The major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has just opened Dash trading, capping off a recent run of integrations following this year’s price spike.
Kraken, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Wednesday the integration of trading pairs for Dash, a cryptocurrency focused on usability and privacy as a digital cash. In addition to a Dash/Bitcoin trading pair, Kraken also added fiat trading pairs for Dash (Dash/USD and Dash/EUR), cementing the coin’s place and independence from Bitcoin. Notably, Kraken will take advantage of Dash’s InstandSend functionality, allowing for withdrawals with instantly-confirmed transactions.
Daniel Diaz, the Vice President of Business Development for Dash’s Core Team, has been working closely with Kraken on the integration:
“Kraken is excited to offer Dash on their trading platform and our teams are working closely to ensure clients can begin trading the currency immediately.”
He adds: “Kraken is an incredibly well established and well-structured organization and amongst the best in the exchange business. In terms of reputation, they represent the highest standard for client satisfaction. Dash is a project that has implemented very original ideas that resonate well with the market and as a top tier exchange, Kraken’s mission is to provide clients with access to digital currencies that are in demand and provide value.”
A string of integrations following recent Dash price surge
The early part of this year has seen a meteoric rise for Dash, rising from a market cap of about $80 mln in January to about $480 mln today. This has solidified Dash’s position as a major cryptocurrency, lead to a series of integrations, particularly with connections to the world of fiat currency. The European cryptocurrency exchange BitPanda recently added Dash-fiat trading pairs, increasing buying options for Dash without first going through Bitcoin.
Recently, early Bitcoin pioneer Charlie Shrem partnered with the Dash DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) to create a Dash debit card. While ShakePay and SpectroCoin currently offer Dash cards, the Shrem card will be the first one widely available in the United States and will also prominently feature Dash branding on the card itself.
Altcoins increasingly developing fiat trading options
This integration marks an increasing trend of altcoins developing their own fiat trading markets. In the cryptocurrency world, Bitcoin is typically bought first and is used to trade other coins before Bitcoin is then used again to cash out.
Adding new fiat trading pairs allows direct points of entry to alternative cryptocurrencies themselves, reducing reliance on Bitcoin for the entire cryptocurrency field.
Bitcoin retains a solid first place, still worth more than $1,200 at the time of writing and claiming more total value than all other cryptocurrencies combined. However, its dominance in its field has slipped recently, dropping from about 86 percent of the total cryptocurrency market share in early march to roughly 69 percent now, up slightly from an all-time low of 65 percent at the beginning of April. This change is likely the cause of cryptocurrency growing as a whole, but Bitcoin’s scaling issues, including a vicious conflict including concentrated troll campaigns, causing market share to spill over into the top alternative coins.