Dash, named after a merge between the words digital and cash is a coin that focuses on instant and private transactions. Dash went from a coin everyone feared was just a pump-and-dump scam to the seventh most popular coin with over a $1.1B market-cap. There is now a full time staff that works with the coin and has had three years of development behind it. I am going to the usual explanation I do with all altcoins; the differences, basic mechanics, noteworthy news, and where to buy them.

What is the difference between Dash and Bitcoin?

Unlike Bitcoin that uses the algorithm SHA-256, Dash uses one called X11 which is a group of 11 algorithms that makes proof-of-work more efficient. Proof-of-work uses hashing power to verify blocks and to prove that they are real. The generation of coins are also different. Bitcoin coin generation with each block cuts in half every four years while with Dash there is a 7.1% decrease in coins generated per year. There are also different mechanics to Dash that Bitcoin doesn’t have. I will explain all of these in the next section.

Basic Mechanics of Dash

Bitcoin has one tier of verification, which is miners verifying blocks and transactions. Dash has two, miners and masternodes. Privatesend is one of the mechanics masternodes control, which essentially controls private transactions. It works by combining many single transactions into one transaction with many outputs, making them very hard to trace. The other mechanic that is controlled by masternodes is called instantsend which does what it sounds like; it allows for transactions to be nearly instant without the problem of doublespend that Bitcoin has. It solves this problem by instantly rejecting transactions that are conflicting with eachother. Anyone can set up a masternode of their own, but unlike Bitcoin it requires a collateral of 1000 DASH. This is to prevent any malicious intentions that people may have when setting up a masternode. To incentivise people to mine and set up masternodes, 45% of transacton fees go to miners and masternode owners. The remaining 10% of fees go to the treasury or budget system. The budget system allows for funding of the Dash ecosystem and to fund changes in the consensus. It has been used to hire many full time employees as well as developers, and to fund various conferences.

Recent news

In recent weeks, certain forex brokers have allowed the trading of many top cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dash. This will put Dash into the spotlight among mainstream investors.

Where can you buy Dash?

Dash is sold on many different exchanges including Poloniex, Kraken, Bitfinex, or BTC-E.

Overall I think Dash definitely has potential for future value. It already has a scaling solution and is very on top of things compared to Bitcoin. This can also be due to the more corporate control of the coin compared to other more decentralized ones. The instant as well as private transactions are a great and modern way to best maximize the efficiency of cryptocurrency and like Ethereum, I think Dash will be popping up on the news more often in the future. I am very optimistic about the reliability of the coin due to the full time staff and the budget that automatically goes towards improving the currency as a whole. I along with many other people are very bullish for Dash long term. If you liked my article, you can donate to my Bitcoin and my Dash wallets. If you’re broke like me, you can click the affiliate links to get free Bitcoin and free Dogecoin for both of us! Also join my subreddit at /r/Cryptoblog to suggest new blog topics and to chat about cryptocurrency in general.

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Dash Wallet: Xif5qGHvXjLYyVL7uKyEhr42S7ukEhxXMq

Sources

http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/dash/

http://www.livebitcoinnews.com/now-can-trade-ethereum-dash-ripple-forex-brokers/

https://www.dash.org/buy/