September 25th, 2018
Most cryptocurrencies exist on a public, transparent blockchain in which anyone can access and view information. Transactions are then made and shared with the entire blockchain.
However, it is widely believed that transactions on blockchains like Bitcoin are private and anonymous. That is a false misconception, as a majority of currencies can be traced back to their first transaction, especially on the Bitcoin blockchain.
To counter this, coins like Monero and DASHCoin, also known as privacy tokens, have come into place. DASH focuses on peer-to-peer transactions alongside using a unique technology to keep transactions anonymous.
DASH uses a few unique systems to achieve its goals.
First off, the technology uses both Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithms to work. The PoW algorithm rewards miners who validate transactions and keep coins moving into the ecosystem. Then, the PoS tech applies to Masternodes.
Masternodes are users connected to the blockchain that hold a significant amount of coins. Those running masternodes have the most say when it comes to platform changes. On the DASH network specifically, masternode users enable instant transactions and privacy via InstantX and Darksend, respectively. Those that hold 1000 DASH on the network are upgraded to masternodes.
Meaning “instant transactions,” InstantX transactions are verified in just four seconds – much faster than nearly every other cryptocurrency out there. The network uses masternodes to “lock” the transacted DASH, preventing a double-spend. Any attempts to spent the locked DASH will be rejected.
Darksend enables the privacy aspects of DASH transactions. Essentially, each wallet on the network consists of mixed up DASH coins to be used whenever the user prefers. Doing so requires no extra work from the investor.
Every ten network blocks, user-clients will send over any un-mixed tokens to be anonymized. There, masternodes will mix the coins from all different wallets before sending them back. Put simply, the coins owned in one user’s wallet are “moved” to another wallet, but still in control of the original user. This way, it’s impossible to know who actually owns which coin, as each transaction will draw from hundreds of wallets.
Users can choose between two to eight rounds of mixing within the wallet.
So, because of masternodes and the DASH specific technology, the network provides lower transaction fees – sometimes there aren’t any at all. Plus, payments are much faster than Bitcoin’s average of ten minutes.
Privacy is a big focus as well, with the mixing of tokens enabling complete anonymity for all users. The project also offers traditional transactions for those who don’t mind.
This is all possible due to the two-tier network of traditional PoW combined with masternode technology. The two-tier network also ensures a more sturdy platform in general, with masternode users doing everything to keep things going.
Current: 8,330,992 DASH
Maximum: 18,900,000 DASH
45% of the block goes to the miner, 45% goes to a Masternode, and the final 10% goes to the development team. This will vary and decrease by 7.1% each year.
0.0002 Dash on average per transaction.
$191.22 USD
0.02980362 BTC
(September 19, 2018)
$1,593,014,551 USD
248,294 BTC
(September 19, 2018)
Found on coinmarketcap.com
$192,290,321 USD
29,971 BTC
(September 19, 2018)
DASH is currently ranked 11th in terms of market cap.
A wide variety, with the main ones including Binance, Poloniex, and Bittrex.
DASH has a few official wallets on their website. Ledger, Trezor, hardware wallets also support the coin.
Much like the rest of the cryptocurrency market, DASH has been in a bit of a bearish state. The project reached a high of 0.11 BTC per DASH on March 19 of last year.
Otherwise, the highest USD conversion rate was on December 21st last year at $1,507.26 per DASH. However, the highest market cap was the day before at $11.9 billion.
Dash was created by the Dash team, and they receive monthly funding from the blockchain to keep working on the project. Evan Duffield crafted the project back in January 2014. It was initially released as XCoin (XCO) before switching to Darkcoin in February 2014, and then in March 2015, it was rebranded as Dash.
Duffield developed the project after realizing that Bitcoin was not anonymous nor was it fast enough. He used a lot of Bitcoin’s code to build Dash, and it has similarities because of this.
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