What is Dash & How Does it Work? - DASH for Beginners

Why Was Dash Invented?

Dash was initially launched in 2014 as “Darkcoin,” with a focus on user anonymity and privacy. Although the cryptocurrency still has robust encryption, the primary objective of the project has gone through readjustment. It was renamed with the aim to provide an affordable and convenient means to make day-to-day payments for a wide range of products and services. The currency wanted to be a highly practical alternative to bank cards and hard cash.

It also provides a robust solution for international remittances, especially in countries where financial freedom is limited due to a lack of access and technical hurdles. It delivers complete freedom and control to the user so they can send or receive money anywhere, to anyone in the world. They don’t have to deal with the paperwork, complexities of exchange rates, week-long delays, and hidden commissions and charges that add to the financial burden.

How Does Dash Work and What Technology Is Behind It?

Like Bitcoin, Dash also relies on miners to validate transactions in return, of which they are rewarded with the blockchain token. However, it has made some adjustments to the system by adding the concept of Masternode. Miners can acquire the status of a Masternode by depositing a minimum of 1000 DASH. This gives them the special status to carry out critical operations on the network. For instance, they are tasked with processing Instant Transactions (InstantSend) and Private Transactions (PrivateSend) along with overseeing blockchain’s overall governance and treasury.

The presence of Masternodes doesn’t only enhance the security of the network but ensures quick speed of transactions. Since this requires additional effort and resources, Masternodes are adequately rewarded for the support they provide. 45% of the rewards go to all miners, while Masternodes receive 45%. 10% of coins are allocated for funding future network projects and improvements. 

In order to send and receive funds, the cryptocurrency uses a similar protocol of public and private keys. This unique way of handling transactions doesn’t only allow it to process and verify transactions at a rapid pace but also ensures the miners who are putting in the excessive effort don’t leave the platform by rewarding them adequately.

Is Dash Real Money?

DASH is one of the widely accepted digital coins, as you can spend in more than 5,000 retail and online locations. Whether you are looking to purchase airline tickets or buy something as simple as next week’s grocery, it makes digital payments instant and affordable. 

Some of the places where you can use it to pay for products and services include eGifter, Bitrefill, Church’s Chicken Venezuela, NordVPN, Mobile TopUp, and more. Not only that, but the cryptocurrency makes it super easy to buy tokens from a variety of websites.

That being said, it still isn’t as ubiquitous as conventional cash. There are millions of locations that don’t accept the currency despite impressive growth in partnerships. That’s why we can’t regard it as a complete replacement of cash, although the trajectory that the currency is following may turn it into a close competitor in the near future.

Fees & Expenses

At the time of writing this article, the average transaction cost was a mere $0.0023 per transaction. It means that your wallet doesn’t take a substantial hit whenever you purchase DASH. As compared to the previous year, when the average transaction price was hovering anywhere between $0.1 and $0.2, this is an exceptional reduction. The highest point for the transaction cost was in mid-February of 2018 when the price almost hit the $1.6 mark.

You should keep in mind that while the average transaction fee is negligible, it could be higher when there is more traffic on its network. Moreover, there are charges and commissions imposed by cryptocurrency exchanges, which may drive the spending price a bit higher. These additional charges depend on multiple factors like your country of residence, payment mode, and the number of tokens you are buying.

What Are the Benefits of Dash?

Apart from decentralisation and other benefits offered by a blockchain-based cryptocurrency, it brings a host of unique advantages.

Full Acceptance as a Currency

More than 4,800 merchants accept it as a viable digital currency that allows users to purchase products and services anywhere in the world.

Low Fees

The average transaction fee is even less than a cent, which means consumers don’t have to pay heavily for using the convenience and efficiency of digital currency.

Easily Available

You can buy DASH easily on any cryptocurrency exchange online, and it’s easy to receive from friends and family. You can also get it from an ATM near your location.

Mobile Applications

To bring additional convenience and features, it offers a mobile app for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. You can do much more with the application.

Everyday Use

From paying your loved ones to buying groceries to dining in your favourite restaurant, it has been created for the average consumer who can use it on a day-to-day basis.

Swift Transactions

Unlike Bitcoin, which can take up to minutes to process transactions, the network validates your transaction in a mere second, making shopping quick and easy.

Great for Businesses

Apart from consumers, it also provides multiple benefits to businesses, including access to new markets and customers, instant settlements, and zero chargebacks.

Can It Be Used Anonymously?

There is no straight answer since what typically gets referenced a great deal on the internet as one of the essential blockchain’s advantages is client anonymity. Keeping in mind that there’s some reality to it has progressively gotten more and more challenging to keep up total anonymity when using Dash or some other digital currency. 

Although there are various privacy and anonymous focused features offered by the cryptocurrency, they’re no longer the primary concern of the project. Moreover, compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) laws make it even more difficult.

Then again, regardless of the considerable number of features to maintain anonymity, you can generally be followed through the digital impression, particularly on the grounds that it’s challenging to change or delete the information that has been composed on the blockchain. 

Regardless of whether you haven’t shared your name or other individual subtleties, meta information and other relevant data can give your personality. This is the reason cash remains the most anonymous method of making payments even today.

How Safe Is It?

According to the project team, Dash is now more secure than Bitcoin, thanks to its new consensus protocol, which ensures instant transactions by default. Moreover, cryptographical encryption and privacy-centric features of the original Darkcoin are still there to ensure data privacy is maintained. It’s not absolute in any sense, but it’s more than good to prevent any loss of personal data or funds.

What Teams Are Working on Development

The project is operated by Dash Core Group, which receives direct investment from the blockchain if approved by the network. Since it is an open-source project, anyone can join and contribute to the code repository according to their skill set and project requirements. Current repositories that different teams are working on include Dash Core, iOS Wallet, Android Wallet, Dash SDK, DPP, Drive, DAPI, Wallet-lib, Dash core-lib, network-deploy, test-suite, and mn-bootstrap. Another project is the Dash Platform, which will be used to build and host decentralised applications.

The Core Group is headed by Ryan Taylor, who is the CEO, while Bob Carrol and Glenn Austin are acting Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), respectively. Robert Wiecko is the Chief Operating Officer (COO), while Fernando Guiterrez is serving as CMO of the group. Other team members include Philipp Engelhorn, Holger Schinzel, Udjinm6, Alexander Block, Pasta, Dustinface, Alex Werner, Ivan Shumkov, Anton Suprunchuk, Kostya Shuplenkov, Cofresi and more. You can see the complete list of developers on the official website.

Which Financial Institutions Are Invested in Dash?

As the cryptocurrency is attempting to replace cash and conventional debit cards with a faster and more affordable alternative, no financial institution has directly invested in the blockchain or its token project. However, many banks are investing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to find a solution that revolutionises their underlying network. On the other hand, it has been able to forge reliable partnerships with more than 4,800 merchants, retailers, service providers, and businesses to enable users to make purchases from anywhere they want. These partnerships are growing in number day by day and while it still isn’t a cash replacement, it may come close to giving stiff competition to conventional legal tenders.

Some of the big players in the financial sector that have financially and strategically invested in blockchain technology include Santander, Standard Chartered, SBI Group, Microsoft, CME Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, Accenture, and more.

Dash Mining

On Dash blockchain, users can mine Dash tokens by finding solutions to challenging mathematical and cryptographical problems created by the X11 hashing algorithm. This method of mining is known as Proof of Work (PoW) protocol. The mining that occurs on its network requires low power and ensures adequate distribution of rewards amongst miners. Currently, cryptocurrency mining is a challenging profession since there are extremely powerful ASIC server farms that are trying 24/7 to secure the network.

Dash Wallet

If you are looking to protect your tokens against cyber-attacks, there is no better alternative than using a software or hardware wallet. Some of the wallets recommended include:

• Desktop Wallets

Dash Core, Dash Electrum, Exodus, Guarda, Jaxx Liberty, Coinomi

• Mobile Wallets

Dash Anrdoid, Edge, Coinomi, Jaxx Liberty, Dash Electrum, Abra, Spend, Exodus, Bitnovo

• Hardware Wallets

Trezor, Ledger, KeepKey, SafePal, Ellpal Titan, Cobo Vault

Is Dash Worth the Investment?

Dash has a clearly defined singular vision, which has earned the blockchain and its cryptocurrency a lot of early success. They have already partnered with more than 4,800 merchants and service providers all over the world and provide quick and affordable payment services to hundreds of thousands of users globally. Having said that, cryptocurrency prices, including the price of Dash, are often not reflective of the project’s success, and they can increase or decrease rapidly in an unpredictable manner.

This means that you need to be careful with your investments and only put in money you can afford to lose. Moreover, keep an eye on the new developments as well as experts’ advice to ensure you’re making the right decision to trade Dash at the right time. Investing in Dash is a high-risk, high reward investment, and you need to ensure you aren’t on the losing side.