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NowNodes “provides simple, fast, and secure access to IP and RPC nodes” by running fee-free public nodes and recently added a Dash node.

Howdy, @Dashpay fam!@NOWNodes is excited to announce that now we support the full public #Dash node! The access is completely fee-free, the speed is mind-blowing ☄️

Check out the $DASH node and start #buidl'ing:https://t.co/9hjuX5MKdH pic.twitter.com/MRdqIBjpNc — NOWNodes (@NOWNodes) August 15, 2019

According to a post on Reddit, they “aim mainly at enthusiasts and beginners who don’t want to bother with running a full node”. Nodes are currently being operated out of Germany at a connection speed of 1 GB/s and located at dash.nownodes.io.

Notably, NowNodes is powered by ChangeNow, which integrated Dash earlier this year into their online exchange that allows consumers to engage in “seamless quick swaps of more than 160 cryptocurrencies in just a few simple steps, no registration required”.

Building out the cryptocurrency community

Services like NowNodes enable individuals to build new features on top of cryptocurrency blockchain platforms in order to better service other consumers. The advantage of a fee-free public node is that it is a better incentive to encourage development by individuals that might be curious about Dash and other cryptocurrencies, but might not want to spend the time nor money to actually set up their own node, at first. NowNodes also provides an entry-point for new individuals whether they “are a startup entrepreneur, developer, or enthusiast”.

Other famous API services like Blockcypher have already integrated Dash and been adopted by services such as Dash Text, which provide inexpensive and fast Dash transactions via SMS for individuals that do not have smartphones.

Dash continuing to build out its own development community

Dash has recognized the advantages of having a platform that allows developers to build out their own vision on top of another platform since this naturally increases the market reach and chance of wider adoption by increasing the number of ideas on the platform. Dash is currently building out Dash Drive and DAPI to enable individuals to store information on the Dash blockchain and easily access it through the decentralized API (DAPI).

The initial MVP launch is intended to be a “Database as a Service, using data contracts to define custom data structures for applications, storing that application data on our masternode network, and notarizing that data via our blockchain”. An early vision of what Dash can facilitate is Medicinal Genomics’ project of mapping the entire cannabis genome, storing the results on IPFS, and hashing the link and timestamp to the Dash blockchain for posterity to be help entrepreneurs protect their cannabis varieties against big pharma. However, the Dash Core team has plans to eventually develop Drive and DAPI into a full stacked development environment. Ryan Taylor, CEO of Dash Core Group, has also said that DAPI will help solve key adoption barriers for cryptocurrency by making interactions with the Dash blockchain more user friendly.