Verge (XVG) is another of the privacy coins that has been around for a long time (by crypto standards).
It also takes a pretty unique approach to maintaining privacy and anonymity. While other blockchains concern themselves primarily with hiding transaction data, Verge also works to mask geolocation and IP address data through Tor and I2P.
While the price of XVG has fallen dramatically in 2018, it remains in the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap, so it’s still worth buying and holding. Of course if you decide to do that you’ll need a wallet to store your XVG.
There are a number of options, and below you’re going to get a glimpse at the four safest places for storing your Verge XVG.
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Top 5 Verge Wallets
Unlike numerous other cryptocurrencies that built off of the Ethereum protocol, Verge has its own unique protocol. This means that there are a number of wallets that are open to other ERC20 tokens which are not available to Verge.
Nevertheless, the Verge developers and the community were able to develop at least four wallets that have varying degrees of security and usability. It is also important to point out that although there may be other wallets that support Verge, they are probably less safe than using official XVG wallets.
With that being said, here are the top 5 Verge Wallets (in order of preference).
Atomic Wallet (Desktop and Mobile Wallet)
The great thing about the Atomic Wallet, well actually there are several, but some of the greatest are the privacy and security offered. Atomic Wallet doesn't require any registration or KYC for basic access, and in terms of security it maintains the private keys for your coins on your own hardware. It is also very helpful that the wallet comes in both desktop and mobile versions, giving you access to your coins no matter where you might be.
Choose a secure, decentralized, and private wallet for your DOGE. Image via YouTube.
In addition to all that you can also store many of your other coins besides Verge, and are also able to swap and stake coins. In fact, the Atomic Wallet supports over 300 different cryptocurrencies, swaps for over 60 cryptocurrencies, and staking for more than 15 PoS cryptocurrencies. It also allows users to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a handful of other coins right from the wallet with a bank card.
Atomic Wallet represents not only privacy and security, but also convenience. Why not give it a try yourself?
Verge Electrum Tor Wallet (Desktop Wallet)
Verge has native wallets, and we’ll look at some of those later, but first you may want to consider the Verge Electrum wallet. It’s a lightweight desktop wallet that is easy to use, and a good option for those new to Verge.
Electrum began as a Bitcoin wallet, but because of its user-friendly ease of use it has been adopted by a number of cryptocurrencies, and Verge is one. There’s no eye candy or special features. The Verge Electrum wallet simply displays the information you need in a logical manner and in a way that is familiar to users.
The Electrum wallet uses the Simple Payment Verification specification, which means it isn’t necessary to download the entire blockchain to use the wallet. After downloading the wallet you can begin sending and receiving Verge in mere moments.
You’ll get all the built-in privacy features of Verge alongside the security features provided by Electrum such as password protections and 2-factor authentication.
The wallet comes in Windows, Linux and OSX versions, and there’s also a mobile Electrum wallet, although it isn’t quite the same interface as the desktop version.
It’s also important to note that the Bitcoin Electrum wallet had a security hole discovered in 2018. It was quickly fixed, but it means you should be sure to always use the latest version of the Electrum wallet.
Verge Tor QT (Desktop Wallet)
If you want the best security and a full-featured full node Verge wallet the Verge Tor QT wallet, developed specifically for XVG is your best choice. Since it is a full node wallet it requires downloading the entire Verge blockchain, which is more than 4GB as of December 2018.
That can be a problem for some users, but the features provided by the full node QT wallet makes it worth it. One excellent feature is the extra security layer provided by SSL encryption. And since the wallet is a full node you won’t have to worry about invalid transactions.
While the user interface gives you the same features as the Electrum version it is presented in a more visually appealing fashion. The real power of the QT wallet is in its RPC commands though, which give you a granular control over the Verge blockchain and any activities within it.
The Verge QT wallet is available for Windows, Linux and OSX and only supports XVG.
Coinomi (Mobile Wallet)
While Verge does have its own native mobile wallet, you really can’t beat the Coinomi wallet. And iOS users are out of luck with the Verge mobile wallet since it’s still in development, making Coinomi their very best option. It also has the benefit of being a universal wallet that allows you to store all your coins. That’s a benefit in mobile wallets, since they are best used to bring your coins with you to spend.
Thanks to ShapeShift and Changelly integration its quick and easy if you need to swap from Verge to another cryptocurrency or vice versa.
You probably already know that a mobile wallet is only as safe as your own device, but Coinomi does have all the basic mobile wallet security features in place, including a built-in IP hiding technique and additional privacy features.
Coinomi has also just recently launched a desktop wallet which could compliment their mobile wallet. This will have the same core security of the mobile wallet and you can easily sync it with the mobile wallet to monitor all of the activity that has taken place.
Verge Paper Wallet
This article is about the safest places to store your Verge, so of course it wouldn’t be complete without including the paper wallet. This is especially true since there is no hardware wallet support for Verge. While a Ledger Verge wallet is rumored, the Verge paper wallet is your most secure cold storage method as of the end of 2018.
Since the paper wallet is an offline medium it is very safe from hackers, but it isn’t so easy to spend coins stored in a paper wallet. And there are still physical threats to consider, including theft of the paper wallet.
Creating a Verge paper Wallet in Browser
The Verge paper wallet generator allows you to generate a new paper wallet and print it in minutes. The wallet generated is standard, with patterns printed that prevent others from seeing or tampering with your coins.
Paper wallets need to be kept very secure. A safe deposit box is a good choice for at least one copy, but you should print several copies and keep them in several different places. This protects your coins in the event that one of the paper wallets is destroyed. Remember it is just paper, and very easy to destroy or lose.
The Verge paper wallet generator runs in your web browser and uses JavaScript. If you desire even more security it is possible to download the html that the generator uses to run and then run it in a browser in an offline computer. This ensures your private keys are never exposed to the internet.
Hardware Wallets (TBC)
It is important to point out at this stage that one of the safest storage options for cryptocurrency in general is that of a hardware wallet device such as a Ledger Nano S or a Trezor. Currently neither of these support Verge XVG.
However, this could change with the Ledger Nano S support for Verge around the corner. This was teased out in a tweet from the Product Developer at Verge who stated:
https://twitter.com/marpme_/status/1041671148025597953
When asked more about a potential timeline the developer said that it was still in testing and that it was highly dependent on the schedule of the Ledger company about additions of potential new coins. We will keep a keen eye on announcements from the Ledger and Verge development teams.
Safely Storing XVG
Which wallet you end up choosing will in the end come down to your own personal preferences. For those Hodlers who would like to keep their coins for the long run then your best bet is probably to create a paper wallet and store it in a safe location.
For those people who regularly use their Verge to make payments then you can't go wrong with one of the official wallets developed by the core team. Either the Tor QT or the Tor Electrum wallet would suffice. You could probably also make use of the Coinomi Verge mobile wallet for your smaller and more regular purchases that need to be made on the go.
Irrespective of what Verge wallet you do decide to use, you have to make sure that you are using cryptocurrency security best practices. There are a number of things that you can do in order to reduce your chances of a loss.
- Keep Seed Backups: When you create your wallet you will be given a seed word that will enable you to recover your funds if you forget your password or lose your wallet. Make sure to backup these seed words as these are the last resort between you and your funds being lost forever.
- Be Careful of Viruses: If you are using the desktop versions of the Verge wallet, make sure not to download any suspicious files from websites or emails. This is one of the most common ways for Malware to make its way onto your machine and to grab your private keys.
- Avoid Third Party Wallets: Unless the developer team has explicitly backed an XVG wallet that has been created by a third party developer, you should be skeptical when using it. This is because malicious wallets often find their way onto user's devices because they were naive in their assumptions.
- Don't Talk About it: The primary reason that Verge was created was to keep your finances and transactions private. If you tell anyone about your Verge holdings then you are defeating that purpose. Moreover, there have been a number of occasions of cryptocurrreny holders being physically threatened for their passwords. So, in essence, just HODL your Verge silence. No one should know that you hold Verge.
Conclusion
While it is a bit unfortunate that there is not a hardware wallet option for Verge currently, this may be around the corner. Until then, you can make use of the official wallets that have been developed with privacy and security in mind.
Indeed, you do not have to choose only one wallet to service your needs. You could keep your large holdings of XVG in a paper wallet form in cold storage. You can then keep a smaller amount in your Desktop and mobile wallet for more regular use.
Spread your risks across wallets.
Lastly, if you are going to be storing your Verge on any wallet, make sure that you are following crypto security best practices and keeping hackers and scammers at bay.
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