WHAT IS DASH?

The simplest answer is digital cash. If you’ve heard of Bitcoin, Dash is a lot like Bitcoin except it’s currently being developed and marketed for regular people to use. One of the main obstacles that prevents mainstream adoption of Bitcoin is the way the Bitcoin addresses appear to people who are unfamiliar with cryptography.

Here’s a sample Bitcoin address:
1JCe8z4jJVNXSjohjM4i9Hh813dLCNx2Sy.
Do you experience a knee-jerk reaction when you see that address? Many people do. In the future, Dash aims to create a system that relies on usernames instead of these alphanumeric addresses which generally confuse the crap out of the average person.

WHAT CAN DASH DO?

When you send Dash to someone, it arrives very quickly and with extremely low transaction fees. For example, you could send Dash to your friend Satoshi in Japan and he would get it in less than a minute and without big international fees added to it. You could also send it privately, meaning the transaction wouldn’t be traced. Dash also offers an InstantSend option for those who want even a faster transaction speed, like when you go into a store to purchase a coffee.

HOW IS DASH DIFFERENT FROM BITCOIN?

Dash has privacy features and a slightly different organizational structure. Bitcoin has no privacy features built into it.
HOW LONG HAS DASH BEEN AROUND?
Dash began on January 18, 2014.

WHO CREATED DASH?

Dash was created by software developer Evan Duffield. You can see the Core Team here: https://www.dash.org/team/

I’VE HEARD OF BITCOIN, HOW COME I’VE NEVER HEARD OF DASH?

Dash is a much newer digital currency than Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s network began in 2009, so it has been operating for 8 years. Dash was started 3 years ago, so naturally, not as many people have heard about it yet.

WHY HAS THE VALUE OF DASH GONE UP SO MUCH RECENTLY?

Dash is now the third largest digital currency. While no one knows for certain all the reasons, a proposal in the Dash community recently passed that would make it easier for people to get Dash who don’t already have Bitcoin. It appears that this new partnership seeks to create an easy method for people who have only fiat currency to get Dash. They haven’t yet released the name of their new partner yet.

As it is right now, altcoins like Dash have to be converted to Bitcoin before going into fiat currency like USD or EUROS. If this partnership goes through successfully, this could potentially mark a significant step towards mainstream adoption in the long-term. Read the announcement in full here: https://www.dashcentral.org/p/bsdev-general-201702

Here’s a portion of the announcement:

“First, it will eliminate the need for the majority of our users to pass through Bitcoin / Dash trading pairs, and reduce the friction and overall trading and transaction fee costs involved in acquiring and selling Dash today. Making Dash easier to access in a highly liquid market should enable greater flow of capital to enter into our ecosystem. Second, adding Dash to a brand-name exchange provides an endorsement of the value our project brings to the digital currency ecosystem, and adds credibility to many of other ongoing negotiations with other service providers. Third, this relationship will enable other services dependent on major exchange fiat pairs and pricing to more easily incorporate Dash.”

In addition to this announcement, Roger Ver, known as the Bitcoin Jesus, recently wrote a tweet describing how he sent $100,000 into the Dash ecosystem:

He received a lot of blowback from Bitcoin loyalists who mocked his interest in Dash. Only time will tell if Roger Ver’s optimistic outlook on Dash will materialize into huge gains but the recent signs look promising. Dash has a robust marketing and business development team that few other altcoins can compete with.

WHAT ARE SOME GENERAL IMPRESSIONS ABOUT THE DASH COMMUNITY?

As a very new Dash user, I have formed some general impressions about the Dash community, its organization and overall strategy. I’ve been aware of Dash for many months, but it wasn’t until recently that I bought a few Dash. So, I’m not heavily invested in Dash yet.

My first impressions of the Dash community were very positive.

I joined the Dash Forum a week ago and interacted with newbie users and Dash veterans alike. I found it to be a good experience and was impressed with its organization. Most importantly, I didn’t feel any disdain for me being a newbie in the Dash forum. In the cryptocurrency world, there seems to be a lot of jerks who make fun of people for not knowing much about digital coins. I’ve encountered this attitude a lot in my personal experiences and I find it one of the most annoying aspects of its culture.

It feels kind of like going into an insecure teenage boy’s room and getting ridiculed for asking an honest question.

For the most part, it’s apparent that the moderators in the Dash forum are particularly tuned into the needs of newbie Dash users and go out of their way to make them feel comfortable. At least that was my experience.

A lot of my positive impressions about Dash have to do with its clear communication strategy, organizational structure and commitment to the goal of going mainstream. Another big reason I have a positive impression is because Amanda B. Johnson saw something unique in Dash that apparently didn’t exist in other digital currencies. It appears she chose Dash over the other digital coins in 2015, so that is indicative of something. If you’re new to Dash, I highly recommend that you go to Amanda’s Youtube channel to learn more. She’s a great teacher, and I relied on her videos to teach me very basic things about blockchain technology when I first began writing on Steemit.

WHAT ARE SOME CONTROVERSIES IN DASH?

The only significant controversy I could find in my recent research this week is how the coin was launched. I won’t go into a ton of detail or give you my opinion on this because I don’t know enough about it. I found a video that seemed to do a fair job of explaining what the controversy is about:

Come to your own conclusions regarding how the launch of the coin was handled, but keep in mind, most regular people won’t be bothered with analyzing it. Most regular people are only concerned with how easy a certain type of technology is to use and how they are being treated in the process of learning how to use it. They are interested in communication, organization and transparency. These are the magic bullets that most crypto developers don’t really get or pay attention to.

WHERE CAN I FIND DASH IN MY FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA SITES?

Official website: https://www.dash.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DashPay
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DASHdetailed?lang=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAzD2v9Yx4a4iS2_-unODkA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dashpay/

Oddly enough, I ran into Charlie Shrem today in the Dash Forum! And Barry Dutton too!

This article was first posted on Medium.

I am sad today because Dan is gone. That actually sucks. He was part of the reason I stayed here.