Privacy coins’ main feature is all in the name: privacy. Once a privacy coin gets stripped of its privacy, it’s simply another altcoin, but with added risk as its users must trust it to keep them anonymous. A popular privacy coin, Verge (XVG), is currently under fire for potentially exposing its users’ IP addresses. They allegedly have a list of IP addresses that have been linked with hundreds of previous XVG transactions, which undermines the coin's anonymous features.

Like several other altcoins, XVG has reached great heights during the last month of 2017, perhaps mostly because of it being shilled by John McAfee than anything else. The coin has grown in popularity thanks to its anonymous features and its price, which costs mere buttons or satoshis. However, investors who bought into XVG hoping for enhanced privacy, are likely to be disappointed.

Several media outlets recently noted that XVG is perhaps not as anonymous as it claims to be, and cautioned investors to not put too much trust in it. This precaution turned out to be invaluable, as a new website now claims to be listing several IP addresses linked to XVG transactions. The website administrator, ironically, is anonymous.

The site claims that they will soon add transactions from Electrum XVG wallet as well. In addition, it’s possible to determine which transactions were conducted by individuals on the so-called “rich list”. XVG is perhaps famous for a large number of whales investing in the coin, these whales now risk exposing. One of XVG’s whales spent a weekend with the software mogul, John McAfee, who praised XVG. However, since then, the two have fallen out regarding a dispute about XVG.

While these claims are impossible to verify, the claims in addition to XVG’s latest controversy, could lead many investors to avoid XVG.

On the official XVG website, the developers state that XVG uses several networks to enhance anonymity, such as I2P and Tor. The website adds that every user's IP address is obfuscated, making transactions are impossible to trace. A video, posted on the official XVG Twitter account, also advertises XVG as the world’s only untraceable cryptocurrency.

This claim has been under dispute for some time. The recent event proves that Verge is incapable of enhancing its users’ privacy, and is perhaps less anonymous than most other cryptocurrencies, as it allows IP addresses to be recorded.

According to the new website, not all listed IP addresses are correct. The list contains several IP addresses which were merely used to conduct the transaction. However, the website adds that the majority of IP addresses are correct because XVG is relatively small. Verge claimed that the website’s IP addresses are incorrect, via Twitter.

However, it is perhaps damning that the firm has not yet released an official statement which disputes the legitimacy of the published IP addresses. Even if only a small portion of IP addresses are correct, it will likely undermine the cryptocurrency and its operations in the future.

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