What is Dash InstantSend — And Why Should You Care?

Cryptocurrency survived for a decade without it, relying on the unique concept of a digital cash payment method and the many advantages afforded by blockchain technology. However, from day one, it has been a well-known reality that, in order to survive and expand into a globally utilized preferred payment method, cryptocurrency needed to step it up and become a convenient option for day to day transactions. There have been a few major hurdles standing in the way, specifically transaction speed and transaction fees. For a time, these two issues were nearly insurmountable. Top cryptocurrency Bitcoin’s transaction speeds hovered in the ten-minute range. With smaller block sizes, transactions can often backlog, causing delays and price fluctuations that are unhelpful for transaction-based business. Even with Bitcoin Cash, its enormous block sizes, and its new zero confirmation transaction capabilities, some roadblocks have been hit along the way. Transaction fees, whether they are for transfers, network use, wallet access, or some other financial event, are another huge pain point for cryptocurrencies. The high cost of doing business via cryptocurrency is especially obvious in smaller daily transactions, and even with quick transaction speeds, can be a deterrent from the adoption of crypto as a default payment method. However, 2018 was quite the year for innovation and progress in the crypto space. While most changes revolved around Dapps and ICOs, a small but significant amount of developers focused on the basic premise of crypto as a payment method.

Dash as a Solution

One project that recently announced big changes to its network capabilities in this area is Dash. A payment-specific cryptocurrency in existence since 2014, Dash has long promoted itself as instant, private, and secure. Dash officially announced its intent to activate InstantSend transactions by default. InstantSend is the Dash version of zero confirmation transactions, but with an interesting techy twist to ensure security. This security feature locks transaction inputs via the Dash master node network.

This is really impressive! 👏🏆 This is why @Dashpay is called digital cash & gaining merchant adoption despite market price pullback. #Dash is focused & committed as a payments solution offering distinct advantages for real world use-cases #UtilityNotHypehttps://t.co/8sPnVVidNc

— Mark Mason (@StayDashy) December 4, 2018

In a major change to the confirmation process, InstantSend waives the standard requirement of a minimum of one on-blockchain confirmation. This first confirmation can take a while, with times in the minutes to hours range. It is particularly frustrating as there is no set standard to how long it will take for a transaction to process. InstantSend is not only instant, but it is also reliable. This feature has existed for a while, but with default InstantSend, locking fees are waived, resulting in confident and secure transactions without incurring additional cost. For many users, this is a critical step toward a broader user base. The concept of spending extra money to ensure the security of transactions on a trusted network is tough to get behind, even if the overall premise makes sense. Dash is demonstrating a firm commitment to its goal of developing a widely used and trusted currency.

ChainLocks

In addition to InstantSend, Dash is preparing to launch yet another security feature with the release of its next version. This feature, known as ChainLocks, uses the same master nodes to ensure the security of the Dash blockchain during one of the blockchain’s greatest fears — 51 percent attack situations — like the one recently against the Vertcoin chain. While the ChainLocks feature is specifically designed for this hacking scenario, it will also benefit Dash users by increasing the security of InstantSend, or zero-confirmation transactions, even further. Dash has held its place as a top performer in the payment-focused crypto space, since its 2014 inception. The platform has demonstrated a strong commitment to the premise on which it was built: speed, security, and privacy. With these new payment-specific features and benefits the Dash network is offering, Dash is poised to charge forward in its quest to become cryptocurrency’s top payment solution. Think Dash has the potential to revolutionize cryptocurrency payment methods? Let us know in the comments below!