*Conflict of interest disclaimer: The author/Dash Force News editor is the project lead for the Rights Brigade*

Activist organization the Rights Brigade has switched from Bitcoin to Dash for operational costs.

The New Hampshire-based organization, which focuses on activism that promotes freedom in all areas of life, uses cryptocurrency donations to tip activists in order to incentivize them and thank them for their work. In the past, the organization ran entirely off of Bitcoin. However, while Bitcoin donations are still accepted, the Rights Brigade also accepts Dash, and will be exclusively using Dash to tip activists.

Bitcoin’s high fees and slow transactions make tipping problematic

Bitcoin’s median fees have grown significantly this year, leading to many previous uses, such as micropayments and small tips, no longer being an effective use case. Online advertisement platform AnonymousAds, which uses Bitcoin to privately reimburse content providers for running ads, no longer gives micro-payouts due to increasingly high fees. AnonymousAds previously allowed users to withdraw small amounts of Bitcoin valued at just a few cents, though now that amount is less than most transaction fees. When contacted, AnonymousAds indicated they were not currently considering integrating Dash in order to save on costs:

“Our business is based on BitCoin and switching to another cryptocurrency is a very difficult and expensive process which we cannot undertake at the moment. We’ll consider other currencies in the future.”

In the case of the Rights Brigade, this meant that activist tips were aggregated monthly rather than distributed the day of. This also meant that fees cut into tipping amounts, which in some cases were low enough that the fee to send a tip, combined with that to move/spend the tip, ended up amounting to a significant chunk of the original amount. By switching to Dash, the Rights Brigade hopes to be able to tip activists daily. Additionally, because some activists may desire additional privacy, PrivateSend will be used for tipping.