<s>
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
(	O
Abbreviation	O
:	O
VTC	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
open-source	B-License
cryptocurrency	O
created	O
in	O
early	O
2014	O
,	O
that	O
focuses	O
on	O
decentralization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
uses	O
an	O
ASIC	O
resistant	O
proof-of-work	O
mechanism	O
to	O
issue	O
new	O
coins	O
and	O
incentivize	O
miners	O
to	O
secure	O
the	O
network	O
and	O
validate	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
blockchain	O
is	O
maintained	O
by	O
a	O
decentralized	O
coalition	O
of	O
individuals	O
collectively	O
mining	O
using	O
modern	O
graphics	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
aims	O
to	O
be	O
decentralized	O
by	O
being	O
difficult	O
to	O
mine	O
using	O
dedicated	O
processors	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
ASICs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
is	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
and	O
has	O
a	O
2.5-minute	O
block	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TechRadar	O
's	O
Jonas	O
Muro	O
wrote	O
in	O
2018	O
,	O
that	O
two	O
reasons	O
,	O
among	O
others	O
,	O
made	O
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
"popula[r]"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
reason	O
is	O
that	O
people	O
are	O
very	O
involved	O
in	O
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
on	O
social	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NBC	O
News	O
's	O
Ben	O
Popken	O
noted	O
in	O
2018	O
,	O
that	O
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
has	O
received	O
significant	O
attention	O
on	O
Reddit	B-Application
and	O
that	O
its	O
"	O
soaring	O
popularity	O
over	O
the	O
last	O
year	O
"	O
is	O
owing	O
to	O
its	O
being	O
impervious	O
to	O
the	O
specialized	O
machines	O
known	O
as	O
ASICs	O
which	O
are	O
similarly	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
have	O
heavy	O
influence	O
over	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
a	O
December	O
2018	O
paper	O
published	O
in	O
The	O
Transactions	O
of	O
the	O
Korean	O
Institute	O
of	O
Electrical	O
Engineers	O
said	O
that	O
"	O
because	O
 [ Vertcoin ] 	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
very	O
popular	O
blockchain	O
,	O
the	O
difficulty	O
adjustment	O
algorithm	O
is	O
very	O
sensitive	O
to	O
hash	O
rate	O
change	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
an	O
easy	O
target	O
to	O
timestamp	O
spoofing	O
and	O
cherry-picking	O
attack.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
October	O
through	O
December	O
2018	O
,	O
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
suffered	O
from	O
51%	B-Operating_System
attacks	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
,	O
Vertcoin	B-Protocol
changed	O
its	O
proof-of-work	O
algorithm	O
to	O
Lyra2REv3	O
before	O
suffering	O
from	O
another	O
51%	O
attack	O
on	O
December1	O
,	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
