What is Dash? In-depth Analysis of Dash & DASH token

I. What is Dash?

Dash is a cryptocurrency formed as a result of a Litecoin fork. These three cryptocurrencies are very similar because Litecoin is a Bitcoin fork. DASH is an acronym that combines the words “digital” and “cash.” In fact, cryptocurrency is essentially digital cash. Dash aspires to be a more advanced version of Bitcoin and Litecoin. It also aspires to be a successful medium through which people can conduct daily transactions.

Because Dash is open-source, anyone can get new updates and propose protocol changes if the majority of nodes agree. Dash, like other cryptocurrencies, is decentralized and does not have a centralized authority. Dash, on the other hand, is governed by the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).

II. History of Dash

Evan Duffield, the founder of Dash, began like many other cryptocurrency founders by studying and using Bitcoin. Duffield discovered Bitcoin in 2010 and was impressed by the technology. But after using it, he discovered a few fundamental issues that he felt were critical to address.

First, Bitcoin was not fast enough. Duffield discovered that verifying transactions took far too long, which slowed transaction times and frustrated users. Second, he felt the infrastructure required more privacy. The privacy provided by cryptocurrency is a major draw, and he discovered that privacy and anonymity are not synonymous (more on this a little later).

Dash, which used the Bitcoin code, was launched in 2014 after months of research and hard work. However, unlike Bitcoin, the new currency would have unique characteristics, some of which would make it more private. Nearly 1.9 million coins were mined in the first two days after its launch, accounting for roughly 10% of the total supply. Something was clearly wrong.

The bug was discovered, but there was still the issue of what to do with all of the coins mined in such a short period of time. Finally, Dash allowed the recipients to keep the coins, but the bug was fixed so that it would not happen again. Today, approximately 7.4 million Dash coins are in circulation, with the total number of coins in circulation expected to reach 18 million by the year 2300.

More recently, the coin’s name was changed from “Darkcoin” to Dash. The company was worried that people would associate the name “Darkcoin” with illegal activities, which was not the project’s intention. Duffield explained that:

“It became apparent that the Darkcoin branding was getting in our way, so in order to accomplish our greater mission, we decided rebranding was necessary.”

As a result, the name Darkcoin was changed to “Dash.” The revised name, a shortened form of “digital cash,” reflects Duffield’s original vision for the project.

III. Striking Features of Dash (DASH)

• First block mined at 11PM EST, 18th January 2014
• No premine
• X11 hashing algorithm, CPU/GPU/ASIC mining available
• 2.6 minute block time, 2MB blocks, ~56 transactions per second
• Block reward decreases by 7.14% per year
• Dark Gravity Wave difficulty adjustment algorithm
• Between 17.74M and 18.92M total coin supply
• Decentralized second-tier masternode network
• Superior privacy using CoinJoin
• Instant transactions using InstantSend
• Protection against blockchain reorganization events (commonly called 51% attacks) using ChainLocks
• Decentralized Governance By Blockchain allows masternode owners to vote on budget proposals and decisions that affect Dash

IV. Core Technology of Dash (DASH) 

1. Masternodes

In addition to traditional Proof of Work (PoW) rewards for mining Dash, users are also rewarded for running and maintaining special servers called masternodes. Thanks to this innovative two-tier network, Dash can offer innovative features in a trustless and decentralized way. Masternodes are used to power CoinJoin, InstantSend, and the governance and treasury system. Users are rewarded for running masternodes; a percentage of the block reward is allocated to pay the masternode network. The current percentage can be found in this table. You can view practical guides on all topics relating to masternodes here.

Masternode owners must have possession of 1000 DASH, which they prove by signing a message included in a special transaction written to the blockchain. The Dash can be moved or spent at any time, but doing so will cause the masternode to fall out of queue and stop earning rewards. Masternode users are also given voting rights on proposals. Each masternode has one vote and this vote can be used on budget proposals or important decisions that affect Dash.

Masternodes cost money and effort to host so they are paid a percentage of the block reward as an incentive. Because only one masternode is paid in each block, the frequency of the payment can vary, as well as the value of the Dash paid out. This tool shows a live calculation of masternode earnings. These rewards decrease by 7% each year, together with the block reward. There is also the possibility for masternodes to earn money from fees in the future.

2. CoinJoin

By reshuffling your Dash with other users, CoinJoin provides consumer-grade financial privacy. Dash in your wallet is made up of various inputs, which you can think of as separate, discrete coins. It employs a novel method to combine your inputs with the inputs of at least two other people in a single transaction, ensuring that the value in Dash never leaves your wallet. You always have complete control over your money.

3. InstantSend

Traditional decentralized cryptocurrencies must wait for a certain number of blocks to pass before a transaction is irreversible and not an attempt to double-spend money that has already been spent elsewhere. This is a time-consuming process that can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to accumulate the widely accepted number of six blocks. Other cryptocurrencies achieve faster transaction confirmation times by varying degrees of network centralization.

Dash is free of both of these constraints thanks to its second-layer network of masternodes. Masternodes form voting quorums on a regular basis to determine whether or not a submitted transaction is valid. If it is valid, the masternodes “lock” the transaction’s inputs and broadcast this information to the network, effectively promising that the transaction will be included in later mined blocks and prohibiting any other use of these inputs during the confirmation time period.

InstantSend technology will enable cryptocurrencies like Dash to compete with near-instantaneous transaction systems like credit cards at point-of-sale without relying on a centralized authority. Widespread vendor acceptance of Dash and InstantSend could revolutionize cryptocurrency by reducing transaction confirmation times from up to an hour (with Bitcoin) to a few seconds.

You can view a practical guide to using InstantSend here. InstantSend was introduced in a whitepaper called Transaction Locking and Masternode Consensus: A Mechanism for Mitigating Double Spending Attacks, and further improved through the introduction of LLMQ-based InstantSend in Dash 0.14.

4. ChainLocks

ChainLocks are a feature provided by the Dash Network which provides certainty when accepting payments. This technology, particularly when used in parallel with InstantSend, creates an environment in which payments can be accepted immediately and without the risk of “Blockchain Reorganization Events”.

Typically, the risk of blockchain reorganization is mitigated by requiring multiple “confirmations” before a transaction can be accepted as payment. This method of indirect security is effective, but it comes at the expense of time and user experience. ChainLocks provide a solution to this issue.

5. Sporks

In response to unexpected problems with the rollout of the major “RC3” update in June 2014, the Dash development team devised a mechanism for releasing updated code to the network but not immediately making it active (“enforced”). This advancement enables much smoother transitions than the traditional hard fork paradigm, as well as the collection of test data in the live network environment. This multi-phased forking process was originally dubbed “soft forking,” but the community affectionately dubbed it “the spork,” and the name stuck.

Before they are released to the main network, new Dash features or versions are thoroughly tested on the testnet. When a new Dash feature or version is released on mainnet, users are notified via email about the change and the need to update their clients. Those who update their clients run the new code, but it is not activated until a sufficient number of network participants (typically 80%) agree to run it. In the event that the new code contains errors, the client’s blocks are not rejected by the network, and unintended forks are avoided. The data pertaining to the error can then be. Once the development team is satisfied with the new code’s stability in the mainnet environment – and once acceptable network consensus is achieved – the updated code can be enforced remotely by multiple members of the core development team signing a network message with their respective private keys. If issues arise, the code can be deactivated in the same way, without requiring a network-wide rollback or client update. For technical details on individual sporks, see here.

6. X11 Hash Algorithm

Evan Duffield, a Dash core developer, invented the X11 hashing algorithm. For proof of work, X11’s chained hashing algorithm employs a series of eleven scientific hashing algorithms. This is done to ensure that the processing distribution is fair and that coins are distributed in the same way that Bitcoins were originally distributed. The goal of X11 was to make ASICs much more difficult to develop, giving the currency plenty of time to develop before mining centralization became a threat. This strategy was largely successful; as of early 2016, ASICs for X11 was available and accounted for a significant portion of the network Information on mining with X11 can be found in the Mining section of this documentation.

X11 is the name of the chained proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm that was introduced in Dash (launched in January 2014 as “Xcoin”). It was partially inspired by the chained-hashing approach of Quark, adding further “depth” and complexity by increasing the number of hashes, yet it differs from Quark in that the rounds of hashes are determined a priori instead of having some hashes being randomly picked.

The X11 algorithm uses multiple rounds of 11 different hashes (blake, bmw, groestl, jh, keccak, skein, luffa, cubehash, shavite, simd, echo), thus making it one of the safest and more sophisticated cryptographic hashes in use by modern cryptocurrencies. The name X11 is not related to the open-source X11 windowing system common on UNIX-like operating systems.

7. Dark Gravity Wave

DGW, or Dark Gravity Wave, is an open-source difficulty-adjusting algorithm for Bitcoin-based cryptocurrencies that was first implemented in Dash and has since been adopted by other digital currencies. Evan Duffield, the developer, and creator of Dash, created DGW in response to a time-warp exploit discovered in Kimoto’s Gravity Well. DGW, like the Kimoto Gravity Well, adjusts the difficulty levels for each block (rather than every 2016 block like Bitcoin) based on statistical data from recently discovered blocks. This allows you to issue blocks with relatively consistent times even if the hashing power fluctuates a lot, without falling victim to the time-warp exploit.

• Version 2.0 of DGW was implemented in Dash from block 45,000 onwards in order to completely alleviate the time-warp exploit.
• Version 3.0 was implemented on May 14 of 2014 to further improve the difficulty of re-targeting with smoother transitions. It also fixes issues with various architectures that had different levels of floating-point accuracy through the use of integers.

8. Emission Rate

Cryptocurrencies such as Dash and Bitcoin are created through a cryptographically difficult process known as mining. Mining involves repeatedly solving hash algorithms until a valid solution for the current mining difficulty is discovered. Once discovered, the miner is permitted to create new units of the currency. This is known as the block reward. To ensure that the currency is not subject to endless inflation, the block reward is reduced at regular intervals, as shown in this calculation. Graphing this data results in a curve showing the total coins in circulation, known as the coin emission rate.

While Dash is based on Bitcoin, it modifies the coin emission rate significantly to provide a smoother reduction in coin emission over time. While Bitcoin reduces coin emission by half every four years, Dash reduces emission by one-fourth (approximately 7.14%) every 210240 blocks (approx. 383.25 days). It can be seen that decreasing the block reward by a smaller amount each year provides a more seamless transition to a fee-based economy than Bitcoin.

9. Decentralized Governance

Dash’s attempt to solve two major issues in cryptocurrency, governance, and funding, is known as Decentralized Governance by Blockchain, or DGBB. Governance is difficult in a decentralized project because there are no central authorities to make decisions for the project. Dash’s Decentralized Autonomous Organization makes such decisions (DAO). The DAO allows each masternode to vote on each proposal once (yes/no/abstain). If a proposal is approved, it will be implemented (or not) by Dash’s developers. A key example is when Dash’s Core Team asked the network in early 2016 whether the blocksize should be increased to 2 MB. Within 24 hours, the agreement was reached to approve this change. Compare this to Bitcoin, where debate on the blocksize has been raging for nearly three years.

DAO also provides a means for Dash to fund its own development. While other projects have to depend on donations or premined endowments, Dash uses 10% of the block reward to fund its own development. Every time a block is mined, 90% of the reward is split between the miner and a masternode per the distribution found here, while the remaining 10% is not created until the end of the month. During the month, anybody can make a budget proposal to the network. If that proposal receives net approval of at least 10% of the masternode network, then at the end of the month a series of “superblocks” will be created. At that time, the block rewards that were not paid out (10% of each block) will be used to fund approved proposals. The network thus funds itself by reserving 10% of the block reward for budget projects.

You can read more about Dash governance in the Governance section of this documentation.

10. Sentinel

Sentinel is an autonomous agent introduced in Dash 0.12.1 for persisting, processing, and automating Dash governance objects and tasks. Sentinel is implemented as a Python application that connects to a Dash masternode’s local version dashd instance.

A Governance Object (or “govObject”) is a generic structure introduced in Dash 0.12.1 that allows Budget Proposals and Triggers to be created. To replace the current Dash budget system, class inheritance has been used to extend this generic object into a “Proposal” object.

11. Evolution

Dash Evolution is the codename for a decentralized platform based on the Dash blockchain. The goal is to simplify access to Dash’s unique features and benefits in order to aid in the development of decentralized technology. Dash introduces a tiered network design that allows users to perform various network tasks, as well as decentralized API access and a decentralized file system.

Dash Evolution will be released in stages. Dash Core releases 0.12.1 through to 0.12.3 lay the groundwork for the decentralized features behind the scenes. Version 0.13 introduces the foundation of Evolution, specifically DIP2 Special Transactions and DIP3 Deterministic Masternode Lists. Version 0.14 establishes DIP6 Long Living Masternode Quorums. Expected in late 2019, Dash Core 1.0 will introduce key Evolution features such as username-based payments, the world’s first decentralized API (DAPI), and a decentralized data storage system (Drive) based on IPFS.

Included below is our current work on Evolution, which adds many components such as:

• Drive: A decentralized shared file system for user data that lives on the second-tier network.
• DAPI: A decentralized API that allows third-tier users to access the network securely.
• DashPay Decentralized Wallets: These wallets are light clients connected to the network via DAPI and run on various platforms.
• Second Tier: The masternode network, which provides compensated infrastructure for the project.
• Budgets: The second tier is given voting power to allocate funds for specific projects on the network via the budget system.
• Governance: The second tier is given voting power to govern the currency and chart the course the currency takes.
• Deterministic Masternode Lists: This feature introduces an on-chain masternode list, which can be used to calculate past and present quorums.
• Social Wallet: We introduce a social wallet, which allows friends lists, the grouping of users, and shared multi-sig accounts.

V. What is DASH token?

1. Detailed Information about DASH

Dash is a cryptocurrency that operates on a decentralized peer-to-peer network. It, like many digital currencies, is intended to allow for quick, easy, and affordable online payments without going through the traditional financial system.

2. DASH Allocation

Dash uses a block reward system to incentivize miners, masternodes, and protocol development.

• 45% of the block reward goes to the miner who finds the next valid block.
• 45% goes to the masternode network.
• 10% is reserved in a pool for future protocol development. During each month, proposals are submitted to the network for voting. Masternodes will vote on the proposals, and at the end of the month, successful ones will receive the requested payout from the pooled funds. Masternodes also receive payments from the network for PrivateSend and InstantSend transactions. This 10% budget reward is distributed via superblocks, which appear every 16,616 blocks (approximately 30.29 days). The part of the treasury budget that is not used to fund winning proposals is burned.

Every 210,240 blocks (approximately one year), block rewards are reduced by 7.14%. Miners and Masternodes are currently paid 1.45 Dash per block. The next block reward decrease is scheduled for May 2021. The supply is limited to 18,900,000 DASH.

3. DASH Token Metrics

• Marketcap: $485,651,801
• 24h Trading Volume: $121,215,710
• Initial Token Price: $2.00
• 24h High: $47.17
• Circulating Supply: 10,995,244.2242429
• Total Supply: 18,920,000
• 24h Low: $42.20

VI. How to earn & own DASH token?

Crypto users can purchase Dash coins on any trading platform that trades cryptocurrency. You can buy Dash on many of the top cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. 

VII. Which Crypto Wallets are suitable for DASH?

Here is the list of popular and best DASH wallets:

1. Ledger Nano S
2. Coinomi
3. Exodus
4. Trezor
5. DASH Core
6. Jaxx
7. Dash Wallet
8. MyDashWallet
9. KeepKey
10. Atomic Wallet

VIII. DASH Recent Developments

Dash 2 Trade recently passed the $4 million mark in its second stage of presale. The token is now on its way to another milestone: $5 million raised.

D2T, the native token of the Dash 2 Trade crypto trading platform, raised more than $3.5 million in less than three weeks of the presale. The D2T token raised $500,000 in the first 24 hours of the presale and then crossed $2 million in five days.

As of now, the token has raised $4,142,466 of the $5,166,000 target for this presale stage.

There are only 20,470,680 D2T left until the D2T price rises to 1 D2T for 0.0513 USDT. Despite the fact that this is difficult to predict, experts believe the D2T token has a high potential to bring investors large profits. And it appears that the crypto exchanges agree, as D2T confirmed the first listings following the end of the presale. Dash 2 Trade confirmed the token’s listing on LBank Exchange on November 2. More information will be released in the coming weeks. Dash 2 Trade also hosts a giveaway in which one lucky D2T owner can win a token worth $150,000.

IX. Teams and Funds of Dash (DASH)

1. Team

2. Investment Funds

X. Where is Dash (DASH) information to be updated?

Currently, Crypto users can fully consult, research, and analyze information about Dash through famous media newspapers such as Nasdaq, AP News, Bybit, CoinTelegraph, Coindesk, Kraken…

These media are constantly updated with useful information, new activities, outstanding events of Dash, and all the topics surrounding it. Accordingly, Meta Lion Ventures continuously updates the topic of outstanding projects in Blockchain and hot events organized between Meta Lion & partners.

XI. FAQs about Dash (DASH)

• What is Dash 2 Trade?

Dash 2 Trade is a cryptocurrency trading and social platform that aspires to be a cryptocurrency version of Bloomberg. The platform’s primary goal is to facilitate trading and assist investors in making wise and informed decisions.

• What is the Total Supply of Dash coin?

There is more than 10.18 million Dash in circulation as of July 2021, with a maximum supply of between 17.74 million and 18.92 million. Unlike Bitcoin, where miners receive the entire reward, about 10% of the reward for mining Dash coin goes towards budget proposals for the Dash project’s development.

• How does Dash work?

Dash is similar to Bitcoin, but it employs a two-tier network structure for greater efficiency. The first tier of the system is a proof-of-work system in which mining devices solve complex mathematical problems. When a miner discovers the correct solution, they can add a new transaction block to Dash’s blockchain.

Dash masternodes are the second tier. A masternode can be run by anyone who can prove ownership of 1,000 Dash. These masternodes are in charge of Dash’s InstantSend and CoinJoin features, as well as voting on governance and funding proposals. Every time a new block of transactions is added to the Dash blockchain, rewards are generated. The rewards are divided into three categories:

• 45% to miners
• 45% to masternodes
• 10% to Dash’s governance budget

• How is Dash different from Bitcoin?

The primary distinction between Dash and Bitcoin is the algorithm used to mine coins in each technology. Dash employs the X11 algorithm, which is a variant of the proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm. It also employs CoinJoin mixing to scramble transactions and provide privacy on its blockchain. A proof of work (PoW) algorithm is used by Bitcoin.

Conclusion

There is a lot to say about Dash, including its background, contentious history, system, historical price patterns, and predicted future value. All of these factors point to the conclusion that DASH has a lot of potentials, whether it’s because of the ultimate privacy it provides or the likelihood that it will surpass its all-time high at the end of 2017’s infamous crypto bull run. Overall, the future of DASH appears to be bright.