Dash

Dash is a decentralized, open-source cryptocurrency focused on providing fast, inexpensive, and private global payments. It was launched in 2014 as a fork of Litecoin, with the goal of improving upon Bitcoin's shortcomings, particularly in terms of transaction speed and privacy. One of Dash's key features is its two-tier network architecture. The first tier consists of nodes that compete to solve complex cryptographic problems through a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, similar to Bitcoin. The second tier is made up of masternodes, which are servers backed by a collateral of Dash coins. These masternodes provide advanced services to the network, such as InstantSend (for instant transactions), PrivateSend (for enhanced privacy), and ChainLocks (to ensure the immutability of the blockchain). The Dash network is secured through a combination of PoW mining and the proof-of-service consensus algorithm used by the masternodes. Masternodes are rewarded with a portion of the block rewards, incentivizing them to maintain the integrity and stability of the network.