What is Dash (DASH)?
DASH is the native coin for the blockchain network of the same name. Dash, short for digital cash, is a blockchain-based digital currency that can be used for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) transactions. It offers fast and secure payments that are user-friendly and decentralized.
The platform was launched after forking from Litecoin in 2014. It uses masternode technology and a two-tier network to reinforce blockchain security and facilitate the services provided. The asset is considered to be a privacy coin. You can see the current Dash price in the chart above.
Who Co-Founded Dash?
Evan Duffield and Kyle Hagan are the co-developers of Dash. Duffield is a software engineer who has worked in both traditional and decentralized finance. He has experience in machine learning and is the person behind the X11 mining algorithm which Dash uses. Duffield has since stepped away from the core project to focus his efforts on other research.
Hagan is a fellow software engineer and the co-author of the Dash whitepaper. He was involved with the development of the network infrastructure. However, Hagan stepped away from the project in December 2014.
The goal of Dash was to solve the scalability and speed problems related to Bitcoin. On the Bitcoin blockchain, transaction confirmations are slow and resource-intensive. According to the Dash whitepaper, incentives to run full modes on Bitcoin decrease over time due to bandwidth requirements and expenses.
The project officially launched in January 2014, when the first block was mined. There was no pre-mine held. In the first two days from launch, 2 million coins were mined. However, it did not appear to have a significant impact on the Dash price. The rapid mining was likely caused by a bug that transferred over from the Litecoin blockchain.
The Dash crypto project has undergone several rebrandings. It was first known as XCoin. Later, the name “Darkcoin” was chosen with the intention of delivering a blockchain that offers full decentralization and user privacy. The decision to change the name once again, this time to Dash, was made a year after its launch to avoid negative connotations.
In the early years, the asset was relatively stable, balancing at around $1. The volatility of the Dash price remained low until early 2017. The asset has since become more volatile, experiencing frequent fluctuations, often driven by the overall market trends.
The volatility trends continued from that point onward. By the end of 2017, the Dash price experienced a significant peak when its value exceeded $1,642. In February 2019, five years after the launch, the asset was valued at over $70.
What Are the Features of Dash?
The max supply of DASH tokens has a hard cap of 18,921,005. This makes the asset deflationary, as its supply will decrease over time. Such reduction of tokens is expected to increase the DASH price long-term. The supply limit is not expected to be reached until 2300.
According to the protocol, 45% of the DASH rewards are allocated to the masternodes, another 45% are for the miners, and the remaining 10% are kept for future budget proposals. If the tokens meant for the budget are not allocated throughout the existence of Dash, the max supply will not be released to the public and will instead be capped at 17,742,696.
Dash uses a two-tier network to ensure blockchain security and data integrity. The core roles that users can obtain within the network are masternodes and miners. Masternodes provide second-layer security and ensure network availability, while miners produce new Dash blocks following the general Proof-of-Work (PoW) concept.
The masternode service is known as Proof-of-Service (PoSe). In order to become masternodes, users must hold a minimum of 1,000 DASH. By taking up this role, masternodes become responsible for the efficiency of the network by managing the processes of governance, data storage, and transaction processing.
The main functions that masternodes manage are:
- InstantSend – facilitation of near-instantaneous transactions;
- CoinJoin – financial privacy and control over assets in the wallet;
- ChainLocks – reinforcement of blockchain immutability and resistance to 51% attacks;
- PrivateSend – optional additional transaction privacy.
Like Bitcoin and Litecoin, Dash employs the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism. However, the specific algorithm is known as X11. Both miners and masternodes are eligible for rewards for their blockchain contributions. The Dash coin rewards are used as an incentive to continue network contributions.
The main service offered by Dash is the decentralized, global-scale network for peer-to-peer payments. The Dash price and value are determined strongly by its utility. Users can trade DASH coins, access the digital Dash wallet, and participate in the overall ecosystem.
Dash is considered to be one of the first blockchains to utilize decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). The governance rights are granted to masternodes. Members of the DAO can vote on the network’s budget proposals and overall changes to the protocol. Each masternode has one vote.
What Are the Differences Between Dash and Litecoin?
Dash forked away from Litecoin in 2014. The goal of the fork was to provide a more efficient, secure, and private network for digital transactions. As it runs on a separate blockchain, the native asset is not the Dash token but rather a coin.
Dash offers faster transaction speeds than Litecoin. Additionally, Dash is significantly more focused on privacy by employing the two-tier network architecture and using various transaction security measures.
Due to frequent market changes, it is not possible to accurately compare the Dash price with Litecoin. You can see the most recent data in the graph above. While Dash attempts to improve on some of the features of the original Litecoin chain, both cryptocurrencies fulfill slightly different requirements in the market.
Litecoin is a considerably more volatile asset than Dash. In comparison, from the 2014 fork onwards, the Dash price has experienced fewer fluctuations and has maintained a somewhat more stable value. However, Litecoin has a significantly larger market cap.
