Is there a logical explanation for the downward pressure, which started long before devs announced new algo?
I think the downward pressure started when a lot of other coins, bitcoin included, started trending down. Then we had a period of stabilization, similar to doge and ltc, and now while those coins are bouncing back, doge more than ltc, vert has turned down again, presumably due to lack of information/communication about upcoming (possible) changes/hardfork.