These days it’s been all about Bitcoin. 14k coming up, twitter battles over the name of Bcash, you name it. Ethereum kinda follows with its Crypto Kitties and Metropolis update, but that’s about it. Space is congested with so much hype surrounding new ICOs, that actual working platforms barely get any media and user coverage. Most talks concentrate on the future, but there’s rarely a focus on the models that will actually work anytime soon or at all. Well, this article is my contribution in “making things right”, by giving an overview of a future update I consider to be massive, but least discussed about — DASH Evolution!

The main objective of this feature development is increasing cryptocurrency mass adoption among general population, for which bitcoin is either still unknown or too complicated. The team behind this project means to address this issue by making the platform easy and secure to be used, so we’re talking a Facebook + PayPal interface combined with the security and privacy of blockchain technology. Another thing to mention is that Dash is an anonymous decentralized digital currency which means it collects no data on its users.

Evolution will be available on both smartphones and computers, and its development should be a three stage process. Shown below is my personal short summary chart of their roadmap main milestones (for specific and detailed information visit https://github.com/dashpay/dash-roadmap/blob/master/README.md) as well as the screenshot of its user interface.

DASH Evolution roadmap

Future UI of DashPay (source: Dash Evolution Preview)

DashPay mobile version (source: Dash Evolution Preview)

According to their website, and their biggest vocal promoter Amanda B. Johnson, known as a host of Daily Decrypt, current work on Evolution should add many components such as DashDrive, DAPI, DashPay, Quorum Chain, Social wallet etc. All of them should be considered as an improvement protocol related to specific part of their network. Our main focus should for be on the following 5 (number 2 and 1 being my personal favorites):

The DAPI

The world’s first Decentralized Application Programming Interface (API) will be the heart of all web and mobile Evolution wallets. It will allow users to send and receive payments by talking directly to the DASH masternode network — all without either the user or the wallet provider having to run his own node. All blockchains require increased bandwidth and get bigger — not smaller — over time, so the DAPI removes a considerable barrier to launching a new wallet service.

Elimination of Critical Third Parties

Most developers in the digital currency space are relying on third parties to make their product more usable. Dash Evolution will provide “login” credentials that can be used to access funds through any Evolution wallet’s DAPI.

Commerce within the Wallet

The Evolution wallet will feature an “app store” of sorts that lists DASH-accepting merchants, complete with reputation ratings (like Amazon) and the ability to initiate and complete a sale right from within the wallet. From invoice creation to optional mediated payments a DASH user won’t have to leave the wallet to find and buy any product.

DashPay app store (Source: Dash Evolution Preview)

Recurring Payments

If you think for a moment of how many of your bills are auto-debited from your bank balance each month, you’ll easily see the benefit of this feature. Evolution will be the world’s first digital currency to offer the “pull” payment method — a pre-authorization between you and a merchant who can deduct up to X amount of DASH from your account each month for services. So if it’s either Netflix, car insurance or your rent, the DASH Evolution wallet will allow for auto-debits.

Cryptographic Addresses swapped for easy readable usernames

You will be able to send money to anyone in your contact list, which means the long alphanumeric complex addresses will become a back-end operation which you won’t see. So simply speaking “1bs309ada35xR5cyGugdfoi90p” will be replaced by “Sally” in a way that DASH sent to the same username ends up on a new address, a principle of re-usable usernames used in BIP47 type of wallets. What this means is that you’ll be able to finally send DASH to one of your friends who has zero knowledge of Bitcoin.

Amanda also states that no Evolution provider will be storing anyone’s private keys. This means that your private keys will not be stored on any server or outside third party. You will be responsible for a seed recovery phrase, so you alone are responsible for securing it.

I would like to conclude my review with a statement made by DASH Core CEO, Ryan Taylor:

“Think of Evolution as online payments, a system similar to PayPal or Venmo, but completely decentralized, so that a user is always in control of his or her own money. Moreover, Evolution will be incredibly inexpensive, with no cross-border fees or restrictions.”

Evolution is a massive endeavor with gigantic promises, but we will accomplish our goals through the help of an All-Star team of dozens of the world’s best programmers, researchers, project managers, technologists and user experience experts, Taylor added. Let’s hope they’ll keep up to this promises. The stake is the highest possible — mass adoption of digital currencies.