Dash

Dash is a payments-focused cryptocurrency that launched on 19 January 2014, originally as XCoin and then Darkcoin before adopting its current name. It was created by Evan Duffield as a fork of Bitcoin with modifications aimed at faster settlement and optional transaction privacy.

The network's defining structural feature is its two-tier design. Miners secure the chain through proof of work using the X11 algorithm, a chained sequence of eleven hashing functions. Above them sits a layer of masternodes, servers that must lock 1,000 DASH as collateral to operate and that provide services the base layer cannot.

What masternodes enable

Masternodes power InstantSend, which locks transaction inputs so a payment can be considered settled within seconds rather than waiting for block confirmations, and PrivateSend, an optional coin-mixing feature that obscures transaction history. They also operate the network's decentralized governance and treasury.

That treasury is one of Dash's more distinctive elements. A portion of each block reward, historically ten percent, is set aside to fund proposals, and masternode operators vote monthly on which proposals receive funding. This gives the network a self-funding development budget without relying on a foundation's reserves or ongoing fundraising.

Supply

DASH has a maximum supply of approximately 18.92 million coins, with roughly 12.8 million currently in circulation. The block reward decreases by about 7.1 percent each year rather than halving abruptly, giving a smoother emission curve than Bitcoin's.

Dash has focused on merchant adoption and remittance corridors, particularly in regions with unstable local currencies, and its privacy feature has led some exchanges in certain jurisdictions to restrict listings.