Below are my key takeaways from the Dash Core Group Q1 conference call. The call in its entirety is available above.
1: Dash Ventures and network-owned revenue-generating entities
Ryan Taylor expanded on a new legal structure in the works known as Dash Ventures. This will allow new contractors to engage in legal agreements with the network, particularly for network ownership in companies and startups that receive treasury funding. In addition to providing a way of keeping proposal owners accountable and preventing new groups from simply launching their businesses at Dash’s expense, the legal structure can open up new revenue streams long-term, which can have the effect of improving stability for the Dash network and the currency itself, since Dash will be “backed by something.” All Dash Ventures assets will be owned by the masterndoe network, WITHOUT requiring public or private identification.
2: Core plans a big July cycle, is finalizing escrow service
Dash Core will restrain its portion of DAO budget requested to allow more participants in the network, and will have a relatively light May and June cycle, particularly for tax reasons. In July, however, the Core team plans on submitting many new proposals before the network. The organization went $1.1 million over budget this last quarter due to market fluctuations, where its volatility buffer came in handy.
The Core team will release its updated escrow service and fiat guarantee plan shortly. Core also plans to remain quiet on proposals unless they’re integral to Dash’s continuing development, or directly contradicts or disrupts something Core is attempting to do.
3: 12.4 release planned Q2, a host of mobile developments are coming
The release of 12.4, which will implement deterministic masternode lists and unlock a host of new improvements to Dash, is planned for Q2 of this year. The development team is working on SPV clients verifying state transitions to lay the groundwork for Evolution’s contact lists etc. The Copay wallet is almost done but still has lingering issues, with a release planned next quarter. New mobile improvements such as integrating Uphold and Wall of Coins into wallets are also planned for next quarter.
4: Long-term retention plan for Core team members
In order to retain Core team members long-term, competitive industry salaries are being targeted, including a bonus plan. This will be an improvement over the current situation where Core members are generally paid below the industry standard for their respective fields.
Additionally, the Core team will be using a professional employment organization (PEO) for key staff members only to deal with international hiring challenges and offer benefits. Presently, hiring a global team is challenging because Dash Core Group cannot feasibly be a legal entity in all the countries where its employees may reside. Using a PEO can help streamline the tax and legal requirements for hiring globally.
5: Dealing with implications of both transaction and information privacy
Dash and the masternode network are not responsible for AML practices, but rather businesses at the fiat conversion point are to do their own due diligence. Core remains confident that Dash’s privacy setup will have the coin viewed closer to Bitcoin than other encrypted privacy coins by regulators, and rumblings about being delisted from exchanges remain limited. Core believes that when properly explained Dash’s privacy functions are no cause for alarm and do not get in the way of voluntary AML/KYC compliance by its users.
Masternode maintenance quorums are planned to deal with potentially deleting private data that would appear on the blockchain under the Evolution setup. This is a prickly issue because on the one hand the blockchain is supposed to be an immutable and decentralized ledger, yet on the other hand masternodes could be made to store reprehensible and wildly illegal data against their consent if there exists no mechanism to filter this out. The Evolution team is grappling with how best to balance this dilemma.
