Now and Then #4: Dash

Dash (DASH) was launched in 2014 by Evan Duffield, who based his ideas on the Bitcoin whitepaper outlined by Satoshi Nakamoto. In the Dash whitepaper, the currency was described as “the first privacy-centric cryptographic currency”. 

In today’s SpectroCoin blog post, we will take a look at how Dash has evolved since its launch and what this cryptocurrency looks like today. 

What was Dash like back then?

After its launch in 2014, Dash was initially known as Xcoin. Ten days later, the name was changed to Darkcoin, and only in 2015 the cryptocurrency was finally renamed to Dash, a combination of the words “digital” and “cash”. 

When Dash was forked from Litecoin, a bug occurred that resulted in 1.9 million DASH being mined within the first two days. This represented 10% of all coins, considering the Dash total supply of 18 million DASH. 

After the error occurred, the creator Evan Duffield encouraged the idea of restarting the project. However, the community rejected this offer and the system continued to work as it is.

Five months after the launch, masternodes – a subset of users who validate transactions – were introduced. To become a masternode, miners must put a minimum of 1000 DASH to process the blocks and receive rewards.

Further, the project became self-funding. The option introduced recurring payments to the Dash development team and made the project no longer dependent on third party interests. However, users could still suggest solutions for the project and get a portion of the rewards.

While Dash currency was recognized for its privacy and anonymity, it gained attention in countries like Venezuela. The country experienced huge inflation in 2018, and cryptocurrencies have become a possible alternative to a local currency. As of now, there are more than 2500 businesses that accept Dash as a form of payment in Venezuela. 

As with all cryptocurrencies, the initial price of Dash was less than $10 for almost two years, until the end of 2016. During the cryptocurrency boom in December 2017, Dash reached its all-time high of around $1,500.

How does Dash look like today?

Today, Dash is the 42nd cryptocurrency in the world by market capitalization (around $2 billion). The price of the cryptocurrency remains much smaller than at its all-time high – currently, it is around $200. 

As mentioned previously, the Dash system is divided into two parts – masternodes and miners. Masternodes are responsible for private transfers (PrivateSend), instant transfers (InstantSend), management of the project, and the so-called treasury system. 

Masternodes increase the safety of the Dash blockchain and make sure transactions are as fast as cash transfers. In exchange for making this happen, a masternode receives 45% of the total reward for mining a coin. Another 45% goes to miners and 10% – to funders. The said 10% contributes to the growth and development of the project. In this manner, Dash finances its own expansion and acceptance. 

PrivateSend increases the privacy of Dash transactions. This feature allows transactions to be untraceable, as well as users’ identities to be hidden. PrivateSend helps to improve the fungibility of the cryptocurrency – since the transaction history cannot be traced, unlike it is the case with Bitcoin, the recipient cannot reject certain Dash transfers. 

The InstantSend service offers an improved transaction speed compared to a typical Dash transaction. For an additional small fee, masternodes validate the transfer in up to 2 seconds. Thus, it is easy for users to choose their preferred transaction speed.

While Dash continues to be well-known for its encryption features, the project still has its aspirations. It aims to become a means of payment for day-to-day transfers as a virtual currency used as cash, card, or through PayPal. This idea is also claimed on the Dash website: “Dash is Digital Cash You Can Spend Anywhere.”

Want to discuss more about Dash? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via the LiveChat bubble available on our website or share your thoughts on our social media! 

You can buy and sell Dash at SpectroCoin.