Each month, the ten most popular questions submitted by the Dash community at Dash Nation Discord are collected and sent to Dash Core Group for answers. The intention is to select important and well-thought out questions and filter out unpopular questions, questions that have already been answered and other noise. The submissions for November 2018 are as follows:
- Q: Is there any update to the SEC meeting with Core this month?
A: Updates will come from the SEC, not from DCG. We are unable to provide updates concerning the discussions. Ryan has responded to this in our 3Q call. Robert has provided the same commentary already on the Dash Forum.
- Q: If I remember well: there has been a time when it was said PrivateSend should be implemented as default (without mixing?) in evolution. For several months I have not heard anything about this feature. Do you plan to accelerate the mixing process or making PS a default feature you can switch off?
A (UdjinM6): PS in its current form - no.
A (Nathan): This is not planned in the near-term future.
- Q: Can we get a summary of what Evolution actually is, and can we now see the 60-page whitepaper mentioned by Bob in the last update? Even though Andy Freer ‘resigned’ will this non-public document be the definitive document going forward? Is there an updated public Evolution roadmap document?
A (Elizabeth): Evolution represents a series of releases that will include features focused on improving Dash’s overall usability. This includes improvements to our system such as blockchain users and the architecture required to create DAPs with Dash, as well as the first Evolution DAP (DashPay). For a detailed explanation of planned technical upgrades and product features, please check out the Q3 quarterly presentation slides 13 and 16, respectively.
- Q: After the initial evolution with dashpay release, is the development still going to be done closed source to released only when done? If so, would be possible to institute a Beta dev program where devs that sign a NDA have access earlier in order to prepare?
A (Nathan): I am not aware of any plans to do this. We’re currently trying to open-source as much as possible as soon as we’re able, in the right order. In order to give fair access to everyone, we have up ‘til now tried to prevent doing any type of Beta access, even considering NDAs. Note also that post-Evo w/DashPay release, much of the development will be moved toward DAPs and done by DAP creators.
- Q: Should we be concerned that EOS seems to allow something similar to (or better than?) what evo promises Re off-chain data storage and letting you develop apps in any language that interface with our blockchain to validate data?
A (Nathan): No
- Q: Is Andy Freer's departure likely to cause delays or disruptions to the roadmap?
A (Ryan): The design for Evolution is complete and well-understood by the engineers responsible for implementing the code. Because the design phase is complete, there should be no impact to the implementation phase. In addition, Andy remains available to the team for any questions that arise.
- Q: I'd like to know DCG's thoughts on Venezuela's cryptocurrency, the Petro, and how they think it will impact Dash.
A (Bradley): We’re not concerned with the Petro. Indirectly, the Petro helps all cryptocurrencies only because it “forces” mainstream users to interact/use the Petro and learn behaviours which are unique to crypto, but different from the mainstream financial system (i.e. private key management).
A (Fernando): Additionally, it is unlikely that the users will want to use the Petro more than it is strictly needed. Let’s not forget that this is a cryptocurrency that is not fully transparent, has been announced and not launched several times, and comes from a government under which the local currency has collapsed.
- Q: Is there anyway to put pressure on uphold to lower their $3 withdrawal fee to the dash mobile wallet? What is the best way?
A (Bradley): It’s important to note that 1) This fee is not new, it is part of Uphold’s business model and has been since we first implemented in 2017. 2) We already enjoy cheaper fees than most other cryptocurrencies on the Uphold platform. 3) We are not able to comment on specific conversations or plans with specific partners. However, the total fees incurred by a user is just one part of the customer experience on which we’re focusing. At a general level, the best way to move toward lower fees is to ensure that our partners are getting the value they need to advance their operations. This may be in the form of fiat revenue, but also new business opportunities, increased customer acquisition/stickiness and new revenue opportunities. One has to prove their value to the partner before one can expect that partner to remove value from their standard model, especially if that change is specific to Dash. We believe that a Dash wallet integration better positions us to demonstrate alternative revenue models with a partner.
- Q: Bitcoin-Omni. Ethereum. XRP. BitcoinCash-Wormhole. EOS. Stellar. These are the top 6 coins by market cap and they all have token platforms. Is putting Dash in this list a goal of DCG? Can you give a rough outline of your plan to get us there? Do you believe tokens will be a cornerstone feature of the #1 blockchain in the world 5 years from now?
A (Alexander): We are not concerned about listing in market cap curated lists. In this early-stage, immature market, these lists mostly reflect popularity of investors. We are focused on improving the payments space, and delivering product. We look at transactions, volume, and estimated number of users more than we do listings against other coins - each of those coins has different goals. We have a growth strategy, a tech strategy, and a product strategy. We are executing them. We can only focus on what we can control. We can look more closely at ourselves and our actions more than we can popularity lists. In that manner, we do need to take a more active effort building a developer and user community, but our current focus is getting Evolution delivered. Once the ability to create Dapps on our blockchain is available, we will engage more on this front.
- Q: What is the long term strategy for staffing considering market- and thus Treasury-uncertainties? Will Dash Core Group require the current amount of developers post-Evolution platform release?
A (Fernando):
We have been consistently reducing our run rate for the last few months through a number of measures that are detailed in our compensation proposals. Still, the November wages will dent the buffer on our compensation account because the amount we are getting is less than the run rate. We have plans for additional reductions of our run rate if we need. We can’t share all the details because some of these measures affect people, but our priority is the continuity of the organization and the development.
As for Evolution, launching won’t mean that we will need fewer developers. Our current team is not large compared to others in the space. In fact, there are things we are not pursuing because we don’t have enough resources. After launching version 1.0 there will still be more work to do than what we can handle.