Cointelegraph Report: Why are Crypto Funds Investing in Dash? 2022
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Cointelegraph 2022 Report: Why are Crypto Funds Investing in Dash?
Authors, Contributors,
and Report Partners
Data Providers Contributors
REKT CAPITAL
Funds Invested in Dash That Opted to Be Mentioned in the Report
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 2
Highlights
8 Out of the 2000 funds surveyed by 8 Dash’s average transaction fee in 2021 was
Cointelegraph Research regarding their $0.005 compared to Ethereum’s $21.9 and
investment allocation to Dash, 200 Bitcoin’s $10.3.
responded. Out of the respondents, 19
8 Dash can theoretically reach about 56
funds hold Dash, and over 40 funds plan to
transactions per second, more than 4.8
invest in Dash in the next 12 months. 70% of
million transactions per day. In practice, the
respondents requested to receive the final
highest number of Dash transactions in a
results of this investment thesis report.
single day was over 3 million in November
8 Dash’s price in 2021 (51.36%) outperformed 2018, when a stress test was performed on
Bitcoin’s (45.76%). the network. This was a new all-time-high
record for a Bitcoin-based blockchain.
8 If a whale bought $1 million worth of Dash on
Kraken with a market order, the price would 8 A research paper titled Block Propagation
shoot to $378 per Dash, but if the whale Applied to Nakamoto Networks, published by
was savvy and used a smart order routing the blockchain research laboratory at Arizona
software like CoinRoutes, the price would only State University (ASU) concluded that the Dash
go up approximately $3 in the current market. network can scale on-chain to over half of
A $10 million investment would send Dash to PayPal’s current transaction levels with ease.
above $4000 in price even if using software
8 Q4 of 2022 will mark an important milestone
like CoinRoutes to break up the trade into
in Dash’s evolution. With the mainnet launch
thousands of little trades on different order
of Dash Platform, developers and users will be
books. This is because there is only around
able to embrace the benefits of decentralized
58,000 Dash in all of the order books on all
applications.
exchanges right now.
8 The Valkyrie Dash Trust is Dash’s first
8 Dash launched five years after Bitcoin in 2014
investment trust and enables investors to gain
and outperformed Bitcoin in four out of the
exposure to Dash without having to worry
seven years (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017).
about custody and security.
8 Dash solves the scaling problem while
8 The best execution price for people interested
remaining decentralized by combining the
in buying Dash on exchanges was Coinbase
proof-of-work and proof-of-stake consensus
Pro and Binance US in 2021.
mechanisms.
ROI Since Inception:
44,291.76%
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 3
Dear Partners,
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Investors and Friends,
Cointelegraph Research proudly presents the first investment thesis report
written on the legacy cryptocurrency Dash. To gain a deeper understanding of
how investors feel about Dash, an original survey of over 2,000 crypto funds was
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conducted during 2021. This 80-page report written by five authors across the
globe showcases which funds currently hold Dash and the number of funds that
plan to invest in Dash during the next year.
This report delves into the unique features of Dash that continue to deliver
a value-driven growth story. Dash has set itself apart from Bitcoin and other
blockchains by becoming one of the most prominent digital currencies that
focuses on payments, i.e., becoming digital cash.
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True to its promise of providing instant transactions and micro-fees, Dash is now
accepted by merchants across the world that embrace Dash’s speed and low
transaction fees.
But is Dash only digital cash, or are there use cases beyond payments?
This report explores how the Dash protocol’s unique design provides security
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benefits for its users and provides a deep analysis of the tokenomics and value
proposition. We highlight how investors can engage with Dash’s success story and
what future possibilities for users and developers will arise from innovations that
Dash will launch in the near future. The launch of Dash Platform will provide a new
ecosystem that features decentralized applications and data storage. Bearing in
mind these significant changes, Dash has the potential to evolve from digital cash
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to a fully decentralized ecosystem adding to the value of Dash as a cryptocurrency
and blockchain project. Besides a more in-depth financial and technical analysis
of Dash, we also provide an overview of important regulatory developments for
cryptocurrencies and Dash in particular.
Please enjoy reading Cointelegraph Research’s analysis of Dash. This report
greatly benefited from the insights provided by Dash Marketing and Business
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Development Manager Mark Mason and the technical analysis provided by Rekt
Capital. We also want to give a big thanks to the over 200 cryptocurrency funds
that responded to our survey.
Cointelegraph Research helps blockchain companies communicate their cutting-
edge research to the world by writing, designing, and publishing professional
reports. We help companies gain wider audiences by developing educational
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materials in the form of in-depth reports. Our team of academics and seasoned
blockchain technologists can cover a diverse range of topics, including tokenomics,
macroeconomics, legal, tax, central bank digital currencies, decentralized finance,
supply chain logistics, and venture capital.
To work with Cointelegraph Research’s team on creating a one-of-a-kind report,
contact us at research@cointelegraph.com.
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Sincerely
Demelza Hays
Head of Research at Cointelegraph
Demelza Hays is the director of research at Cointelegraph,
Forbes 30 Under 30, U.S. Department of State Fulbright Scholar,
and former fund manager of two regulated crypto funds.
4
Contents
1. Bitcoin Is Digital Gold, and Dash Is Digital Cash 7
1.1 The Transaction Fee Problem 7
1.2 Dash’s Masternode Solution 9
1.3 Dash’s Vision 12
1.4 What is Dash? 13
1.5 Dash Compared to Bitcoin 16
2. Dash Compared to Ethereum 22
2.1The Dash Investment Foundation 27
2.2 What does the DIF do? 27
2.3 Why was the DIF created? 28
3. Blockchain Is Evolving with Dash Platform 32
3.1 Dash Is Becoming a Decentralized Cloud 32
3.2 Decentralized Storage (Dash Drive) 33
3.3 Decentralized API (DAPI) 34
3.4 Dash Platform Name Service (DPNS) 34
3.5 Dash Platform Protocol (DPP) 35
4. Improving Dash as a Store of Value 36
4.1 Introduction 36
4.2 Coins in Circulation and Inflation 38
4.3 Changes to Reward Structure 39
5. Dash as an Emerging Asset: Returns and Liquidity 41
5.1 Dash in a Traditional Portfolio 42
5.2 Optimal Allocation 44
5.3 Dash in a Cryptocurrency Portfolio 52
5.4 Dash Seasonality: The Best Time to Buy and Sell Dash 53
5.5 Best Execution for Large Investors Buying Dash 55
6. 2022–2025 Price Forecast 58
7. Regulation 68
7.1 Dash and Privacy 68
7.2 FATF Travel Rule — International 72
7.3 The United States — Regulatory Asset Classification 73
7.4 MiCA and 6AMLD — Europe 74
7.5 Asia Region 76
7.6 Blockchain Association Memberships 77
8. How To Get More Involved With Dash! 79
9. Future Outlook 81
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 5
Cointelegraph Team
Demelza Hays, Ph.D. Alexander Valentin
Demelza Hays is the director of After finishing his B.Sc. in Economics
research at Cointelegraph, and at the University of Mannheim,
formerly was a Forbes 30 Under 30, Alexander enrolled in the Ph.D.
U.S. Department of State Fulbright program in Economics at Goethe
Scholar, and fund manager of two University in Frankfurt receiving his
regulated crypto funds. M.Sc. degree in 2018.
Ron Mendoza Nikita Malkin
Ron has worked in business 3+ years of working experience in
development for several investment crypto sphere and finance. Higher
firms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for School of Economics graduate with
more than six years. He has also diploma work related to digital asset
covered cryptocurrency, blockchain, market. Co-author of Security Token
and fintech topics for several Report and research analyst at
publications since 2019. Cointelegraph Research.
Helen Rosenberg Igor Kravchenko
Helen Rosenberg is a research analyst Igor Kravchenko is a research analyst
at Cointelegraph, holds a bachelors’ at Cointelegraph. He is currently
degree in economics and finance pursuing a master’s degree in
and has co-authored three reports at quantitative finance at the Vienna
Cointelegraph Research. University of Economics and Finance.
Solomon Guy
Solomon Guy has a decade of
commercial experience with a passion
for research, analysis and technology.
Since completing a dual bachelors in
Physics and Business Management,
Sol has worked in commercial,
market and venture analysis roles for
innovative tech firms across the globe.
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 6
1 Bitcoin Is Digital Gold,
and Dash Is Digital Cash
Along with Bitcoin, Dash is one of the oldest USA (60) followed by 15% from the United Kingdom
cryptocurrencies that is still active today. Over the (30), 10% from Germany (20), followed by Hong
last eight years, Dash has set itself apart from Bitcoin Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, Cayman
and other blockchains by becoming one of the most Islands, Malta, and UAE. The respondents managed
prominent digital currencies that focuses on payments, approximately $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency and
i.e., becoming digital cash instead of digital gold. blockchain investments.
To gain more insight into Dash’s stakeholders and Interestingly, this study found that nearly 10% of the
community, Cointelegraph Research conducted a first- survey’s 200 asset allocators said they have exposure
of-its-kind survey on the investment allocation of over to Dash in the portfolio already. Additional 40 funds
2,000 global crypto funds and certificates. The survey reported that they wanted to invest in Dash during the
was conducted via email between March 2021 and next 12 months, and 70% of respondents requested
December 2021. Out of the 200 funds that responded to receive the final results of this investment thesis
to the survey, 30% of the respondents came from the report.
Figure 1 Is Your Company Invested in Dash Currently?
10%
No
Yes
Source: Cointelegraph Research 90%
The 19 funds that hold Dash include Digital Capital When asked why they invested in Dash, a similar
Management, Liquibit Limited, BN Capital, Postera answer was echoed by several of the respondents.
Capital, Blockwall Capital, Hilbert Capital, Smart Block The Dash community is actively trying to become a
Laboratory, Asymmetry Asset Management, Resilience medium of exchange. Real-world use drives organic
AG, Pecun.io, All Blue Capital, INDX Capital, EZCAMG, demand for the asset as opposed to only speculative
Plutus21Capital, How2Ventures, Block Ventures, demand associated with many other cryptocurrencies.
Parallax Digital, and Bohr Arbitrage Crypto Fund. As one respondent succinctly stated, “Bitcoin is digital
Figure 2 shows the geographic dispersion of the 20 gold and Dash is digital cash.”
actively managed cryptocurrency funds and structured
In addition to the 19 funds that currently hold Dash,
products that hold the cryptocurrency Dash. The fact
40 funds reported that they plan to invest in Dash
that almost every continent has a fund that holds Dash
over the next twelve months. Some of the notable
is a testament to the global brand awareness that
funds that plan to add Dash include 31Q Digital Asset
Dash has achieved over the last eight years. [Figure 2]
Management, Astronaut Capital, Pnyx Ventures,
Crypton, Caliberco, and Kadena.
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 7
Figure 2 Funds that Hold Dash Around the World
Source: Cointelegraph Research
In addition to crypto funds and certificates, there are By using the trust as a vehicle for investment,
also trusts that hold Dash. The first Dash trust launched clients can rely on a third-party custodian to hold
in 2021. The Valkyrie Dash Trust invests exclusively and secure their coins, which means that investors
in Dash and aims to provide an annualized yield of
1
face no additional investment risk stemming from
2.5%–4% in addition to the total return of Dash.2 cryptocurrency wallets and keys. BitGo for Valkyrie
Dash Trust will be the custodian, which has also been
The trust invests via staking, which means committing
listed as custodian for the Valkyrie Bitcoin Trust.4
a certain amount of Dash to the network in order to
Investments into the Valkyrie Dash Trust can be made
verify transactions, for example. Staking is incentivized
via United States bank wires or Dash transactions.
through rewarding investors depending on the staking
duration and the number of staked coins. While Besides offering a more traditional investment vehicle
staking Dash can also be done through running a for individuals and institutions to gain exposure to the
masternode, the required amount of Dash to do so crypto space, the trust prepares a tax statement and
stands at 1,000 Dash. Given the current price of Dash, can also be accessed through an individual retirement
this well exceeds $100,000. In contrast, the Valkyrie account, or IRA.
Dash Trust accepts investments starting at $25,000. 3
Dash is a well-known, respected name in the payments space in many areas of the
world, and has an engaged, loyal following. One of our goals at Valkyrie is to enable
Insider Insight
those underserved by traditional financial firms to have access to financial services,
and expanding investment into the Dash ecosystem is part of that mission.
Leah Wald, CEO at
Valkyrie Investments
1
https://valkyrieinvest.com/trusts/dash-trust/
2
ibid
3
https://www.dash.org/blog/introducing-the-valkyrie-dash-trust-vdash-now-with-staking/
4
https://cryptoresearch.report/crypto-research/valkyrie-investments-have-launched-the-valkyrie-dash-trust/
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 8
Figure 3 Does Your Company Plan to Buy Dash During the Next 12 Months?
20%
No
Yes
Source: Cointelegraph Research 80%
The rest of this report explores the exciting changes by a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).
that Dash is planning to make in 2022. First and Dash’s Cayman-based investment arm called the Dash
foremost is the rollout of the highly anticipated Investment Foundation is exclusively funded from
Dash Platform. In addition to the exciting future the cryptocurrency’s DAO treasury and profits from
developments, this report also highlights Dash’s investments are used to support the Dash network’s
investment partnerships in recent years as well as growth. Future developments of Dash and exciting
Dash’s impressive price performance and role as a updates are described in Chapter 3 followed by a deep
crypto asset with traditional stock and bond portfolios. dive on how Dash has improved its store of value
capabilities in Chapter 4. Then we move on to the
The breakdown of this report is as follows: Chapter 1
statistical properties of Dash as a financial asset and its
explains how Dash works under the hood and focuses
performance in a traditional stock and bond portfolio in
on how Dash tackles the infamous transaction fee
Chapter 5. Rekt Capital analyzes Dash using Technical
problem associated with Bitcoin. We then explore
Analysis in Chapter 6. We discuss developments around
Dash’s staking rewards and the first US-based
the regulation of cryptocurrencies and Dash in Chapter
investment trust that allows investors to gain Dash
7 and finish up the report with easy steps on how to get
exposure like the Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust. Chapter
involved with Dash!
2 dwelves into the first regulated hedge fund owned
1.1 The Transaction Fee Problem
Key Takeaways
8 Dash’s price in 2021 (51.36%) outperformed Bitcoin’s (45.76%).
8 Dash’s average transaction fee in 2021 was $0.01 compared to Ethereum’s $21.9 and Bitcoin’s $10.3.
8 In Q1 2022, the Dash blockchain is expanding its capabilities with decentralized usernames, and smart
contracts are expected to be available in the following quarter.
Before going into detail about Dash’s vision and As more people adopt cryptocurrencies, more
technical features, this section will highlight how transactions need to be processed per second.
Dash distinguishes itself from other cryptocurrencies More traffic on a blockchain network often leads to
through its low transaction fees and impressive price increased transaction fees. The 2017 bull market
performance since its inception. increased on-chain transaction volume and led to an
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 9
increase in transaction fees in Bitcoin and Ethereum. with Ethereum smart contracts could lead to costs
The higher fees incentivized users to switch to more of more than $1,000 per transaction in 2021. Just as
affordable blockchains to complete their transactions, in 2017, users now are switching to more affordable
such as Dash, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. In response blockchains in order to complete their transactions,
to a decreasing market share, Bitcoin and Ethereum including Dash.
developers began working on solutions to the
Dash launched five years after Bitcoin in 2014 and
transaction fee and latency problem. However, to
outperformed Bitcoin in four out of the seven years
this day, neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum has released
(2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017). In 2021, the price of Dash
solutions that have gained significant adoption.
(51.36%) outperformed Bitcoin (45.76%). However,
In the current bull market, Bitcoin and Ethereum have the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of Bitcoin
already seen transaction fees of over $100. Interacting stands at 108% while Dash only has a CAGR of 85%.5
Figure 4 Annual Return — Dash vs. Bitcoin (2014–2021)
10,000
7,500
Annual Return (in %)
5,000
2,500
0
−2,500
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Source: Coin Metrics, Cointelegraph Research BTC DASH
Figure 5 Dash vs. Bitcoin 2021
300
250
200
Return (in %)
150
100
50
0
Gold S&P 500 BTC ETH DASH
Source: Coin Metrics, Cointelegraph Research
This report elaborates on why Dash has been and has already been achieved by Dash. In addition to
will continue to be a leading digital asset over the having transaction fees that are fractions of a cent,
coming years. The elusive quest for low transaction the network has instant settlement, and transactions
fees that layer-two solutions such as Bitcoin’s are instantly respendable. This is all enabled by Dash’s
Lightning Network and Ethereum 2.0 are chasing decentralized network of masternodes.
5
Based on first available price from Coin Metrics
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 10However, the most exciting part of Dash is not its past mobile wallet so that users around the world can
achievements, but rather its exciting roadmap for the send and receive digital cash without having to type
future. With the launch of Dash Platform in Q4 2022, in cumbersome wallet addresses. Dash Platform also
Dash is positioning itself to enter the Web3 arena tackles the business model of Google and Amazon
where Polkadot and Dfinity’s Internet Computer are Web Services by decentralizing data storage across the
currently making moves. Dash developers have built masternode network.
decentralized usernames that work with the DashPay
What is the main value that Dash offers
compared to other cryptocurrencies?
Insider Insight
Dash is extremely innovative, as it combines battle-tested historical security with some
important evolutions in privacy, technical efficiency and incentive mechanics of the
traditional Bitcoin model. Due to these evolutions, Dash has the potential to deliver Fred Pye,
chairman and
differentiated value in certain niches, particularly in economically distressed countries. CEO of 3iQ Corp
The most revolutionary aspect of Dash’s upcoming build fast, cheap and secure smart contract functionality
software releases is the data contract. Dash’s data that will form the foundation for decentralized finance.
contracts are similar to smart contracts, but they will Unlike Polkadot and Ethereum 2.0, Dash already has
enable the creation of tokens and if-then functions to eight years under its belt of fast and cheap transactions
be built on top of Dash. Dash is entering the ultimate with zero doublespends, contentious hard forks that
race for distributed ledger technologies: the race to disrupt the community, or downtime.
1.2 Dash’s Masternode Solution
Dash founder Evan Duffield envisions a world with upon the Bitcoin protocol in order to make this
low transaction fees and fast payments for everyday philosophy a reality. This is why Bitcoin has become
payments. Bitcoin’s original white paper also shared known as digital gold, and Dash is referred to as digital
this philosophy, but Dash made specific improvements cash.
Do you think that people will make daily purchases with
cryptocurrencies in the future, such as buying a coffee?
Definitely, the future is already here, as daily purchases have been a thing since the
Insider Insight
birth of crypto credit cards. Over the course of this period, infrastructure has grown
tremendously, but we are still heavily relying on traditional systems for payment rails. Leonard Neo,
head of research
This semi-decentralized thematic, or rather transitory phase, will probably be the case at Stack Funds
for the next few years, or until blockchains achieve sufficient scalability to handle bulk
transactions. This is also evident in the second half of 2021, with several layer twos
becoming popular with market participants. Having said that, we are still very early on
this development, and it will take time for us to get there.
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 11Dash is best known as the first cryptocurrency with a optional privacy and ChainLocks, which protects Dash
focus on user-friendly payments and fast transaction against 51% mining attacks. This collateralization
speeds. What may be less known is that these features ensures that the network is run only by actors heavily
are implemented on top of a network of dedicated invested in its success and prevents outside attacks,
servers known as masternodes, which enable the both on the network’s infrastructure and on the
deployment of many exciting features unavailable governance process.
on conventional blockchains. These features include
Each Dash masternode requires 1,000 Dash to be
instant and private transactions and unparalleled
staked. The Dash can be unstaked at any time, and
network security, as well as governance of the Dash
partial staking solutions exist for traders who want to
network development through a monthly budget and
stake less than 1,000 Dash. Every month, the network
voting. This, in itself, is vital in the crypto world, and
pays approximately 4.719 Dash to each of the 4,500
the masternodes are necessary to achieve the optional
active Dash masternodes that secure the network. By
privacy, security and speed that Dash offers.
reinvesting the 4.719 into crowd-staking solutions, traders
In exchange for a part of the block reward, can benefit from compounding returns. Assuming the
masternodes provide a second layer of services to price of Dash stays the same over a 10-year period for
the network. They facilitate advanced functions such purposes of this calculation, the annualized rate increases
as instantly settled and respendable transactions, by 2% when the monthly yield is staked.
Figure 6 Dash Masternodes Earn 5.71% Annually (+2% If Reinvesting Returns)
6.4 25К
Annualized Return (in USD)
6.2 20К
Annualized Yield (in %)
6.0
15К
5.8
10К
5.6
5К
5.4
Jul ‘19 Oct ‘19 Jan ‘20 Apr ‘20 Jul ‘20 Oct ‘20 Jan ‘21 Apr ‘21 Jul ‘21 Oct ‘21 Jan ‘22
Source: MasterNodeStats6, Cointelegraph Research Annualized Yield (in %) Annualized return (in USD)
Figure 7 Reinvesting Dash Masternode’s Monthly Payout Provides 2 Percentage
Points Higher Return Per Year Over 10-Year Period
$250K
$200K
$150K
$100K
2024 2026 2028 2030
Source: Staking Rewards7, Cointelegraph Research Without Compouping No Compounding
6
See https://stats.masternode.me/network-report/
7
See https://www.stakingrewards.com/earn/dash
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 12Figure 8 ROI for Initial Investment of 1,000 Dash
No Compounding With Compounding
Amount Total Reward Rate Amount Total Reward Rate
1,000 DASH 58.35% 1,000 DASH 79.16%
or 5.84% annualized or 7.92% annualized
Term Term
10 years Est. Monthly Earning 10 years Est. Monthly Earning
$700.93 VS $702.15
Type Type
4.79599 DASH 4.80428 DASH
Run a Masternode Run a Masternode
Est. Yearly Earning Est. Yearly Earning
Price Price
Current
$8,528.02 Current
$8,775.69
58.35116 DASH 60.04581 DASH
Source: Staking Rewards 8, Cointelegraph Research
1.3 Dash’s Vision
Dash, whose name is a portmanteau of “digital cash,” users.9 Dash Core Group CEO Ryan Taylor pointed out
was launched in January 2014. Dash is an open-source that payment volume has been unaffected by these
blockchain and cryptocurrency focused on offering lower numbers, which indicates that this drop is likely
fast, cheap and secure decentralized global payments. of technical nature and might be associated with a
microtransactions use case.
After reaching more than 90,000 daily active users
in Q2 2021, Dash saw a revision of active addresses With more than 50,000 daily active users in Q3 2021
in Q3 2021 as depicted in Figure 9. According to the there are more active Dash users each day than the
Dash Core Group’s Q3 summary call, there was a number of people that fit in the Baseball stadium of
large drop after Q2 2021 in the amount of daily active the New York Yankees.
Figure 9 Average Daily Active Users
Average Daily Active Addresses
100,000 90,700
83,500 85,200 85,700 85,900
80,900
80,000
60,000 53,200 52,200
40,000
20,000
0
Mar ‘20 Sep ‘20 Mar ‘21 Sep ‘21
Source: Coin Metrics, Cointelegraph Research
8
See Ibid
9
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_GJagFdd0g, minute 11:20
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 13Figure 10 Dash, Explained
Who? Users
What is Dash? ā
Individuals ā
Developers
ā
Businesses ā
Network Operators
Goal
Why? Problems
Financial freedom for
everyone ā
Traditional payment ā
Fiat money is susceptible
methods have high fraud to high inflation
Your money, your way — move rates
ā
Most services charge too
your money to anyone, anywhere, ā
Most cryptocurrencies long
anytime. have a poor user
experience
ā
Risks of exposing sensitive
Mission user data to theft
Make payments as quick, easy,
secure and inexpensive as possible.
What? Features
Features
ā
Easy to use ā
Secure
Due to the InstantSend feature,
ā
Instant ā
Borderless
payments settle within 2 seconds
comparable to credit card ā
Inexpensive ā
Optional privacy
authorizations.
Unlike credit card authorizations,
How? Specifications
the recipient can utilize the
incoming funds instantly. ā
Payment Network ā
Developer Platform
ā
Currency ā
Applications
Source: Dash Core Group
A similar development can be seen in Figure 11 where As Figure 12 shows, the demand for Dash as a
median daily transactions have decreased as well. On currency for transactions continues to be high. In Q3
a given day in Q3 2021, there were around 11,000 daily 2021, there were more than 145,000 Dash wallet apps
transactions on the Dash network. This means that installed on mobile devices. As this number refers to
within a month, the entire population of Cleveland, devices that have been active within the last 30 days
Ohio would be able to make a transaction with Dash. and not all users allow app reporting on their private
devices, the number may well be an estimate at the
Dash Core Group (DCG) normally presents a chart
lower bound.
during its summary calls that refers to “economic
transactions.” DCG’s results are different from Coin In the recent past, Dash has partnered with exchanges
Metrics’ numbers because DCG’s number is calculated and payment providers to accelerate adoption of Dash
as on-chain transactions excluding mixing and Coinbase across the globe.
transactions, while Coin Metrics counts all transactions.
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 14Figure 11 Median Number of Daily Transactions
40,000
32,800
Number of Transactions
30,000 26,800 27,400
23,300 23,900
20,100
20,000
10,800 11,300
10,000
0
Mar ‘20 Sep ‘20 Mar ‘21 Sep ‘21
Source: Coin Metrics, Cointelegraph Research
Figure 12 Mobile Wallet Installations
149,000 150,000 145,000
150,000 142,300
113,055
100,000
50,000
0
Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021 Q2 2021 Q3 2021
Source: Dash Core Group10, Cointelegraph Research
Dash and CrayPay Use of Dash in Emerging Markets
In January 2021, the Dash Investment Foundation Dash has been particularly successful as a means of
(DIF) announced an investment in CrayPay, which payment in emerging markets. It has seen widespread
offers instant rewards and savings as part of a adoption in Latin America where commercial
loyalty program. As of July 2021, Dash users can now payments saw a 104% increase in Q1 2020.13
profit from CrayPay when paying with Dash using Additionally, Dash has partnered with Mexico’s Tauros
the DashDirect app at retailers and restaurants that exchange to issue the first crypto debit card in South
collaborate with CrayPay. Merchants partnering with America.14
CrayPay can be found at over 155,000 locations and
Dash has increased adoption in Venezuela through
on over 75 national U.S. retailer websites.11 This means
wallet downloads and merchant acceptance. The surge
that Dash is now accepted at “seven times more in-
in Dash usage in Venezuela for real-world payments
store merchant locations than Bitcoin (BTC) globally.”12
has come as the country continues to grapple with
An important factor for why Dash and CrayPay crippling hyperinflation. Dash has become the de
could successfully interact was Dash’s InstantSend facto cryptocurrency of choice for payments in
technology. As each transaction can immediately be Venezuela. Dash has specific unique qualities that
verified, CrayPay can instantly authorize the payment make it perfectly suited to the economic situation
to merchants without chargeback risk — i.e., the of the country, allowing instant payments and lower
reversal of a money transfer back to the client. transaction fees.
10
See https://dashpay.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/68550659/DCG-Q3-2021-Quarterly-Call.pdf
11
See https://newsroom.dash.org/122917-dash-investment-foundation-dif-invests-in-craypay-and-announces-155000-merchant-instant-savings-
app-for-dash
12
See https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dash-launches-payment-app-seven-070738748.html
13
See https://cointelegraph.com/news/dash-sees-100-rise-in-commercial-payments-through-latin-american-partnerships
14
See https://cointelegraph.com/news/dash-launches-latin-americas-first-ever-crypto-debit-card
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 15Cryptocurrencies like Dash are even less volatile than for payments in 2021. CryptoBuyer has achieved
the country’s fiat currency. Given the unprecedented mainstream crypto adoption and acceptance in LATAM
currency devaluation of the bolivar, as well as with top brands such as Subway, Burger King, Pizza
the difficulty of obtaining foreign fiat money, Hut, Samsung, Papa John’s Pizza, Traki and many more
cryptocurrencies are a useful means of payment in using their point of sale (POS) solution.
Venezuela.
Dash payments have taken the lead with a substantial
CryptoBuyer, the leading multi-coin supported total of 26.44% of transactions processed by
cryptocurrency point of sale (POS) solution operating CryptoBuyer’s point of sale (POS) solution, surpassing
in Latin America, including Venezuela, has published major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins like Bitcoin,
results showing Dash as the most used cryptocurrency USDT, Ethereum and Litecoin.
Figure 13 Cryptocurrency Merchant Payments Processed By CryptoBuyer In 2021
Dash 26.44%
BTC 23.90%
USDT 18.90%
BNB 7.04%
DAI 0.08%
BUSD 7.77%
XPT 0.07%
ETH 2.08%
LTC 13.67%
Source: CryptoBuyer
Dash has not only been successful across South with Dash, both online and at selected merchants.
America but has made significant steps in Africa, The African market can especially benefit from the
too. Together with AnkerPay, a South African crypto ease that Dash brings to the field of remittances. With
payments provider, Dash has set out to bring the Dash many remittances coming from the United Kingdom
network to Sub-Saharan Africa. Since May 2020, users and Europe, users can easily convert Dash to local
in South Africa have been able to make payments currencies in Africa.15
Dash’s blockchain technology is optimized for instantly settled and secure payments
that can scale on-chain to PayPal transaction volume levels while maintaining low
transaction fees at a fraction of a cent. Dash’s masternode network transforms Dash
in to a super-charged version of Bitcoin that provides real-world utility and a working
payment solution that is fit for purpose. Dash’s InstantSend technology eliminates
Insider Insight
Marshall
chargeback risks, which enables DashDirect to instantly authorize payment to our Greenwald, CEO
merchant partners. Dash is the most efficient cryptocurrency payment option available at Ionia, Founder
of DashDirect
and its instant low-cost payments are what enable the significant merchant savings
possible on our platform. We could not offer the same solution with blockchains such
as Bitcoin or Ethereum in a non-custodial solution, due to high transaction fees and
long confirmation times. With Dash the fees are minimal to us and the transactions
are near-instant. Dash truly is digital cash and it performs impressively.
15
See https://newsroom.dash.org/95052-dash-partners-with-ankerpay-south-african-cryptocurrency-atm-and-pos-provider-to-grow-ecosystem-
in-sub-saharan-africa
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 16Besides the cooperation of Dash and CrayPay As depicted in Figure 14, Dash is spent for various use
described above, Dash continues to explore new cases on CryptoRefills, a website that allows users to
possibilities for cooperation with U.S. point-of-sale and buy gift cards, vouchers and top-ups in 180 countries
payments service providers. This is related to both that use cryptocurrencies.
payments and loyalty programs.16
CryptoRefills saw over a doubling of the use of Dash
between January 2020 and January 2021.
Insider Insight
Massimiliano
Silenzi, chairman
and CEO of
CryptoRefills
In more than 75% of all CryptoRefills purchases from Europe, Asia and North America. [Figure 14]
using Dash, the cryptocurrency was either spent for
In addition to all of the ways that people can directly
e-commerce gift cards and vouchers or for mobile
spend Dash on goods and services, people can also
recharges — i.e., buying call or data volume for
convert Dash to cash using the global network of over
cell phones. In line with the continents’ economic
6,177 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) that accept
significance, most spending on CryptoRefills came
Dash. [Figure 15]
Figure 14 CryptoRefills Dash Q4 2020 Spending by Product Category and Region
2% 3%
17% 16%
28%
Europe
E-commerce
Asia
Mobile recharge
North America
Games
Africa
Retail and food
23% South America
25%
56%
30%
Source: CryptoRefills, Cointelegraph Research
Figure 15 Worldwide Crypto ATM Supported Cryptocurrencies
40,000
34,612
30,000
26,296 26,103
20,000
11,632
9,535
10,000
6,389 6,177
4,433
1,686
390
0
Bitcoin Litecoin Ethereum Dogecoin Bitcoin Cash USDT Dash Zcash Monero XRP
1 23 2 12 27 4 79 66 39 8
Source: cointatmradar.com, coinmarketcap.com CoinMarketCap Rank Number of ATM’s
16
Dash Core Group Q3 2021 Summary Call
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 17We love how easy Dash makes it to locate over 3,500 CoinFlip ATMs throughout the
United States from within the official Dash wallet app. At CoinFlip, we strive to provide
Insider Insight
the best cash to crypto experience possible and we hope that by offering Dash, we’re
able to reinforce that goal.
Ben Weiss, Co-
Founder and CEO
at CoinFlip
Figure 16 Dash ATM Map
Source: cointatmradar.com
The majority of ATMs that accept Dash are located in ATM market for Dash, followed by South American and
the US, however, six continents have ATMs that accept Asia.
Dash. After the US, the second most active
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 181.4 Dash Compared to Bitcoin
Dash is a fork of Bitcoin that has introduced a user experience. The Dash network is also the longest-
number of industry-shaping innovations, including running decentralized autonomous organization,
masternodes, long-living masternode quorums utilizing on-chain governance to allocate network
(LLMQ), ChainLocks and InstantSend, which target resources toward projects and organizations that
scalability, speed, reliability, cost-effectiveness and the support the network without a central point of failure.
Dash is a fork of Bitcoin
Even with all its improvements, Dash still
utilizes the same DNA of the Bitcoin protocol,
so it can readily be integrated into the
ecosystem already built around Bitcoin!
1.4.1 Governance
Dash is a currency and a working decentralized the blocksize should be increased to 2 megabytes.
autonomous organization (DAO). Dash was the Within 24 hours, consensus had been reached to
first cryptocurrency DAO to have a self-funding, approve this change. Compare this to Bitcoin, where
self-governing protocol. In addition to securing the debate on the blocksize has been raging for many
network, masternodes govern Dash. The Decentralized years and has resulted in serious splits within the
Governance by Blockchain, or DGBB, is Dash’s attempt community and even forks to the Bitcoin blockchain.
to solve two important problems in cryptocurrency:
governance and funding. Governance in a
decentralized project is difficult because, by definition,
there are no central authorities to make decisions
for the project. Without effective governance,
decentralized projects will either trend toward splits or
toward centralization.
In Dash, such decisions are made by the network —
that is, by the owners of masternodes. The DGBB
system allows each masternode to vote once (yes/
no/abstain) for each proposal. If a proposal passes,
it then has to be implemented by Dash’s developers.
A key example is early 2016, when Dash’s core team
submitted a proposal to the network asking whether
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 19Dash’s potential is still valid in a long perspective and shows reinvestment in the
ecosystem’s growth. The two-tier network with “nodes” and larger “masternodes”
Insider Insight
efficiently separates system governance from creation of new coins.
Alexander Baldele,
managing partner at
Caliber Consulting
Figure 17
Dash’s Virtuous Cycle: The Dash Treasury Has More Money to Invest
in the Development of the Code as the Price Increases
Network Develops and
Becomes More Valuable
Project Devolopment
Funding
Price of Dash
Appreciates
More Development Money
Available per Month
Source: Cointelegraph Research
A crucial feature of Dash is that governance occurs proposal to the network and apply for a grant.
at the protocol level, similar to Tezos. In Dash, one
This creates a positive feedback loop for the Dash
masternode can be created with 1,000 Dash, and each
network, as more development leads to increases in
masternode gives its controller one vote for future
the price as investors buy Dash off the market, and
network proposals.
then the next treasury cycle has more real purchasing
A “collateral” of 1,000 Dash incentivizes masternodes power to pay for more development. This is referred
to grant money to projects that serve only to benefit to as Dash’s perpetual network effect.
the network and its value. Anybody can submit a
Figure 18 Monthly Development Budget
$1,483,500
2021
$32,000
2015
Source: Cointelegraph Research
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 20Dash’s development is paid directly from the can stop payments to its current development team
blockchain and is not dependent on donations, and start paying another at any time if the network
foundations or any third party. The Dash network feels unsatisfied.
Figure 19 Dash Can Hire a New Development Team
Masternode network
Dev Team A Dev Team B
“We should implement changes A / B / C “Changes A / B / C aren’t good enough,
to the protocol “ X / Y / Z is more effective”
“Team A, we like what you've done up to now but you're no longer in line
Source: Cointelegraph Research, Dash Core Group with what we want. We voted and we're hiring Team B”
1.4.2 Consensus
A unique feature of Dash is its consensus mechanism, masternodes approve (instant) transactions, enable
which is a hybrid of proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of- financial privacy (CoinJoin), and build the foundation
stake (PoS). While miners perform the task to secure for the decentralized governance and budget system.17
the network via PoW, the Dash network has a second As the masternodes provide a service for the network,
layer that consists of so-called Masternodes. These their role is also referred to as a Proof of Service (PoSe).
Figure 20 Dash Consensus Mechanism Is a Hybrid Between PoWork and PoS
40% of rewards 60% of rewards
Maximum Maximum
20% of miner rewards 20% of masternode rewards
* Previous rewards ratio were 45% Miners, 45% Masternodes, 10% Dash Treasury.
Source: Cointelegraph Research, Dash Core Group * This change in rewards ratio will be done gradully over the period of 5 years.
17
See https://docs.dash.org/en/stable/masternodes/understanding.html
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 211.4.3 Dash’s Technical Solutions
Special Transactions a block, no reorganization below that block is allowed.
These LLMQs consist of subgroups of masternodes
With the implementation of Dash Improvement
that are periodically recreated.
Proposal 2 in Q1 2019, Dash now allows for “special
transactions.” These transactions are not financial
in nature but include consensus-assisting metadata. Evidence for ChainLocks
This is particularly relevant for the management of
In January 2021, the cryptocurrency Firo
masternodes. An example of a special transaction
(formerly known as Zcoin) suffered a 51%
is the masternode registration transaction. As a
attack.18 This event is not unique as Ethereum
masternode can only be created by proving ownership
Classic and Grin have both suffered 51%
of 1,000 Dash, this transaction proves ownership
attacks as well. However, Firo followed Dash by
and also sets certain parameters necessary for
implementing ChainLocks.
masternode operation.
Neither Dash nor Firo has experienced
Other special transactions can provide additional
successful 51% attacks since the
information on masternodes — e.g. updating an IP
implementation of ChainLocks.
address or other metadata — or assist in managing
other system properties.
Mixing
Long-Living Masternode Quorums In order to allow for cash-like privacy features,
(LLMQ) Dash has implemented CoinJoin (formerly known
as PrivateSend). This feature allows users to make
Long-Living Masternode Quorums (LLMQ) enable
transactions in such a way that external observers
increased security and scalability of the network. The
cannot determine the source of funding. CoinJoin’s
main task of LLMQs is to perform threshold signing
process involves a sequence of transactions that are
of consensus-related messages such as ChainLocks.
also known as mixing.19
They also support InstantSend transaction locking.
Quorums can be of different sizes depending on the Users can mix coins with other unknown people so
security level needed for the respective function. that even an elaborate analysis of transactions through
a block explorer cannot uncover the origin of funds.
The CoinJoin process breaks transactions into several
ChainLocks
denominations and uses Dash’s masternodes to
ChainLocks protect the blockchain against 51% mining coordinate a specific transaction request with other
attacks. An LLMQ signs the first block seen and then users’ requests through a unique session ID. A user can
notifies the network not to accept other blocks on determine the amount of Dash to be used for mixing
the same level. Thus, a deep reorganization of the after which certain denominations of Dash are sent
blockchain prior to this block can be avoided. This to different addresses, so called change addresses.
feature enables the instant acceptance of payments. Eventually, all participating users send and receive the
same amounts of Dash to their addresses, but there is
The way ChainLocks work is for masternodes to form a
no way to determine the exact mixture. By repeating
quorum (the aforementioned LLMQ). Once more than
this process several times, sufficient obfuscation is
60% of quorum members have signalled acceptance of
reached so that transactions can be called private.
18
See https://cointelegraph.com/news/privacy-focused-firo-cryptocurrency-suffers-51-attack
19
See https://docs.dash.org/en/stable/introduction/features.html#coinjoin
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 22Could Chainlocks prevent 51% attacks?
You can’t attack the proof-of-work with a 51% attack because the masternodes are
checkpointing with a vote using threshold signatures, and once 60% agree on the current
Insider Insight
state of the chain, that locks in that chain with a checkpoint. It’s a novel and interesting way
to do a hybrid proof-of-work / proof-of-stake system, and yes, it will make 51% attacks much Andreas M.
Antonopoulos
harder on that particular chain. In fact, if you want to do a 51% attack, you actually have to do Technologist, author
a 60% attack where you either compromise the code running on the masternodes, or you put and respected
Bitcoin advocate
enough stake, which probably wouldn’t be possible, to run 60% of the masternodes yourself.
Source: Youtube
1.4.4 Development Roadmap
Figure 21 The Mainnet Release of Dash Platform will be in Q4 2022
Q3 2021 Q4 2021 Q1 2022
DashPay Invitations (Android) Dash Platform v0.21 Dash Platform v0.22
TESTNET TESTNET TESTNET
ā Platform v0.20 ā Error reporting improvements ā GroveDB initial release
ā UI Improvements & Polishing ā Design robust state tree structure ā Ability to update data contracts
ā Design document secondary indices ā Masternode identities
ā Distribute testnet nodes ā Identity key purposes and security
levels
ā Upgrade Process
ā Multi-package repository
Q2 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022
Dash Core v0.18 Dash Platform v0.23 Dash Platform v0.23.x
ā Quorum rotation, stronger IS security TESTNET TESTNET
ā Proposal fee reduction ā Platform fee system ā Platform Decentralized API with
Added new QT governance UI HTTPS
ā ā Masternodes reward system
Initial Enhanced Hard Forking ā Internal stress & security tests
ā ā Platform credit withdrawal into Dash
implementation ā Dash Platform mainnet release
ā Complete Identities (DIP11)
ā Deterministic InstantSend locks candidate
ā BTC v0.18/v0.19/v0.20 backports ā Dash Platform MVP testnet validation
ā External security audit ā External security audit
Source: Dash Core Group,20 Cointelegraph Research
Q4 2022 Q4 2022 2023
Dash Core v0.19 Dash Platform v1.0 Dash Platform
ā BLS v1.0 implementation TESTNET ā Smart Contracts Virtual Machine
ā Asset lock special transaction ā External security audit remediation ā Inter-Blockchain Communication
ā Platform masternode reward MAINNET
ā Fungible tokens support
reallocation ā NFTs support
ā Mainnet rollout
ā Bitcoin backporting for v0.19/v0.20/
v0.21
ā Mainnet rollout
20
See https://www.dash.org/roadmap/
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 23There are two major sources of development on the well as masternode reward system will be added to
Dash blockchain. The first is Dash Core Group’s and incentivize Platform participation.21
the second is the Dash Incubator.
The Dash Incubator aims to improve Dash by
For 2022, the Dash Core Group aims to reduce developing new features and inventing new technical
proposal fees from 5 Dash to 1 Dash. This reduction solutions. Innovation will be the key driver for a
is supposed to make the governance system more broader adoption of Dash among consumers.
accessible, as lower fees allow a more diverse
In 2021, Andy Freer, former Chief Technology Officer
base of community members to voice their ideas.
of Dash Core Group, stated that a key development
However, it may come with the drawback that the
for Dash would be to incentivize developers to create
quality of proposals may decline. Additionally, the
more trustless end-user applications. Decentralized
mainnet launch of Dash Platform (formerly known
applications (DApps) and the opportunity to monetize
as Dash Evolution) is scheduled to take place in Q4
them will be key drivers for growth of the Dash
2022. As part of the Platform launch, a fee system as
ecosystem.22
Figure 22 Dash Core GitHub Activity
1,064 29
Dev. Activity Contributors Count (DASH)
931 25
Development Activity (DASH)
798 21
665 18
532 14
399 10
266 7,322
133 3,661
0 0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Source: https://app.santiment.net/s/Vth_Wehd Development Activity (DASH) Dev. Activity Contributors Count (DASH)
How is development activity on Dash?
Development Activity is an off-chain indicator that monitors month-to-month commitment to
creating a working product, polishing its features, and staying true to its long-term roadmap.
While development activity may not tell you where a coin’s price is headed in the next 24
Maksim
hours, it is one of the most underrated indicators of any crypto project’s long term success. Balashevich,
Founder of
Insider Insight
According to Santiment data, Dash passes this test with flying colors. Dash’s development Santiment
activity has exhibited consistent growth from 2015 onwards, with Dash developers continuing
to push code through bull and bear cycles, stretches of price appreciation as well as major
Dash corrections.
Put simply, Dash’s development activity seems to suggest a lasting commitment to
developing a working product, pushing new features and staying true to the project’s
roadmap.
While this probably means little for Dash’s short-term price action, it may speak volumes
about the project’s long-term potential.
21
See https://www.dash.org/roadmap/
22
See https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/re-post-andy-freer-former-dash-cto-shared-some-interesting-thoughts-on-dash-discord-today/
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 241.5 Dash Compared to Ethereum
1.5.1 Development Roadmap
For any blockchain network that puts special emphasis executed, which is directly related to the number of
on monetary transactions, speed is a key feature in its transactions the network can execute at each point in
value proposition. In that context, speed refers to the time. Benchmarks from the traditional financial system
actual amount of time needed for a transaction to be can be found in the Visa system or PayPal.
Table 2 Network Speed (Maximum Value for Transactions Per Second Provided Where Possible)
Network Block Size Transactions per Second
Visa − 65,000 (unverified, avg. at 1,700)23
PayPal − 1,00024
Dash 2MB25 5626
Ethereum ~65kB27 3028
Bitcoin 1MB29 730
Source: Cointelegraph Research
Notwithstanding special features such as Dash’s it switches from traditional block propagation to “xthin
InstantSend or Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, the block propagation,” a technique that significantly
number of executed transactions is a function of speeds up the propagation of blocks among nodes.31
the block size and the block interval. While Dash A block size of 10MB would then allow Dash to reach
currently offers 2MB blocks with a block time of over half of PayPal’s transaction levels.32
roughly 2.6 minutes, there is a constant effort to scale
However, each new method of block propagation
up transaction speed. While Ethereum limits its block
comes with additional caveats such as higher latency
size by the total amount of gas that can be spent
and increased risk of network collision attacks.33 If to
per block, Dash and other blockchains operate with
bear in mind the numbers from Figure 23, it becomes
a predetermined maximum block size for which the
clear that while scalability remains an important goal,
network has been optimized.
current demand for transactions seems not to exceed
Research from Arizona State University has shown capacity.
that Dash could easily scale to a block size of 10MB if
23
See https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210329005171/en/Visa-Becomes-First-Major-Payments-Network-to-Settle-Transactions-in-
USD-Coin-USDC
24
See https://time.com/5957001/paypal-cryptocurrencty-bitcoin-dan-schulman/
25
See https://cointelegraph.com/explained/bitcoin-block-size-explained
26
See https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/9-000-transactions-per-second-bitcoin-sv-hits-new-record-301217145.html
27
See https://ycharts.com/indicators/ethereum_average_block_size
28
See https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/ethereum/ethereum-2-upgrade-what-you-need-to-know
29
See https://docs.dash.org/en/stable/introduction/features.html
30
See Ibid
31
See https://blockchain.asu.edu/block-propagation-applied-to-nakamoto-networks/
32
See https://dashnews.org/new-asu-blockchain-lab-research-shows-dash-can-easily-scale-near-paypal-levels/
33
See https://blockchain.asu.edu/velocity-scalability-improvements-in-block-propagation-through-rateless-erasure-coding/
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 25Figure 23 Actual Number of Transactions Per Second (30-day Median)
0.05
Transactions per Second
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Source: Coin Metrics, Cointelegraph Research
1.5.2 Smart Contracts on Dash
In early 2021, a testnet version of Dash Platform was A special feature of Dash Platform is the utilization
launched. It provides the foundation for DApps on the of Dash’s decentralized API (DAPI). Through this API,
Dash network. Essentially, it aims at enhancing Dash it is possible for DApps to easily read and write data
with the features of a decentralized cloud service. from the Dash network without downloading the
Through the launch of a second-layer blockchain, Dash entire blockchain. Developers will also be able to
now provides the sufficient infrastructure to store data easily apply any coding language, such as JavaScript, to
from DApps in a secure and decentralized fashion on develop their applications. This stands in contrast to
the nodes of the Dash network. (For a more detailed most other DApps that must be written in blockchain-
introduction of Dash Platform, please proceed to specific languages, such as Solidity or Vyper.34
Chapter 4.)
Figure 24 Value Propositions of Dash Platform
Decentralized API Flexible API Usage Decentralized Data Storage
Source: Cointelegraph Research
DApps on Dash Platform operate through the To be specific, a data contract specifies the data
network’s equivalent of smart contracts, which are structure of the application, which is a necessary first
called “Data Contracts.” These data contracts put step before storing data on the platform.36 Besides
special emphasis on data storage as opposed to data contracts, the protocol of the Dash Platform
regular smart contracts — e.g., on Ethereum — which provides the framework for two more data structures,
are built for fast execution of code. Dash’s data namely “State Transitions” and “Documents.” State
contracts offer a more efficient way to store data that Transitions are responsible for changes to data such
may be of special interest to those applications that as updating information on a client or changes to the
require fast retrieval and secure data storage.35 way a DApp works. User data is stored in Documents,
and any change to data will be stored in a database
hosted by the masternodes.
34
See https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/smart-contracts/languages/
35
See https://hackernoon.com/building-dapps-on-dash-an-interview-with-readme-ay3a342g
36
See https://dashplatform.readme.io/docs
© Cointelegraph Research, 2022 26You can also read
