Development Update on Verge #2, and introduction
By: Swen Van Zanten
Tags: Blockchain, Swift Programming, Javascript Development, Technology, Verge

Here we are, for the second update on the development at Verge Currency. But first let me introduce myself.

I am Swen van Zanten, I’m 30 years old and I’m from the Netherlands. I have just joined the Verge core team one or two months ago. I live and work near Leiden, which is close to Amsterdam. At my full time job, I lead a small team of 4 developers at Troublefree. Where we develop and maintain a bulb administrative software application called Troublefree Smart Bulb. I spend my time on many things but most of the time these things are creative:

I love to make music (link)😅 (Ask Siri to play some Swen van Zanten)

Making after-movies of winter sports when I return from France (link) 🤷‍♀️

I really dig making plastic models 🤣

And man… do I love to program and learn new things!🤩

Les Meniures, France, Feb. 2018 🏂

My models (don’t hate) 🚀

🦄 On with Verge

Okay, that’s enough about me! On with the development status here at Verge Core. As you’d might have seen we haven’t been sitting still. We’ve already shown and posted several updates via social media channels, however now I will go into further detail for you … Well, actuaIly I’ll just show you:

📱Verge iOS Wallet

iOS wallet on iPhone X

The iOS wallet so far

The wallet on the iPad simulator

We’ve recently started to gain some traction on the development of the iOS app and both Marvin and I are really hyped about it — it’s a beauty. We love learning new things and while this project will have some challenges, we’re moving along with it. For example, the Tor integration into the app was a bit of a pain, but after a couple of sleepless nights, we got it working, and it’s rock solid! Thankfully y’all liked it too:

As people are already asking for beta versions of the iOS wallet I’m addressing that here too. For now, we’re too far away from a proper beta so that’s why we can’t give any promises on whether there will be an open beta or not. But we will try, as it improves the end-product. But this will have to be a select group of people. More on that in the future.

🖥 Verge Desktop Wallet

macOS Wallet development

The development on the desktop wallet was going like a rocket the last month! Much was achieved, and we are very proud of the current state it is in now. We’re getting closer to where we want it to be. Now the next big thing for the wallet will be the integration of the insight API which will replace the connection to the full Verge node and enables the application to be lighting fast during startup and removes the need for synchronization of the blockchain. In a later iteration of the released wallet we’ll add the option to choose between running a full local node or connect to the insight API.

Furthermore, we’ll keep developing on the wallet to finish it for a beta release. The desktop wallet will be available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

🤬 The big question

While I always think pictures and videos say much more than words, I still think there are some unanswered questions. And of course, the biggest question is “when wallet?”. Well, these sort of questions are hard to answer for a couple of reasons:

Using release dates will give us a pump and dump.

Development time isn’t fixed or guaranteed.

Other priorities might disrupt the development.

The first one is because we’re in crypto land… No explanation needed.

The second one is because we are an open source organization with development support from all over and spread across the planet. We all spend our free time on this project and are not paid for the long hours that we put in for these very time consuming jobs and projects. Development work has its ups and downs, it’s never a straight line and therefore it is extremely hard to gauge and determine the available free time to be allocated versus the unforeseen issues that may be encountered and need fixing. In short, it’s a process, but rest assured — we are always working.

The third one is because life sometimes gets in the way. By taking into account point number two, imagine an added layer of life priorities. It is very possible and has happened several times that an idividual team member can fall away for any sort of personal reason. At that point, the core team must fill the gap. It’s important to remember we are a finite resource after all!

The only way these last two are less of a problem, are when there are enough resources and people to help out on this truly amazing, open source and decentralized project. The requests for help have been there before:

Which gave us a few reactions and one commit from @Nicks_Crypto

Thank you for your contribution, from the core team and from the entire Verge family! ❤️ ❤️

So, you want to help Verge development get further? Go to one of our Github repositories and improve on what’s been made! Help us out on the website, the desktop wallet, the iOS wallet or on anything else you see fit. Verge Currency is a community based project, it’s build by you and me, with Privacy as our standard. Do you have any questions on how stuff works? Hook us up on any social platform or Discord.

I hope y’all like reading developer stories 👹

Until next time, good day 🤫

💎 XVG Address: DPEgHsW1Sox3m6ZiYVjiqVxak4NAThXXix