency exchange to facilitate Vertcoin-to-altcoin trading while also supporting Bitcoin and Litecoin. Vertpig is currently accepting email addresses for early adopters who wish to pre-register. In addition to pre-registration, if you’re a resident of the UK, you’ll be eligible for KYC verification to deposit and withdraw GBP funds using the Faster Payments service. All participants will need a Google account to enable Google Authenticator.

Note: For every exchange that keeps its customers’ accounts bound and tied to the Google ecosystem, we understand the need for security, but we anticipate that the greatest strides will be made by decentralized exchanges that are well disconnected from Google, the most centralized behemoth in the digital space.

Vertbase, which preceded the Vertpig project, is the only upcoming exchange where traders can buy and sell Vertcoin for US dollars. Vertbase’s Q1 2018 launch is a more daunting task than exchanging a single currency like euros or the pound because the US-dollar licensing process requires filing in each state separately. As stated on their blog, “Vertbase has started submitting applications for the money transmitter licensing. Acquiring the licensing is one of the biggest hurdles in launching the exchange. Vertbase will share and update the status of each license on our licenses page (https://www.vertbase.com/legal/licenses).”

https://twitter.com/Top5Global/status/960935553683345413

We imagine that Vertpig and Vertbase can work in tandem to create a Vertcoin ecosystem where strict altcoin traders can buy and sell a growing number of coins without ever needing to buy or sell Bitcoin. These efforts should also help shine the spotlight on Vertcoin, a peer-to-peer digital currency for crypto-loving people, as opposed to miners, that has had no premine, ICO or airdrop.