The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) behind the Dash (DASH) cryptocurrency has agreed upon the Evolution (Evo) upgrade. Talking exclusively to Finbold, Joel Valenzuela explained the “chaotic mainnet” approach, calling it the “most significant release” for Dash.
Dash masternodes have voted favorably on the approval of a proposal called “Evo Accelerated Launch Release Schedule.” On June 23, Samuel Westrich, Dash Core Group CTO, announced the approval with 68% votes in favor, excluding abstains. The community has called it the “Genesis phase” of the Evolution release.
Therefore, the Dash Evolution platform will be released on July 29 in a “chaotic mainnet” with continued development activity. Joel Valenzuela, Business Development and Marketing for Dashpay, compared this release to THORChain’s (RUNE) “chaosnet” launch.
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As Valenzuela described, the “chaotic” launch refers to a platform that is still not perfected while running on the mainnet—a production environment. He also mentioned similarities to the Ethereum (ETH) 2.0 launch, released before finishing the code for staking withdrawals.
“Basically, because [Evo] has been so late, the devs are rushing to get it finalized and out on mainnet. Originally they wanted to wait until everything was perfect, which could be later this year (Q4 probably). But after pressure from some community members, the lead dev Samuel Westrich wanted to see if the network wanted them to release what they have finished [so far], or wait for a “perfect” release”
– Joel Valenzuela, for Finbold
Joel has been fully living in a crypto standard since 2016, when he closed his bank accounts, and is considered a pioneer in the space.
What is the Dash Evolution platform?
The Evolution upgrade will allow decentralized applications (DApps) to run on the Dash network and create other data storage functionalities. Joel Valenzuela explained that Evo will implement data contracts, a “more efficient version of smart contracts.”
“Evolution gives small data storage that’s indexed and provably queriable. So basically, really easy to store data, search for exactly what you want, call it up quickly, and be able to prove that it’s valid. It’ll enable a whole set of DApps we haven’t seen yet.”
– Joel Valenzuela, for Finbold
Thus, the Dash blockchain may see popular Web3 features like social payments contact lists and NFTs with the Evolution platform.
“This is the most significant release in Dash’s history. It will bring the blockchain to the modern age and finally solve the missing link between digital money and mass adoption. I also believe it shows that Dash continues to build and innovate, and is a highly valuable project for years to come.”
– Joel Valenzuela, for Finbold
Chaotic mainnet: Evo accelerated release
Notably, the recently approved proposal passed with 460 “yes” votes, 222 “no” votes, and 21 abstains. This resulted in a narrow approval of 67.44%, considering the need for 67% (or two-thirds) of the valid votes. However, if counting abstains, “yes” votes would have received 65.4% of the voting weight, sparking criticisms in the community.
Essentially, the controversy lies solely on whether Evolution should launch in this “chaotic” environment, not fully finished, or wait for a more polished version. The “yes” side believes it is important to accelerate the release in response to community demands and “work on iterative changes later,” as Valenzuela explained.
Moreover, EvoNodes will still not be able to spend their earnings early on, which is another reason for the controversy.
Joel Valenzuela declared being in favor of the accelerated release because he deems it important to show a “real release after all these years.” The Evolution platform has been under development since 2015 and is eagerly awaited by the Dash community.
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As of this writing, DASH trades at $23.79, down 24.72% year-to-date. Dash is one of the first cryptocurrencies created to solve Bitcoin’s (BTC) scalability, currently with a $280 million market cap.
In closing, Evo will have its launch on July 29, when Dash nodes should upgrade accordingly. This platform will allow novel data storage and transaction functionalities, which could boost demand for the network and the native coin, DASH. Despite the controversy over the accelerated release, the community is mostly in favor and excited about the Dash Evolution platform.
