Keys to Dash Understanding
When starting a discussion about Dash, most people don’t understand the current fiat monetary system. So comparing to fiat, will force a 10 minute discussion about banking, money creation, and how fiat gets its value. Saying digital money gives the impression of a scary virtual internet thing that can easily be hacked and stolen.
The easier approach to the discussion for someone new to crypto is to just say that Dash is a fast way to pay with your phone. Then they see the benefit immediately. Usually they ask, so does it work with a bank. And then you can explain the funds are stored on your phone. This is something they own, so this seems reasonable to most people. Then you can emphasize that you can send money whenever you want and even around the world, not just during banking hours. So by this time you have your user interested without trying to change their incorrect belief about fiat. Now the last question comes up, “Where can I spend Dash?” Now we need more options for people so this can really be an expanding ecosystem.
At the bitcoin conference, most people knew about Bitcoin and altcoins. So they usually started asking about block time, how many coins /block, mining algo, etc. It was best to cut them off before they started down the rabbit hole of mining as this is irrelevant when comparing other Bitclones to Dash. The best way to start the conversation is to say that Dash is a crypto currency that doesn’t just reward miners, but also splits the block reward between masternodes, miners, and a budget system. Then you can discuss that one of the features like InstantX that it can lock a transaction in about 1 second and is double spend proof, unlike with a 0 confirmation transaction. The masternode network of 3500 nodes locks the transaction and tells miners to put it in the next 5 blocks. The next question is about centralization and what are masternodes. We tell them that anyone can own a masternode, you just need 1000 Dash as collateral to put in the node and an always on server with a static IP. Masternodes get rewarded with 45% of the block rewards and vote on the budgets that are submitted to budget system. How does the budget system work? Well, projects are submitted with a fee of 5 dash and anyone can submit a project. When a project gets enough yes votes it gets funded at the next monthly payout from the block rewards.
Usually, a ‘smart/brainwashed’ cryptonite will say that it is possible to determine a 0 confirm transaction isn’t a double spend and you can reject if it is the case. You can remind them that this isn’t a 100% guaranty, especially with RBF, and that a merchant accepting 0 confirms will need to charge a certain % extra to cover missed double spends. And a second rebuttal is that the lighting network can manage fast transactions. Although this is true, the problem is the cost. A lightning channel needs to be kept open between 2 parties to facility transactions. There is an initial transaction fee and a guess for how much collateral will be needed for use of the channel. Both parties also risk some collateral as they would be responsible for any double spends. So this type of service cannot be free. Think Visa/Mastercard type fees of 3%.
So if you do want to enter the Fiat vs Dash discussion here we go. The first thing people say when you bring up that Dash is like digital cash is that it doesn’t have any value. They think the dollar has value because they use it all the time. You can tell them that fiat currencies only have value because of the faith the users have in the currency and that there is no real value to a dollar. They usually don’t understand this. So bringing up how funds are stored at the bank is better. The bank stores your funds as journal entries in your account without actually backing that by real dollar bills. Ok, so we are getting close. Now we say that when banks loan out money they actually create money. As more loans are taken out more money is created which is why the value of the dollar drops by a few percent every year and we call that inflation. When you deposit money in the bank the bank owns that money. They use it to make loans, invest in the stock market, insurance, cds, etc. The FDIC can insure a small portion(3%?) of banks that may have liquidity problems. But most people think that that FDIC is a benefit. Instead it is the banks not holding 100% of your deposits that requires the FDIC in the first place.
Ok now we compare to Dash. My bank account has FDIC, does Dash have that? Dash doesn’t need FDIC since you own the deposit. FDIC is only needed when a bank that has your deposit loans out most of it and insurance is needed in the case of a bank run. Since the dash wallet is yours and the funds are kept in that wallet, no 3rd party can confiscate or take that away.
Dash is digital, why is it worth anything? Better to ask back, "Dollars can be digital too in a checking account, and why are they worth something?" Dash has value because it is cryptographically secure and limited to a certain amount of coins. It also has more utility because it can be transferred in 1 second, can have its history erased to keep it fungible, and transactions secured by the blockchain. Dash funds are stored in users wallets and a transfer can be confirmed without a 3rd party. The value to the user is that it isn’t subject to a central government or banking system to confiscate or create more and inflate away its value. This is a difficult argument and most people will still come back with, so how do I get Dash into real money like a dollar bill....the belief is strong with some...better to let that go. Usually, when someone thinks about it for a few weeks, it will sink in and they will get excited after they figure it out.
See how long a discussion about fiat takes? It is much quicker to emphasize speedy phone transactions that you own 100% of the funds on your phone wallet. Actually, any mention of using a computer to send funds, is too scary for most people that just know about cash and credit cards for point of sale transactions.
