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Dash is a project that aims to create a cryptocurrency with the same properties as cash money. To do this, Dash uses different mechanisms to aim to make its transactions confidential, instant, and free of charge. This cryptocurrency is one of the oldest projects and has managed to stay alive despite the years and innovations in the industry. With its hybrid consensus system mixing Proof of Work and Masternodes, Dash is a project worth considering. Here is my opinion on Dash.

The Dash project in brief

The Dash project was launched in 2012 by Evans Duffield , after two years of development, the cryptocurrency was revealed to the world on January 18, 2014 under the name of Darkcoin. Like most cryptocurrencies at the time, Darkcoin was based on a modified version of Bitcoin code . Originally, its creator wanted to implement privacy features on Bitcoin, but changing the protocol in such a way seemed to him impossible. The main changes were to add a missing layer of anonymity to the BTC.

The private aspect of its transactions has earned it the reputation of being a currency intended for illicit purposes, in particular because of its original name of Darkcoin.

In 2015, the name of the Darkcoin cryptocurrency was changed to Dash, a contraction of the words “Digital” and “Cash”. It is at about the same time that the management of the protocol is transferred to a DAO ( decentralized autonomous organization) allowing governance and decentralized budget management.

Goals

Unlike the various blockchains integrating smart contracts and other complex mechanisms that appear today, Dash's sole ambition is to be a currency. To do this, it tries to answer the three fundamental points that characterize cash: instantaneity, confidentiality and the virtual absence of fees.

Dash cryptocurrency revolves around two key concepts. PrivateSend which allows the sending of confidential transactions using a process derived from CoinJoin and InstantSend which allows the sending of instant transactions, not requiring 20 minutes to be confirmed, as is the case on Bitcoin.

Product

As previously explained, the main products offered by Dash are PrivateSend and InstantSend .

PrivateSend

PrivateSend is a method without a trusted intermediary, which allows transactions to be executed so that an external observer is unable to determine the source of the transaction . To do this, the protocol uses a modified version of Coinjoin, which makes it possible to aggregate different transactions within a single one.

InstantSend

InstantSend is a method that allows instant sending of Dash to anyone around the world . Thus, a transaction using InstantSend will be marked with a flag to make it identifiable by validators. A quorum of 10 validators ( in this case, masternodes ) will then analyze the transaction and if the majority of them determines that it has at least 6 confirmations, then allowing it to be validated.

It is important to note that this type of transaction involves more costs than conventional network transactions.

Consensus protocol

The consensus protocol is one of the points that differentiates Dash from many other blockchain projects. Unlike Bitcoin, which uses the classic Proof of Work, the Dash protocol uses two levels of consensus .

At the first level, a most classic Proof of Work, using the proprietary X11 algorithm, 30% less energy consuming than that of Litecoin. The miners of the network are responsible for creating the new blocks as well as securing the chain. As a reward for their participation, they receive 45% of the block reward .

At the second level, we find a network of MasterNodes operated by a community of experienced users. These network nodes hold a full copy of the blockchain, ensuring a second level of network security. These MasterNodes are responsible for processing specific transactions from the InstantSend and PrivateSend methods. They are still the ones who collect the remaining 55% of block rewards.

In order to operate a node, users must sequester 1,000 DASH. This contribution is necessary to protect the network against so-called Sybil attacks , which consist in creating a maximum of false accounts on the network in order to become a “majority user” and therefore able to influence the network.

Pros and Cons of Dash

The benefits of Dash

• Dash allows the sending of confidential transactions , through PrivateSend.
• It allows the sending of instant transactions , through InstantSend.
• Project focused on simplicity , few promises are made, but all are kept.
• Very low fees , each Dash transaction involves only a very limited amount of fees.

The disadvantages of Dash

• Is only intended for a few programming languages , with C ++ and Go.
• Relative gray areas concerning a large majority of masternodes operated by the project development team .
• A solid but relatively limited community compared to the other two behemoths of the ecosystem , which are Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Dash project has managed to stay in the top of cryptocurrencies since its launch and it is indeed one of the most mature projects in the ecosystem. It responds to various problems encountered by cryptocurrencies in the early days, such as anonymity and the speed of transactions.

every word in this post is mine except the picture. I have also published this post somewhere else. Thank you for reading.

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