DASH is among the top 10 leading cryptocurrencies that have experienced significant increase in price this year. Ranking eighth on the coin market with a market capitalization of $9.6 billion, the currency started 2017 at a price of $11.26. At the time of writing this article, DASH was trading at $1,249, representing a 107% increase.
The main factor that differentiates DASH from other major cryptocurrencies is that it does not go through hard forks. Instead, the currency has a decentralized treasury system that allows holders of 1,000 DASH to develop master nodes. Owners of these nodes get voting rights to determine the future of the currency and allocation of the company's $8 million monthly budget.
Alexey Burdyko, CEO and Founder of Play2Live.io, believes that by decentralizing its governance system, DASH is able to effectively address conflicts regarding future developments of the currency.
He says, "DASH looks like one of the most logical evolutions of bitcoin. It has lower fees, faster transaction speed, an opportunity to add another layer of privacy. Unlike bitcoin that is susceptible to forks in case of disputes regarding its future development, Dash has a voting system based on the masternodes that allows it to resolve the uncertainties. However, while Dash has some tangible benefits over bitcoin, its market capitalization is way smaller. Why? Supposedly, it is a matter of time and Dash will replace bitcoin when the latter encounters another fork."
There is a high likelihood that high transaction speeds, cost effectiveness and the privacy features embedded in DASH could push its demand in the coming months or years. The currency also has lots of coins held in its masternodes as well, which reduces the amount of coins in circulation. This means its price could continue in an upward trajectory at the very least as Vladlen Manshin, CEO and Founder of BCSHOP.IO observes.
He says, "Fast and cheap transactions combined with very active marketing strategy drives DASH price up steadily. On the other hand, it is a breakthrough technology to invade the market on a fundamental level."
Another aspect that makes DASH a competitive currency in the crypto market is the easy to use payment system. Vincent Jacques, CEO of ChainTrade ICO, says “DASH is kind of a funny coin. It’s gone through a lot of permutations, which can make some investors uncomfortable. On the other hand, it’s built to be the most user-friendly payment system in the world, and features built on its 2nd tier network like its instant transactions and private transactions are worth looking at. DASH also pioneered the self-sustaining model where funds come directly from the blockchain. It could do very well, although whether it does end up being the world’s digital cash remains to be seen.”
Besides this, DASH is increasing its chances of going mainstream through a new tool, Evolution, that will be released soon. Through this tool, DASH plans to help ordinary people navigate the crypto world with ease, even if they are just getting started.
Disclaimer: David Drake is on the advisory board for most of the firms mentioned or quoted in this article.
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