Exclusive interview with Dash founder Evan: Decentralized management model and Bitcoin block size

This article is a video interview with EVAN DUFFIELD by CCN, and the translator Alexy has compiled the text. EVAN will respond to the progress of the Dash project, talk about the decentralized management system, and how Dash will bring a brand new future to users and full nodes.

Host: Now let's connect with Evan. Hello Evan, it's a pleasure to have you accept this interview today.

“Evan: I’m honored.

Moderator: You are probably known as the founder of Darkcoin, which was later renamed Dash. Now Dash has become one of the main competing currencies in virtual currencies. I would like to ask you what was your original intention in developing Darkcoin.

"EVAN: I have been a software engineer since I was an adult. I first started programming when I was 15 years old. I have always been passionate about programming. I used to work for a social market research company. I made a software similar to Google's website rating engine, but we used it to rate customers, such as the top 500 or top 100 rich people. This is what I did before. I always use some machine learning technology or some similar technology to achieve the best results. Now recalling that I became interested in virtual currency in the middle of 2010, it was like a thunderbolt at the time. So I started to understand and study it. There are problems with privacy, and I think this is the original intention of creating Darkcoin.

Host: Well, I understand. But later on, the name Darkcoin seemed a little insecure, so you thought of renaming it. I was also paying attention at the time, and I felt that both the community and the market agreed with your approach. Neither investors nor the coin price fluctuated significantly. Congratulations on your achievement. Now I would like to ask how your Dash project is going?

"EVAN: We are doing well now. The renaming was a success, which was a relief for me. Actually, when I first came up with the name Darkcoin, I thought it was quite appropriate, and I wanted to hint at the meaning of "hidden data blockchain". This is what I wanted to express through the name. But it seems that to most people, this name sounds like something illegal. Well, but I understand. So we decided to rename it. Later, with the joint efforts of the team and the community, this problem was solved beautifully. We are now developing version V12. This includes a decentralized budget mechanism, and of course, the removal of the reference node. It is an issue that cannot be ignored for both the previous Darkcoin and the current Dash. So we are still very excited about this version.

Moderator: Can you tell me why we must remove the reference node? Perhaps the audience may not be very familiar with Dash and Darkcoin.

"EVAN: In fact, the general characteristics of Dash are the same as those of Bitcoin. The difference is that our masternode server can be set up by anyone. Users who make transactions through wallets must go through the network provided by the masternode. And the masternode holders cannot provide services for free, so there is a reward. Of course, it is impossible to distribute rewards in a decentralized way from the beginning, so I use reference nodes to record who should get rewards and distribute them equally. Now we have found a solution that can achieve the same effect while removing the reference node.

Host: Yeah, I see. Maybe the majority of users are also worried that the Reference Node will be attacked or hijacked, which may cause some serious impact?

“Evan: Yes. In this cryptocurrency industry, no one wants centralization, right? I didn’t want to use Reference Node from the beginning, and it has always been a temporary solution. Now I finally found a solution. I am very glad.

Moderator: Okay, so today I actually want to ask you about the recent decentralized management, the master node voting system. You also said that through this method, anyone can participate in decision-making. This seems to be a problem that Bitcoin has always had, and their community seems to be paralyzed. A proposal to increase the size of the data chain can be described as a huge dispute. And Dash seems to have cleverly solved this problem in the form of voting. Can you tell us about it?

"Evan: Let's talk about it from two aspects. The first is the masternode voting you just mentioned. The masternode can vote Yes/No for any proposed plan. You can make various proposals, such as increasing the masternode return rate or increasing the block size. However, the decision-making power is in the hands of the masternode holders. To put it bluntly, they are the key to whether the plan can be passed. In order to make better use of this function, we proposed a budget mechanism. What we want to completely solve is the problem of "insufficient development funds" in the virtual currency world. Of course, we have built a foundation before, but the effect is weak. And this time the masternode voting mechanism can be understood as the first step of decentralization. You can think of the masternode as a member of parliament. When a proposal is introduced, it can cast a vote to pass or veto. For example, after several plans are submitted at the same time, everyone votes, and the plan that gets the most support first will get budget support first~ We will pay this part of the funds from the 10% block reward.

Moderator: Let’s say I have an idea, but I don’t have a master node. Should I borrow it from someone who has a master node and then propose a plan? Or can I propose it directly whenever I want?

“Evan: The whole system is decentralized, which means that everything is done at the protocol level. So if you have a master node, you can use it to submit a proposal to the master node network, and other master nodes can see that there is such a proposal to vote. But brainstorming is important. We will make a simple program or website, so that even if there is no master node, users can submit their own effective proposals to the community. The community's response and the master node's vote will determine whether the budget can be obtained in the end.

Host: I see, I understand now. By the way, I remember you mentioned in other interviews that Dash will challenge Bitcoin head-on. Is this voting system and budget system a manifestation of your actions? You see, after the voting mechanism is completed, the decision-making power of the core team members will be handed over to the general public. And the wisdom of the people will push Dash to a new height. Is this an acceptable understanding?

"Evan: Well, actually, at this stage, Bitcoin still has a dominant position. However, I don't think other virtual currencies should be consistent with Bitcoin. Virtual currencies need more different ideas and technologies. So I want to find another way to create another successful virtual currency. Now I use part of the rewards of the data block chain as funds to reward thousands of grand plans in the future. This is much more efficient than asking users to pay out of their own pockets to fund various plans. In fact, in this virtual currency market, it is very easy to collect money. The currency is open source. You change the name, work hard, and package it. You can go out to attract investment, get some money and continue to develop. It will be much more difficult to use this method for two tokens and three tokens. You can only pay for some projects you have developed by raising the price of the currency. But in the long run, this is not a wise method.

Moderator: How does Dash solve this problem? After all, this is a problem for all cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. Can Dash's budget system solve this problem?

"Evan: For example, if you join any cryptocurrency team, even the current Bitcoin team, you will not have a stable income. For example, if I work on a project for a long time, I will not have any income without any donations and fund support. Dash will solve this problem through a budget system - anyone can join the project at any time and gain benefits. Suppose you have a good idea for promotion, or you are good at advertising and have the technology in this area. You can submit a plan to the community, and when the master node votes to pass it, you will get "rewards" while doing your work. This project is open to everyone, so it also leaves many opportunities for the younger generation to show their talents.

Moderator: Okay, I see. So what do you think about the recent discussion in the Bitcoin community about block size? This issue has a great response, and it is no longer just a technical discussion. The debate is very intense. As a developer who has a deep understanding of virtual currency, what do you think?

"Evan: I think this needs to be viewed from two aspects. First, if the block size is increased, the load on full-function nodes will increase. Bitcoin full nodes do not have a reward mechanism. In order to cope with high loads, people who run full nodes have to pay more for expanding bandwidth. Of course, the response speed of full nodes will also decrease, which is inevitable. If the block size is not increased, most transactions are not directly recorded in the blockchain, but are only called when needed later. This is another solution. In fact, I prefer the latter solution because it does not cause trouble for full nodes and does not increase the size of the blockchain. If I were a member of the Bitcoin development team, I would choose to use a smaller size. Maybe not 1MB? But it would be close to this size.

Moderator: Well, both sides of the debate have their own opinions, and it seems that what they say is reasonable, and the opponents do not want to make any concessions. Then again, the final decision should be made by the miners, after all, they record the transactions. You said that in the Dash protocol, the master node will receive a part of the block reward, is that right?

“Evan: Yes, if in Dash we want to increase the block size, we can compensate for the high load on the master nodes. So we won’t have the problem of Bitcoin and the number of nodes will not decrease.

Moderator: I see, this is indeed a good idea. I guess you didn't expect to solve this problem when you started designing the masternode. Well, let's end the interview with the last question. If someone wants to join Dash now, what is your biggest advice to them?

“Evan: Well, anyone can learn about Dash through dashtalk.org, or go to the homepage dashpay.io. If you want, you can also join the development. We currently have about 15 volunteers who help the project from time to time. Of course, the more people join, the better.

Host: So what is the next step for Dash? Dash has already opened our eyes time and time again, such as instant payment, which is really great. Bitcoin is still discussing whether to include transactions in the block... The voting mechanism and budget mechanism will become your left and right arms. So what do you plan to do when you have all this?

“Evan: Next, we plan to use the budget fund as promotional expenses to show the world the virtual currency we created, so that Dash can become a real competitor to Bitcoin. Add some competition to the virtual currency market. What I don’t want to see is that the Bitcoin development team makes some serious mistakes and people lose confidence. This will cause the development of virtual currencies to lag behind. But if there are at least two virtual currencies that compete well at the same time, even if one of them makes a mistake, people will not lose confidence in the entire currency market because of its mistake. This is what I want.