Layer 1 / NETWORK PROFILE
Dash
DASH CMC #78 in the snapshot
A payment-focused network combining proof-of-work mining with collateralized masternodes that provide transaction locking, chain locking, governance, and additional services.
01 / THE PURPOSE
What is Dash for?
Dash aims to make native-coin payments practical for everyday use. Its architecture separates block production from a service layer that helps recipients gain clearer assurance about transactions and the accepted chain.
02 / THE ARCHITECTURE
Three questions about the machinery.
How does it agree?
Consensus & securityProof-of-work miners produce blocks. Long-living masternode quorums sign InstantSend transaction locks and ChainLocks; nodes reject competing history that conflicts with a valid ChainLock under the protocol’s rules.
Where do instructions run?
Execution modelDash Core uses a UTXO payment ledger. Additional Dash Platform functionality is a separate application and data layer, rather than making every base payment an EVM smart-contract transaction.
What is the token for?
DASH in the systemDASH is the payment and fee asset. Masternode operation requires collateral, and the reward system also funds service operators and governance-approved work rather than allocating everything only to miners.
03 / THE DESIGN CHOICES
What comes with the design?
Each architecture makes choices about security, performance, coordination, and who can participate.
Locking adds dependence on the integrity and availability of masternode quorums alongside the proof-of-work miners.
Masternode collateral and operating requirements make service participation different from simply running a full node.
Fast settlement assurance does not establish that a merchant delivered goods or that a payment request was legitimate.
04 / IN PRACTICE
Follow one use.
A customer pays a shop in DASH. InstantSend locks the transaction’s inputs against conflicting spends, while a subsequent ChainLock protects the accepted block history. The merchant separately decides whether the order itself is valid.
05 / CHECK THE EXPLANATION
Sources & snapshot.
Network descriptions use the references below. The CoinMarketCap snapshot determines which assets are in scope and their captured rank; it does not assess the quality of a network.
- Dash network features Dash Docs
- ChainLocks Dash Docs
- Dash Platform proofs and asset locks Dash Platform Docs
- CoinMarketCap top 100 snapshot Captured 14 Nov 2026 · See the complete scope audit
- Dash (DASH) on CoinMarketCap Captured asset rank #78
Profile checked 14 Nov 2026. Network designs and ranked positions can change.