Dash, a second generation digital currency, has completed two years of its existence. It was officially launched by web developer Evan Duffield. Initially named as ‘XCoin’, it was later renamed as Dash.



Duffield created a new hashing algorithm – ‘X11’ – that separated Dash from the two biggest algorithms, SHA-256 (Bitcoin) and Scrypt (Litecoin). This new algorithm not only ensured that Dash would remain ASIC-proof for a long time, but also greatly reduced heat and power consumption for miners across the globe.



“It’s been a very exciting two years. So much has happened during the two years, it seems pretty amazing. We managed to develop the masternode concept, along with instant transactions, privacy, funding and governance. I’m pretty happy with the progress that we’ve made”, Duffield told CoinTelegraph in an interview.



The Dash developers have delivered a number of "firsts", such as the first privacy-centric transaction system, the first to enable nearly instant payments, the first to enable user governance, the first to create a sustainable self-funding model, and many others.



In November, the Dash team announced the release of an iPhone wallet for Dash. The team explains that the wallet is ‘deterministic’, meaning that it can be restored just by typing in a passphrase, which keeps a user’s Dash secure without requiring complex and time-intensive backups.



Last month, the Dash team announced the next phase of the project’s development – Dash Evolution (Open Source) – the key component being the creation of the world’s first decentralized application programming interface (API).



According to Duffield, the goal of Evolution is to “make Dash even more secure, allow it to scale to extremely large levels, and make it easier to use than any cryptographic currency that presently exists.”



“Dash Evolution creates a new type of cryptographic currency with various advanced features that assist in the creation of decentralized technology. Dash introduces a tiered network design, which allows users to do various jobs for the network, along with decentralized API access and a decentralized file system”, the website reads.



Moreover, Dash has raised its blocksize from 1 MB to 2 MB by holding a vote among its stakeholders. Interestingly, it passed within 24 hours with 99 percent of the vote, Finance Magnates reported.



“With pundits in a panic proclaiming the death of bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies not backed by a bank or government from a single blog post by a former bitcoin developer who has joined a bank blockchain development consortium, we thought it would be instrumental to show how the superior consensus mechanism in the world’s fastest cryptocurrency can be achieved in a single day through Dash’s decentralized governance protocol where one literally votes with one’s coins”, Duffield said.



Also, CoinTelegraph recently reported that Dash has successfully struck a deal with Lamassu ATM who will now offer Dash along with Bitcoin in their ATMs.



“We’re really happy to announce that the Dash project is going to be the first alternative to Bitcoin to be supported by the Lamassu ATM project. This is really exciting, because the Lamassu ATM project has about 150 ATMs all around the world. We will be exclusively offered on their platform alongside Bitcoin”, Duffield said.



Dash’s market cap, at $ 24,285,251, currently takes the 5th spot, according to estimates from Coinmarketcap.com. Bitcoin rules the list, followed by Ripple, Ethereum and Litecoin.