Vertcoin (VTC): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Own proof-of-work blockchain built on the Bitcoin code base.
- Maximum supply
- 84,000,000 VTC, the same as Litecoin.
- Risks and caveats
- Vertcoin has a much smaller hashrate than Bitcoin; vertcoin.org says per-block difficulty adjustment is needed for that reason.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- VTC
- Official site
- vertcoin.org
Key facts checked on 1 November 2026 against official sources.
What is Vertcoin
Vertcoin (VTC) is an open-source cryptocurrency created in January 2014 as a graphics-card-mined version of Bitcoin. It is not funded or controlled by any entity and mirrors Bitcoin development.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Own proof-of-work blockchain built on the Bitcoin code base. |
| Consensus | Proof of work with the Verthash algorithm, designed so that GPUs mine competitively. |
| Block time | About 2.5 minutes, the same as Litecoin. |
| Difficulty adjustment | Every block (about 2.5 minutes) using Kimoto Gravity Well. |
| SegWit | Vertcoin activated SegWit on 7 May 2017. |
| Launched | 10 January 2014. |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 84,000,000 VTC, the same as Litecoin. |
| Initial distribution | No premine, no ICO and no airdrop. |
What VTC is used for
- VTC is the native coin of the Vertcoin chain and is earned by miners who secure it with GPUs.
- vertcoin.org offers a One-Click Miner so people can mine at home with their own computer.
Who develops and governs Vertcoin
- Developer
- No funding or controlling entity; an open-source project.
- Open source
- Core code on GitHub (vertcoin-project/vertcoin-core) under the MIT License; last push 30 October 2026.
- Licence
- MIT License.
- Community
- Discord, Reddit, Telegram, GitHub and Medium channels listed on vertcoin.org.
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 2014 | Vertcoin is created as a GPU-mined version of Bitcoin, in response to Litecoin mining moving to ASICs. |
| 7 May 2017 | SegWit is activated on the Vertcoin network. |
| 6 January 2019 | Release 0.14.0 hard-forks the main network to Lyra2REv3 at block 1080000 to remove Lyra2REv2 ASICs and FPGAs. |
| 28 December 2020 | Release 0.17.0 hard-forks the main network to the Verthash proof-of-work algorithm from block 1,500,000. |
| 2 October 2023 | Wallet v23.2 is released, rebased on Bitcoin Core 23.2. |
| 1 November 2026 | The Chainz explorer shows the chain at block 2707747. |
Security and audits
- Vertcoin hard-forked to Lyra2REv3 in 2019 to remove the ASICs and FPGAs then mining the network, and to Verthash in 2020.
- Wallet builds since v23.2 are reproducible with Guix and SHA256SUMS is signed by each builder's GPG key.
Security incidents
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| December 2018 | Exploit: Vertcoin developer James Lovejoy wrote that Vertcoin was 51% attacked in December 2018 and later changed its proof-of-work algorithm to Lyra2REv3. Funds returned: not stated | gist.github.com |
| 1 December 2019 | Exploit: 51% attack: on 1 December 2019, 603 blocks were removed from the Vertcoin main chain and replaced by 553 attacker blocks; about 125 VTC (about USD 29) was redirected through double-spent outputs. Vertcoin developer James Lovejoy contacted Bittrex, which disabled its Vertcoin wallet. Funds returned: not stated | gist.github.com |
Risks and caveats
- Vertcoin has a much smaller hashrate than Bitcoin; vertcoin.org says per-block difficulty adjustment is needed for that reason.
- The developers said they would not support the old chain after the 2019 hard fork; nodes that did not upgrade risked loss of funds.
- The latest tagged wallet release is v23.2 from October 2023.
Official links
- Website: vertcoin.org
- Source code: github.com/vertcoin-project/vertcoin-core
- Download: vertcoin.org/download-wallet
- Block explorer: chainz.cryptoid.info/vtc
- Community: vertcoin.org/community
Questions and answers
What is Vertcoin?
Vertcoin (VTC) is an open-source, GPU-mined variant of Bitcoin created in January 2014; no entity funds or controls it.
What is the maximum supply of Vertcoin?
vertcoin.org gives 84,000,000 VTC, the same as Litecoin. The Chainz explorer reported about 74.67 million VTC on 1 November 2026.
How is Vertcoin mined?
With the Verthash proof-of-work algorithm, designed for GPUs, with a block about every 2.5 minutes.
Is Vertcoin still active?
Yes: blocks are still produced (block 2707747 on 1 November 2026) and the GitHub code was last pushed on 30 October 2026.
Sources
- Vertcoin - official website
- Vertcoin - Specifications
- Vertcoin - What is Vertcoin?
- Vertcoin - Download wallet
- Vertcoin - Community
- Vertcoin - Mining setup
- GitHub API - vertcoin-core releases
- GitHub - Lyra2REv3 mainnet hard fork pull request
- GitHub API - vertcoin-core repository
- Chainz API - block count
- Chainz API - total coins
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