InstantSend (transaction locking and masternode consensus). This technology allows Dash to compete with nearly instantaneous transaction systems such as credit cards for point-of-sale situations while not relying on a centralized authority. Widespread vendor acceptance of Dash and InstantSend revolutionizes cryptocurrency by shortening the delay in confirmation of transactions from as long as an hour (with Bitcoin) to as little as a few seconds.

PrivateSend is a novel, decentralized mixer for creating an on-demand system of removing the history from coins on the network. This is mainly for fungablity, which is the attribute of money that allows any token to be exchanged with any other token, without having a difference in price in the form of a premium for tokens with less or no history. Without PrivateSend, tokens with less history would become increasingly valuable as the network grows, because of their lack of association with prior transactions. Without fungibility, there is a risk that certain tokens could be “red listed” and lose some or all of their value if at any point in the past they had been found to be used in illegal or questionable activities. Nobody wants to hold money that was involved in illegal activity, yet after the activities take place, tokens re-enter the supply and pass to new users who had no connection with the prior illegal acts. We remove this issue with the implementation of PrivateSend, which is included as part of the core protocol of the Dash network.

The DAO is short for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. Dash has no central authority and reaches consensus by using decentralized governance by blockChain. It is a Sybil-attack-proof decentralized governance and funding system. This means that it is not possible to game the system by creating multiple pseudonymous nodes to gain more control over the network artificially than one user was intended to have. In this way, money can be spent in a decentralized fashion based on network consensus. Users submit proposals on community-owned sites and each masternode owner is given a single vote. Once a proposal gains the required network support, the funds are automatically disbursed when the next super block is released the following month. These funds come from mining efforts as 10% of the mined Dash coins are set aside for DGBB proposals. The other 90% is split evenly between Dash miners and Dash Masternode operators – the individuals who get to vote.

Masternodes play an important role on the Dash network as they support the infrastructure that enables specific functions to work. Essentially a masternode is an online computer that runs a dash wallet helping the network make important decisions, such as locking transactions with InstantSend, coordinate mixing of coins, and voting on budget funding. A masternode is required to have 1000 Dash as collateral, a dedicated IP address, and be able to run 24 hours a day with minimal connection loss. 45% of the block reward gets paid to masternodes on every block, which is then distributed to masternodes one at a time. Masternodes enable the following services:

InstantSend (instant transactions). In contrast, Bitcoin takes about 10 minutes to confirm a payment.

PrivateSend (anonymous transactions). In contrast, Bitcoin transactions are totally public and traceable. Only the identity of the addresses is anonymous.

Decentralised Governance (masternodes govern, while the blockchain funds development). In contrast, Bitcoin is controlled by a few big miners and funded by 3rd party centralised institutions with self interests.

Dash Evolution a decentralized payment processor (think a decentralized Paypal). Masternodes are also given voting rights on proposals. Each masternode has 1 vote and this vote can be used on budget proposals or important decisions that affect Dash. For a complete list of current proposals please click here.

What Are Masternode Shares? Masternode shares are for those that can’t afford to purchase the 1000 dash that are required to run a masternode. Masternode shares allow users to accumulatively meet the 1000 dash requirement of a masternode. This is achieved by utilising a 3rd party service that pools together the funds and sets up the masternode for the shareholders. The service provider then splits up the masternode rewards and pays it out to all shareholders of that masternode. Remember that by purchasing shares in a masternode, you are putting trust into the 3rd party service, so please do your own due diligence before purchasing.