InstantSend

On average, it takes about 10 minutes for a Bitcoin transaction to get confirmed. On the other hand, it only takes a few seconds for a transaction using Visa or Mastercard. That’s a huge difference, right?

This has raised many questions on the scalability and mass adoption of Bitcoin. Dash solves this problem by providing a special service called “InstantSend”. Using InstantSend, Dash transactions are almost instantly confirmed by the Masternode network.

There is an extra cost for the InstantSend service over a normal Dash transaction. A normal Dash transaction gets cleared in about 2.5 minutes, which is still an improvement over Bitcoin.

But who wants to wait for 2.5 minutes at a grocery store just to make a payment? No one. So, by paying a small fee, you can ask Masternodes to clear your transaction within a few seconds.

These 3 useful features provide tremendous benefit to the Dash cryptocurrency over many others like Bitcoin and Litecoin. In addition to these features, there is one more thing that differentiates it from others.

Self-Governing and Self-Funding Protocol

In Bitcoin, when a block gets mined, 100% of the reward goes to the miner(s). However, with Dash, 10% of all the mining rewards go back to Dash.

It basically gets added to the budget which is then used to fund the growth and advancement of the Dash crypto. This means that Dash cryptocurrency can fund its own growth and adoption.

So, who decides the usage of this fund? Again, it is done in a democratic manner in which the Dash network participants vote on the various proposals as described on dash.org.

As you can see, everyone in the Dash cryptocurrency community gets a chance to voice their opinion and contribute towards the development. This is very important, because blockchain is a modern technology that requires continuous development before it becomes mainstream.

As you can see, Dash cryptocurrency offers many improvements, both technically and in terms of its business model. This is the reason why it is one of the top cryptocurrencies.

Now that you know what Dash is and the benefits it has, let’s go ahead and see how a Dash transaction actually works.

How do Transactions Work?

Let’s imagine you already own a Dash (have bought it from, say, Binance) cryptocurrency and you have stored it in your Dash wallet. Firstly, here are two important things that you need to know about your Dash wallet.

1. Public Address: Think of this as your bank account number. This is randomly generated with a combination of letters and numbers which you can share with anyone who wants to send your payment.
2. Private Key: Think of this as your ATM pin number which you wouldn’t share with anyone. It is also a random sequence of characters that you need to access your Dash wallet to make a transaction.

So, suppose you want to send 1 Dash to your friend Kate. You would have to go through the following steps to make this transaction happen.

• You would send 1 Dash coin to Kate’s public address by signing in to your wallet with your private key.
• Dash miners will add your transaction into A block is basically a group of Dash cryptocurrency transactions happening in a similar timeframe.
• If you chose the InstantSend service than your transaction will be instantly confirmed by the Masternode. Otherwise, it will be confirmed by a normal miner in around 2-3 minutes.
• Once that is done, the rest of the miners on the network will be told about it. They will double-check the results from the miner that verified the transaction to make sure there are no mistakes and that the transaction is valid.
• 1 Dash coin will then get transferred from you to Kate.

This is how a transaction on the Dash network works. Simple!

How to Purchase Dash?

Now that you know how Dash transactions work, you should also be aware of how to get yourself some Dash coins, too.

The process of purchasing Dash coins is actually very simple, especially when compared to some other, less-known and less-available cryptocurrencies out there. All that you need to do to purchase Dash is to register on Coinbase (or any other high-end cryptocurrency exchange out there), verify your identity, and purchase it via your desired payment method of choice!

If you want to purchase Dash via a credit or debit card, you can also do so via Simplex - they provide super-fast and secure services.

Storing your newly-acquired Dash coins is also very straightforward. You'd be able to do so on a hardware wallet, such as Ledger or Trezor.

Before purchasing Dash or any other cryptocurrency, it is important to understand it’s future potential. After all, you are investing your hard-earned money in a very unpredictable market.

So, let’s have a look at what the future looks like for Dash!

Potential of DASH

Dash has performed extremely well during 2017. If you had invested $10 at the beginning of 2017, it would have grown to around $1500 in December. That’s a growth of about 14,900% in under a year! Crazy, right?

It has been one of the favored cryptocurrencies, even by the experts. Roger Ver, who is often referred to as the “Jesus” of cryptocurrencies has even shown support for Dash.

I did my first @Dashpay payment yesterday. I moved $100K for ~0.3 cents, and was confirmed in the next block. Bitcoin used to work that well

— Roger Ver (@rogerkver) March 2, 2017

One of the main reasons why the cryptocurrency Dash has become so popular is because it is solving two of Bitcoin’s major problems — lack of privacy and slow transaction speeds.

Following are a few of the reasons why Dash is fundamentally a strong cryptocurrency:

• As mentioned earlier, its improvements on speed and privacy is a major advantage over Bitcoin.
• As an investor, it is important that a project makes continuous improvements in the technology of the cryptocurrency. Fortunately, the Dash cryptocurrency is a self-governing and self-funding system.

You can expect it to continually improve on its technology and grow its user base, both of which are very important for the future of Dash.

• According to , the average transaction fee for Dash is between $0.2 - $0.3, whereas it is in the range of $2 - $5 for Bitcoin. It is much cheaper to transact using Dash coin when compared to Bitcoin.

There are also many other things which favor Dash coin, but you need to watch out for some of the factors which can block its growth too:

• Critics of Dash cryptocurrency say that it’s not truly decentralized, because a lot of important functions are carried out by Masternodes. If someone controlled a majority of the Masternodes then they could potentially control the Dash network as well.

While this is difficult, it is not impossible.

• It is also facing stiff competition from other privacy coins like Monero and ZCash. It is said that the privacy provided by Monero is better than that of Dash. So, it is important to keep track of the competition if you do decide to invest.
• Due to the private nature of Dash, it is more likely to come under the scanner of the regulators. This is because illegal traders may prefer the cryptocurrency Dash because of the anonymity it provides. More on this later!

These are some of the challenges that Dash faces which you need to be aware of before you invest in it.

Another important aspect that you need to consider (not just for Dash, but for every cryptocurrency) is security.

Is DASH Secure?

Dash cryptocurrency, like other cryptocurrencies, offers a secure way to transact without the need of any third-party intermediary.

For example, if you make a payment through your Visa credit card then Visa makes sure that the transaction is completed in a secure manner. It also records all transactions for future reference.

Unfortunately, if the security of Visa or other such intermediaries gets breached, then all of its users are at a risk. In fact, there have been many incidences lately where hackers have attacked banks and financial institutions, resulting in loss of wealth for the account holders.

Dash cryptocurrency, which is built over blockchain technology, offers a secure option by making this process decentralized. Rather than relying on a centralized entity like a bank, Dash transactions are confirmed by 4,943 servers hosted around the world.

So, Dash can be considered secure, unless a bug gets created in the technology itself, similar to what happened during the launch of Dash. This is often referred to as “Instamine controversy”.

When Dash launched, 2 million Dash were mined within 48 hours of the launch. If you recall, only 18 million Dash can ever be mined. One of the biggest beneficiaries of this bug was the creator of Dash.

Since then, Dash hasn’t faced any other security issues, but it does raise a doubt in the mind of investors.

However, I would still say that Dash is as safe as any other top cryptocurrency.

So, you now know have the answer to “what is Dash?”, you also know how Dash can be used and how secure it is. Let’s now look at how it can be misused, too.

How Can the DASH Cryptocurrency be Abused?

Because Dash cryptocurrency transactions are anonymous and untraceable, it has become a preferred coin for illegal trades. Many darknet market sites, such as Alphabey, have started accepting coins that provide anonymity to its users.

Also, it becomes easier to evade taxes if the government doesn’t know who is performing each transaction.

With privacy coins like Dash, you can choose to “not declare” the income you make from your investment, and it becomes difficult for the IRS to track you down. So, it has attracted the attention of users who try to use it for tax evasion or other illegal activities.

When Bitcoin first became popular, a lot of people had the misconception that it provides complete anonymity. As time passed, it became clear that Bitcoin is far from being a privacy coin. So, the attention has now shifted to privacy coins such as Dash and Monero.

While it is true that the Dash cryptocurrency can be misused, criminals form only a small percentage of the total number of users. As you can see, Dash is popular because it offers many advantages over fiat currencies as well as other cryptocurrencies, not just because of its criminal use cases.

Conclusions

So, now you know why the Dash cryptocurrency is called a privacy coin and what other benefits it offers over Bitcoin. You have a fair idea of how Dash transactions works and how secure it is.

Undoubtedly, Dash uses unique and strong technology, which has given it an edge over many cryptocurrencies. With that being said, there are also negative things that you need to watch out for. One of those being the fact that it can be abused by criminals, making it a potential target for regulators.

In this guide, you have also learned the past performance of Dash and what the future looks like. It provided its early investors with tremendous returns of more than 14000% in 2017.

Out of the 18.9 million DASH that will ever exist, 8,009,502 DASH is already in circulation. In order to own DASH, you can either buy them or mine them.

If you choose the buying route, there are two ways to go about it:

1. Registering on Coinbase or any other legitimate crypto exchange;
2. Verifying your identity, if needed;
3. Purchasing Dash.

OR:

1. Entering the amount of Dash coins that you'd like to purchase via Simplex;
2. Going through all of the required fields and checks;
3. Purchasing Dash via a credit or debit card, in a fast and secure way!

Do also remember that storing Dash coins is super-simple, especially if you take the hardware wallet route.

So, what do you think about Dash? Is it better than Bitcoin? Will you invest in Dash?

Let us know, we would love to hear your thoughts!

The content published on this website is not aimed to give any kind of financial, investment, trading, or any other form of advice. BitDegree.org does not endorse or suggest you to buy, sell or hold any kind of cryptocurrency. Before making financial investment decisions, do consult your financial advisor.

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