This week has continued to be an innovative and eventful week that enhances digital cash for everyday users. Continue reading to get a asummary of the week!

Dash Developments of the Week:

  • Dash Releases Version 0.14 Including ChainLocks 51% Attack Immunity: Dash Core Group’s latest release includes ChainLocks, which will be a first for proof-of-work chains by further mitigating 51% attacks by utilizing long-living masternode quorums (LLMQs). ChainLocks will permanently lock in blocks based on a first-seen rule, which will mitigate blockchain disruptions due to reorganizations, selfish or secret mining. The release comes after the successful automatic InstantSend release in version 0.13 and before the much anticipated version 1.0 (a.k.a. Evolution) that will feature blockchain usernames and contact lists.
  • Dash Platform, DAPI, and Drive Value Propositions Further Enhances Dash Network: Dash Core Group has released more information on how Dash Platform will be comprised of Dash Drive for information storage and Dash DAPI for developers and users to access the Drive information. The two features functioning together will enable Dash to service consumers needing to store digital rights management, property records, and more. The platform also enables improvements over traditional API by being decentralized and thus more robust against centralized control and downtime.

Dash Integration of the Week:

  • VegaWallet and Covault Partner to Bring Dash Payments to Cannabis Dispensaries: The comprehensive cryptocurrency wallet and merchant solution that recently integrated Dash via Bitgo, will now be offering a crypto POS geared towards the cannabis industry and partnering with crypto ATM provider, Covault. The partnership and innovations will help solve the money transaction problems within the rapidly expanding United States’ cannabis sector that can, in most cases, only use cash. VegaWallet has also announced plans to work with Dash Core Group to implement the improvements that Evolution will release.

Dash Core Group Project Update:

Here’s an update from Liz Robuck, Project Manager, of what’s going on at Dash Core Group this week:

  • 🚀 Dash Core v0.14 released to mainnet!
  • 🌊 Made Dark Gravity Wave compatible with mainnet/testnet for SPV
  • ☝️ Updated dashd to handle new core SPV endpoint
  • 🐛 Fixed bugs on Pay screen and profile picture on DashPay
  • 📱 Added support for LLMQ quorum determination, quorum validation and LLMQ-based InstantSend on DashWallet Android

Dash Research of the Week:

  • Dash Claims Fastest Growing Active Addresses Among Major Coins: New analysis from Cryptoslate, utilizing data from Coinmetrics, shows that Dash has one the fastest growing active address count of the major coins. The significant growth partly signals that Dash is quickly being adopted for use in real world scenarios rather than just being bought and held without using. The research does acknowledge that active addresses are not a full-proof way to measure cryptocurrency usage since any individual can be using many different addresses, but the measurement is still one of the better measurement techniques to judge actual usage due to the pseudo-anonymous nature.
  • Bitcoin Fees Remain High As ChainLocks Weaken “Pay for Security” Proposition: Bitcoin recently crossed the $1 USD median transaction fee threshold for the first time since having a median fee of over $34 USD per transaction in December of 2017 when transaction fees and times spiked due to congestion. A common explanation given for paying the high fees are that since Bitcoin is so expansive in terms of exchange value, it is harder to 51% attack the network, but Dash’s latest ChainLocks release changes that dynamic by further separating the link between exchange price and cost of attacking the network. This now enables consumers to pay a fraction of a cent for a median transaction fee (currently around $0.00034 USD), which did not increase significantly during the last stress test that reached over 3 million transactions in 24 hours.
  • The Velocity Protocol – Mass Cryptocurrency Scaling Through Bandwidth Optimization: Dash researcher, Darren Tapp, discusses how the velocity protocol, which has emerged from ASU Blockchain Lab research that Dash helped fund, utilizes bandwidth more efficiently to propagate blocks. With Velocity, Dash’s consensus limit can reach 500 MB and its economic limit is 300 MB and for reference, Dash with 250 MB blocks would be able to process the average transactions per second of VISA. Make sure to read Darren’s article to get more details.

General News of the Week:

  • Europol Shuts Down Large European-Based Cryptocurrency Mixer: Europol and the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) seized six servers from Bestmixer.io, which reportedly had a turnover of at least $200 million (around 27,000 bitcoins). The seizure emphasized the need for competition within the mixing sector to not only provide more options, but also better services for consumers. Wasabi Wallet and Cash Shuffle are some alternatives for Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, respectively, but Dash PrivateSend offers consumers up to 16 rounds of mixing and mixing on many decentralized servers as additional obscurity.
  • Cryptocurrency Scams Continue to Depend on Misinformation: Two new cryptocurrency scams received some significant media attention; one tricked users into downloading a fake ‘Trezor” app that actually sent users’ funds to the scammers’ wallets. Another scam had investment fund managers promising to invest in cryptocurrencies, but actually invested in traditional assets and used the excess money to buy luxury goods. The two scams signal the importance of properly educating users to not only retain cryptocurrency consumers, but also mitigate government interventions.

Dash Media of the Week:

  • Dash News – Samsung Accept Dash via Cryptobuyer, Spend Dash on Apple Pay via Spend Card & More!: If you missed last week’s news cycle, or just want to experience all the awesome Dash news again, make sure to watch Heidi’s recap video!
  • Dash Presentation at Consensus 2019 – Ryan Taylor and Bob Carroll on ChainLocks and Dash Investment Foundation: Ryan, CEO of Dash Core Group, discussed during his talk the difference between Dash Core Group and Dash since many often confuse the two; a decentralized network cannot have a CEO. He also talked about Dash’s launch of the Dash Investment Foundation as a new decentralized method of funding projects, but now the network can own a stake and receive portions of the profit each project makes. Then Dash Core Group CTO Bob Carroll explained how ChainLocks further helps to protect Dash from 51% attacks.
  • Ian Freeman on Bitcoin Cash Japan vs. New Hampshire Dash Adoption: Joël sat down with Ian Freeman, host of the popular radio show Free Talk Live, “the show that launched Bitcoin” and “Bitcoin Jesus” Roger Ver, to talk about Ian’s recent trip to Japan and contrast New Hampshire’s Dash-dominated cryptocurrency scene and adoption by many local merchants to Tokyo’s big city scene and Bitcoin.com’s many employees.
  • Dash Podcast 105 – Feat. Rob Odell and Aiden McClelland from SALT Lending: This week, Rob and Aiden from SALT lending join the guys to talk about SALT’s recent integration and popularity of Dash, including allowing Masternode Operators to keep their Masternodes running and earning rewards while also putting it up as collateral for a loan. They also talk about some of the things that their lending options offer, restrictions on their lending process, tax considerations, and much more. Make sure to listen in to get this valuable knowledge!

Dash continues to power ahead with amazing new developments, integrations, and research that is helping it to be used in everyday purchases by everyday individuals and become even more sustainable. As Dash gets closer to the version 1.0 (Evolution) release, expect even more news developments. Make sure to follow Dash News on social media to get these updates first.