Dash

DASH is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency for payments, with masternodes and instant transaction confirmations.

Dash is a cryptocurrency built for everyday payments. Its first block was mined on 18–19 January 2014, under the name XCoin; it was soon renamed Darkcoin and became Dash ('digital cash') in 2015. There was no token sale. In the first day and a half a software flaw let about 1.99 million coins be mined, roughly a tenth of the eventual supply, an event known as the 'instamine'.

The network has two layers. Miners secure the chain with X11 proof-of-work. Masternodes, servers that lock 1,000 DASH as collateral (4,000 DASH for evonodes), provide InstantSend confirmations in about two seconds, ChainLocks against 51% attacks, CoinJoin mixing and governance votes. Each block reward goes 20% to miners, 60% to masternodes and 20% to a treasury that pays for development and projects that masternodes approve each month.

Supply is capped at about 17.7 to 18.9 million DASH, and the block reward falls by 7.14% roughly every year. About 12.84 million DASH existed on 27 September 2026. Since 2024 Dash also runs a second, proof-of-stake chain called Evolution for data and applications, and in 2026 it added zero-knowledge shielded transactions there.

Because of its optional privacy features, Dash is often treated as a 'privacy coin'. Japan's regulator targeted such coins in 2018, Bittrex delisted it in 2021, DIFC and onshore UAE rules ban privacy tokens, and EU rules from July 2027 bar exchanges from anonymity-enhancing coins, a term that covers optional privacy features. Dash has disputed the label, saying its privacy is no greater than Bitcoin's.