Bitcoin? Now Dash Is On A Record-Setting Wave Of Its Own

Even as all eyes have been focused on the price of Bitcoin, which yesterday smashed through the $10,000 barrier, cryptocurrency Dash, has been on a record-setting spike of its own. Though it operates under the radar of many investors, last week Dash surged past the $600 mark. DASH currently the seventh most popular cryptocurrency tips with a market cap of $5.02 billion was originally released as XCoin (XCO) on January 2014. Just days after its launch it was renamed Darkcoin because of its ability to ensure user anonymity by masking transactions and IP addresses, but rebranded as Dash (a shortened version of digital cash) during March 2015. 

An additional benefit Dash provides, also reflected in its name, is transaction speed. Send and confirm transactions can be done within seconds using Dash, whereas the same functions via Bitcoin, on average, can take 10 minutes, though extremely large transactions can take up to an hour.

If the digital currency has been around for a few years, why has it suddenly doubled in price over the past month, shooting up from $282 on October, 28 to $631 on November 28? There could be a number of reasons.

Political turmoil in Zimbabwe, which has long suffered from devastating inflation, caused many of the African country's citizens to turn to Bitcoin as a crisis currency/safe haven. The coup this month that brought down long-time President Robert Mugabe has added to the uncertainty. In what can only be regarded as perfect timing, Dash recently announced it has now been made available to locals in Zimbabwe. The currency's backers have inked a joint venture with KuvaCash, a program claiming to have a solution for Zimbabwe's ballooning inflation, collapsing currency and declining national economy.

Clark notes that Dash is no longer flying under the radar as one of the most promising cryptocurrency projects to date. Hundreds of regions around the world are beginning to benefit from its position as the top digital currency for payments.

Another reason Dash may have suddenly started moving could be due to South Korean buyers attracted to the alt currency. According to data from CoinMarketCap, nearly half of Dash's volume comes from South Korea's Bithumb exchange. Increased Korean demand is likely another main price driver.

Friendly government regulations in the Asian nation, which aim to give cryptocurrencies legal status, may also have spurred digital currency investor activity in the region. The Korea Herald reported this summer that Bithumb accounts for 75.7% of Bitcoin's South Korean Bitcoin market volume, as well as about 10% of the global Bitcoin trade.

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Zoid Research Financial Advisory