The Dash project blames the media for presenting it as a “currency of privacy.” Now it seeks to position itself as a cryptocurrency not different from Bitcoin.
In modern communication, it is commonly observed that sources of information conveniently change their statements to satisfy third parties. When making these changes, they do not usually assume responsibility and defend their opinions. On the other hand, interviewees, companies or spokespersons take advantage of the old practice of blaming the media.
This strategy, known as “killing the messenger,” is a last resort behavior through which sources try to dissociate themselves from their own statements, and thus allege that they were misunderstood or never said anything about it.
Something similar occurred recently with Dash, a cryptocurrency project that has big differences with Bitcoin. However, the Dash Core Group (DCG) foundation believe that there is no distinctive feature between Bitcoin and Dash that allows one to comply with regulatory guidelines, excluding the other, according to Omar Hamwi, business development manager at DCG.
The controversy arose after Dash was eliminated from several cryptocurrency exchanges houses, since these institutions are complying with recommendations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to mitigate the risk of illegal financial activities occurring through virtual asset service providers (VASP).
Dash was eliminated because it was represented in the media as a “privacy currency,” disregarding the actual analysis of the nature of the Dash blockchain, as stated by Hamwi. In fact, in the white paper of Dash the cryptocurrency is presented as an “Encrypted Currency Centered on Privacy,” which contradicts the executive.
Not only the media are blamed but also the journalists that cover the cryptocurrency source, saying that the latter seek to spread “nervousness” through their articles. The reason for this accusation is that some journalists still name Dash as “Darkcoin,” its original name modified in 2015.
A journalist told Hamwi that they do not report the news to generate nervousness. On the contrary, they seek to educate, teach and also report daily events that occur in the ecosystem to keep users updated.
He asked Hamwi not to attack the media or career journalists who have been dedicated to covering this source for years. They are not to blame for Dash being removed from exchange houses as the cryptocurrency has the option of being anonymous.
Dash Is Not and Will Not Be Bitcoin
Although Dash wants to dress as Bitcoin to regain space in exchanges, the project has many differences with the main cryptocurrency in the market. The most obvious is its governance and corporate style system, which has centralized marketing and development teams.
Those who can decide on the path that the project must take are the ones having the financial capacity to maintain a master node. In other words, the operators, a sort of board of shareholders, decide how part of the treasury will be spent, something clearly business-related and non-collaborative, as in the case of Bitcoin.
Dash seeks to reflect how similar it is with Bitcoin. However, there are fundamental differences that, by far, leave it in two different scenarios. There are the aspects of speed, security and cost of transactions as elements in favor of Dash.
Despite the efforts made to make both cryptocurrencies resemble, Dash is not Bitcoin in any way. Whilst millions of people use Bitcoin worldwide driven by education, only a few thousand use Dash. This is the result of marketing campaigns deployed on a global scale as a strategy to find new users.
By Willmen Blanco
