This Week In Dash: December 31st – January 5th

[ZionRTZ]

Happy New Year, Dash community! 2019 is off to an amazing start for Dash. Continue reading to get a brief summary of the week.

Dash Adoption of the Week:

- Dash Adds 4,000+ Merchants and Countless Integrations in 2018: Looking back upon last year, Dash had numerous accomplishments, but one of the biggest triumphs was growing the number of Dash accepting merchants from around 500 to over 4,600. There was also numerous integrations and partnerships with exchanges and payment processors. The Dash network grew significantly with major development releases and announcements, including new Dash Core Group CFO and CTO. Make sure to check out this 2018 wrap-up to see all the successes Dash had last year and how it is poised for even more progress in 2019.

- Dash Adoption in Colombia Speeds Past 300 Merchants: Colombia recent passed the threshold of 300 Dash accepting merchants and is still adding more, along with a 25% increase in active wallet downloads. The majority of the merchants are food & drink and technology, which George Donnelly of Dash Colombia believes is because they are industries accustomed to rapid change and adaptation. Overall, the Dash Colombia ecosystem has been able to grow so rapidly and cheaply thanks to their low cost merchant-centric Dash Invites program.

Community Outreach of the Week:

- Bradley Zastrow Says Much of Cryptocurrency Criticism is Fair: The Dash Core Group Global Head of Business Development recently said in an interview “that criticism is fair in many cases” in reply to the concern that cryptocurrencies are mostly hype and no substance. Bradley discussed how there is a need for real-world adoption and usage and how Dash is achieving just that goal with over 2,500 Dash accepting merchants in Venezuela and over 4,600 merchants around the world. The topic helps illustrate that Dash is well suited to survive a bear market since it is actually being used by consumers and merchants in real life rather than only speculation.

Dash Innovation of the Week:

- Dash DAO Announces Trust Protectors Election in March: The main development arm of Dash, Dash Core Group, has thus far only been held accountable by the ability of the Dash Masternodes to defund the entire group. However, the Dash DAO Irrevocable Trust was formed in July 2017 to give more authority to Dash masternodes to change aspects of DCG without the nuclear option of defunding. This coming March, the Dash masternodes will elect six individuals to be the Trust Protectors, whom cannot be members of Dash Core Group. The process makes Dash more decentralized by giving more precision recourse to more Dash individuals rather than a blunt fund or defund option.

General News of the Week:

- Electrum Wallet Phishing Attack Displays Need for Concise Vigilance: Almost 250 Bitcoin was lost to an attacker of the Eelectrum wallet. Trickily, the attacker used a semi-official looking rich text error prompt to coax unsuspecting users to download malware disguised as a false Electrum wallet upgrade. The attack demonstrates the need for individuals to remain cautious within the cryptocurrency space, but it also shows the urgency of user friendly design so there is less room for user error since thefts and hacks will impede mass adoption.

- TIME Recognizes the Importance of Cryptocurrency As Industry Lacks Strong Leader: The popular magazine and news outlet recently did an article outlining how cryptocurrency matters to freedom and how it can give financial and monetary sovereignty back to individuals around the world. However, the article also recognizes Bitcoin’s scaling issues and ponders the Lightning Network as a possible solution. Instead, Dash already has over 4,600 merchants around the world and already has implemented some successful scaling solutions. This can be seen in the most recent stress test that set a record of over 3+ million transactions in 24 hours without significantly affecting the transaction cost, speed, nor security.

- More Countries Abandon US Dollar: Countries such as China, India, Iran, Turkey, Russia, and Venezuela are implementing new strategies to avoid use of the United States Dollar. Most are substituting the dollar with their own national fiat currencies, but cryptocurrencies are also a possible alternative. Venezuela is the first country to semi-attempt cryptocurrencies at a national level with the Petro. While many doubt the legitimacy of the Petro, it nevertheless sets the stage for independent cryptocurrencies, such as Dash.

- Cryptocurrency Mining Decline Raises Security Concerns: The declining exchange price has caused mining hashrates to fall, which raises security concerns for both proof of work and proof of stake coins. However, the hashrate decline has been relatively smaller than the exchange price declines, which can be due to numerous reasons. Dash has become more robust by utilizing a hybrid of both PoW and PoS to gain the advantages of both.

- Large Exchange Hacks Pave Way for Private Key Control: It is estimated that over $1 billion USD was stolen from cryptocurrency exchanges in 2018, which has prompted individuals to realize that they do not fully control their money if they do not control their private keys. The proof of keys event has been the latest manifestation of this realization. This is partly why Dash is striving to create an easy to use cryptocurrency that enables everyday individuals to better control their money.

Dash Media of the Week:

- Dash Podcast with DCG developer and Dash Boost Co-Founder: This week the three amigos sit down and chat with pasta to discuss the latest happenings in Dash Core Group development and the status of Dash Boost. Make sure to listen in since you do not want to miss this information!


Last year was an exhilarating year for Dash with numerous integrations, developments, partnerships, and news. 2019 looks to be off to a running start with even more exciting developments in the pipeline. Make sure to follow all of our social media accounts to stay up to date on new Dash advancements! We cannot wait to see what 2019 holds!


SOURCE: https://dashnews.org/this-week-in-dash-december-31st-january-5th/