In a major price surge, Dash has nearly doubled market cap over the last month, overtaking Litecoin and Monero to become the fourth most valued cryptocurrency.

This week one year ago, Dash was the #7 ranked cryptocurrency with a market cap of about $23 mln. This number grew steadily over the course of the year, finishing out the year with a market cap of $69 mln and maintained #7 ranking. Over the course of 2017 so far, however, Dash’s growth has significantly picked up steam, exceeding $100 mln over January. This month Dash has risen to a nearly $200 mln market cap, currently with a value of over $27 and 0.23 Bitcoin at present time.

Dash has gone up several rankings in the cryptocurrency charts

Over the last several weeks, Dash has jumped three spots in the cryptocurrency rankings, overtaking Ethereum classic earlier this month and dislodging Monero and Litecoin over the last 24 hours. Placing it firmly in the top five cryptocurrency rankings, slightly behind Ripple.

However, Ethereum maintains its place as the most valued non-Bitcoin cryptocurrency with a heavy lead, worth as much as the next several cryptocurrencies combined.

Eric Sammons, a consultant for Dash, believes this rise in the rankings to be a reflection of market faith in its future potential as a digital currency:

“As with all altcoins - and even Bitcoin to some degree - Dash's price reflects the market's belief in its future potential. Dash has moved beyond the initial stage of its lifecycle and has proven it will be around for the long haul. We can see that both in its development roadmap, which ambitiously aims to become a decentralized "Paypal 2.0," and well as its ability to update and improve, as seen in its recent successful upgrade to version 12.1. Add to that a proven governance system, and it's easy to see why people are bullish on Dash.”

Dash’s rising popularity against Bitcoin’s scaling issues

Unlike other top cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Monero, whose use derives from providing different functionality than Bitcoin, smart contracts and a completely private Blockchain respectively, Dash’s features and use cases position it in direct competition for use as a digital cash.

In this regard, Bitcoin’s scaling issues have posed a problem for some, with transaction backlogs and fees growing, causing momentary spikes of interest in scaling solutions such as Bitcoin Unlimited that aim to restore this cash-like efficiency,

According to Tao of Satoshi, founder of the Dash Nation Slack community and a cryptocurrency vlog, Cash Alternative TV, Dash’s current rise is attributable to an increasing awareness of Bitcoin’s scaling problems:

“What you are seeing right now is the realization by some people that Bitcoin may not offer the complete digital currency solution that they were expecting. Long delays in development, transactions piling up leading to long wait times and high fees, and the lack of governance mechanism has left a sour taste in people's mouths. Dash has implemented a plan to scale as a currency without encountering these problems, and that is starting to be recognized by the digital currency community at large. It is presenting itself as a more worthy investment and I am sure we will see further growth in time as Dash continues to prove itself.”

Despite scaling issues, however, Bitcoin continues to perform quite well. Over the last few days, the cryptocurrency frontrunner reached an all-time high of over $1,200, edging ever closer to the price of gold, which Bitcoin may soon replace as the world’s reserve store of value. Its use in this regard has led to a flurry of peer-to-peer trading in restrictive countries.