Main Page – Dark Coin
Darkcoin (DRK) is a digital cryptographic currency created by Evan Duffield. It is based on the Bitcoin software code, with the intention to be a safer and more private alternative to Bitcoin. It is the first anonymous cryptocurrency based on a decentralized anonymity solution.
Unlike the transparent nature of Bitcoin, where every account and transaction are public for everyone to see, Darkcoin features an obfuscated model of transactions (DarkSend) where its users can experience a larger degree of privacy.
The currency was originally launched as Xcoin, on the 18th of January 2014, but the name was changed to Darkcoin a few days later.
Check the Important page to get latest wallet and (for pools) stratum!
Contents
Specifications
On a technical level Darkcoin features several differences compared to Bitcoin:
- practically anonymous money transfers through a decentralized mixing service called DarkSend (in development since January 2014 / RC4 status as of August 2014),
- a unique hashing algorithm (X11) based on a chain of 11 different types of hashes,
- a deflationary block reward scheme (~22 million coins max) where block reward is reduced as the hashing power escalates,
- two-layered ASIC resistance as a result of X11 and the diminishing-reward formula,
- faster confirmation times (2.5 minutes on average, instead of 10 minutes of Bitcoin),
- the Dark Gravity Wave difficulty adjustment algorithm for quickly adjusting to large fluctuations in the mining power of the network,
- a gradual block reward reduction of ~7% per year,
- masternode payments, a way to earn 20% of new blocks by providing nodes for DarkSend’s operation (requires 1000 DRK per node).
Further development plans have been announced by the developers for the integration of more mainstream features that will enhance Darkcoin, after the implementation of DarkSend, although the specifics are as of yet undisclosed. DarkSend will be enhanced with IP obfuscation and increased anonymity in future releases.
As a currency
Unlike Bitcoin and Bitcoin-based alt-coins which have transparent electronic transactions, Darkcoin can be equated with online cash due to its private/anonymous transactions that resemble the anonymity of private cash transactions.
The low inflation characteristics allows Darkcoin to have increased store of wealth properties compared to other coins. The same characteristic also ensures that the coin’s price is significantly more protected from the selling of daily mining production from those who are interested in acquiring bitcoins through altcoin mining.
As of March 25 2014 the entire mining production of Darkcoin for a single day can be acquired for ~17 BTC, compared to ~806 BTC for Litecoin, ~410 BTC for Dogecoin and ~82 BTC for Vertcoin. In this way daily inflation cannot present serious problems for price stability and growth.
Marketing
The “need for marketing” versus the desire to “stand out” through the currency’s features speaking for themselves has been an active debate of the community in the forum of Bitcointalk.org. As a consequence of cutting-edge innovation and less desire for marketing -at least until DarkSend is finalized- things like website presentation and logo design are considered suboptimal by many community members.
As a response to this situation, the Darkcoin community gathered donations of approximately 2500 DRKs to further promotion in critical areas that have been left behind. A new logo was designed and a small portion of these donations were paid for bounties.
It is worthy of note that Darkcoin, despite the lack of marketing, has attained a consistent top-20 position among cryptocurrencies. By May 2014, when Darkcoin attained third place in terms of market capitalization, a wave of media exposure all over the world ensued, bringing a lot of positive and negative attention to Darkcoin.
Darkcoin Wallet
Users can download and get their own own Darkcoin Wallet through the links below:
How-tos
List of How-Tos:
- First of all: Crypt your Wallet
- Everytime you need to receive money: Generate a Darkcoin address
- As often as possible: Backup your Wallet
Features
In those pages you can learn more about how Darkcoin works and what it can offer:
- Whitepaper
- How does DarkSend anonymize transactions?
- Zerocoin vs Darkcoin: What is the difference?
- Darkcoin and Degree of Anonymity
Mining Darkcoin
By mining Darkcoin you can earn Darkcoins for contributing your hashpower to secure the network.
Click on Mining Darkcoin to learn details and information about Darkcoin mining.
Tools
Here is a list of available online tools regarding Darkcoin:
Tool | Link |
---|---|
Cryptocurrency Market Cap | http://www.coinmarketcap.com |
Darkcoin Price converter (based on Poloniex) | http://darkcoinprice.com/ |
Block Exlorer (Official) | http://explorer.darkcoin.io/ |
Block Exlorer (Official Mirror) | http://explorer.darkcoin.qa/ |
Block Exlorer (provided by Darkcoin Wiki) | http://explorer.darkcoin.fr/ |
Alternate Block Exlorer | http://chainz.cryptoid.info/drk/ |
Another Alternate Block Explorer | https://bchain.info/DRK/ |
Difficulty (Graph) | http://coinz.co.vu/diff/?drk |
Darkcoin Generation Time vs Difficulty vs Height (Graph) | http://darkcoin.mine.nu/graph.html |
Darkcoin Price (Graphs) | http://crypto-prices.com/DRK |
Paper Wallet | http://darkaddress.n00bsys0p.co.uk/?design=alt-darkcoin |
Online Portfolio | http://coinfinance.com/currencies/DRK |
WorldCoinIndex | http://www.WorldCoinIndex.com |
Exchanges
Several online Exchanges can be used to buy and sell Darkcoins or to convert other cryptocurrencies to Darkcoins and vice versa.
Official Webpages + Social Media
- Official Webpage : http://www.dash.org
- Community: https://darkcointalk.org
- http://www.reddit.com/r/DRKCoin
- https://github.com/darkcoinproject/darkcoin
- https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=421615.0
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarkcoinOfficial
- Google+ : https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/115080614177201373926/115080614177201373926/posts
- Twitter : https://twitter.com/darkcoinorg
Getting Help
To retrieve information and to get help, head to https://www.darkcointalk.org/
The announce thread on Bitcoin-Talk is full of information (most of this wiki comes from there).
Other ways:
- Darkcoin FAQ / Frequently Asked Questions about Darkcoin: FAQ
- Official IRC chan on Freenode: #darkcoin
- IRC chan on EFnet: #darkcoin
- Subreddit: r/DrkCoin
- Twitter: @DarkcoinCrypto
- How to connect via Tor: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=421615.msg5810472#msg5810472
Faucets
To get some free Darkcoin you can check the available Faucets.
Game and Lotteries
To find the right places where you can play or gamble with Darkcoins check Games and Lotteries.