DASH: Building decentralized infrastructure through incentivized full-node operation.
Masternodes is how DASH calls their full nodes. Every coin needs full nodes for the security and function of the network.
From this Coindesk article: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-nodes-need/"To function to its full potential, the bitcoin network must not only provide an avenue for transactions, but also remain secure. By using a number of randomly selected nodes, the network can reduce the problem of double spending when a user attempts to spend the same digital token twice.
However, bitcoin doesn't just need nodes, it requires lots of fully functioning nodes nodes that have the bitcoin core client on a machine instance with the complete block chain. The more nodes there are, the more secure the network is. This is one of the reasons there is a plan to put bitcoin nodes in space, and that the plan has important implications for bitcoin. The problem is, the number of nodes on the network is dropping, and core developers believe it may continue to do so."
There are two main differences between DASH full-nodes(Masternodes) and other crypto currencies full nodes. In DASH full-node operators are incentivized and the DASH network requires a 1000DASH collateral to run a node.
From, the same Coindesk article Bitcoiners have found lack of incentive to be one of the main reasons for the drop in nodes:"Unlike bitcoin mining, where participants are rewarded for confirming transactions, running a bitcoin node does not provide any incentive. The only benefit for someone to run a node is to help protect the network, and based on the Bitnodes data, the number of people interested in supporting the network with a full node is waning.
There could be a number of reasons for that.
For one thing, running a full node utilizes the resources of a machine for basically no monetary return. Plus, the collapse of Mt. Gox has likely left many people with less desire to support the digital currency."
On the other hand, the lack of a collateral makes it free for people to Sybil attack the network and spoof transactions. From this link http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2yvy6b/a_regulatory_compliance_service_is_sybil/ you can see:
"A "regulatory compliance" service is sybil attacking Bitcoin with surveillance nodes to deanonymize transactions."
Another issue of lack of incentive to run full-nodes is that as crypto-networks grow it leads to more centralitzation:"Members of the bitcoin community seem to be losing interest in hosting full nodes. And it's something to pay attention to, because over time it might mean that the major companies in the industry may have to pick up the slack.
If larger players are taking up the role of supporting the network as full nodes, though, it continues to lessen the amount of decentralization the network has at an infrastructure level."
DASH strategy solves all of these issues, through collateral requirement and incetivized full-node operation.
Once you have a decentralized network of full nodes, where you can count on updates, committed operators and protection from bad actors, all tied to your blockchain. You can really start building features and services over it to provide added value services to end users.
So far DASH has implemented on this platform:
1. Better fungibility and privacy than other existing solutions, by using denominations and pre-emptive mixing, effectively creating digital cash. In DASH you can divide your money into denominations: 0.1, 1, 10, 100, mix it preemptively with other users in the network in a completely trustless and decentralized way and finally use it to pay for things just like with cash.
2. Instant transaction confirmations without creating any additional bloat in the blockchain. This technology will allow for crypto-currencies such as DRK/DASH to compete with nearly instantaneous transaction systems such as credit cards for point-of-sale situations while not relying on a centralized authority. It shortens the delay in confirmation of transactions to as little as 4 seconds.
Planned features:
3. 2FA at the protocol level
4. Pruning and scalability
5. Additional decentralized features and services yet to be revealed.
This is DASH's added value proposition. Please discuss.References:
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-nodes-need/http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2yvy6b/a_regulatory_compliance_service_is_sybil/
