Bitcoin is not the only major cryptocurrency to note a price increase right now. Dash, one of the more popular altcoins, is also going through a significant uptrend. More specifically, the value per coin is heading back toward US$200 thanks to a 13% value increase over the past 24 hours. A growing trading volume on Bithumb, combined with other bits of news, is the main reason for this price increase.

Dash Is Having a Very Good Week so Far

In some cases, an influx of positive news influences the price of particular cryptocurrencies. This uphill battle is a bit more difficult for alternative cryptocurrencies unless they can bring something interesting to the table. Dash, one of the more privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies in existence, has seen its fair share of good news this week. Moreover, it seems that the currency is now listed on the Korean Bithumb exchange, resulting in close to US$30M in 24-hour trading volume on that exchange alone.

Considering how Korean exchanges aren’t exactly keen on adding new currencies, the fact that Dash is listed is a major validation on its own. Bithumb is mainly known for trading Bitcoin and Ethereum, and it doesn’t appear that Dash is effectively listed on their main page. However, Coinmarketcap shows that the DASH/KRW trading pair on Bithumb is generating an unusually high amount of volume, which is nice to see. The company recently added Litecoin as well, indicating that Bithumb is keeping a close eye on the markets as we speak.

Bithumb’s trading volume is only one facet of the story behind this recent Dash price increase, though. In fact, the bigger news is that Apple has finally approved Dash-related applications. As most enthusiasts may recall, Apple has always had a difficult relationship with cryptocurrencies and related applications. This is especially true when said cryptocurrencies offered privacy or even anonymity traits. In the case of Dash, the cryptocurrency offers both, which has always been a thorn in the side for Apple.

However, these problems are now a thing of the past, as there is an official iPhone Dash wallet app in the Apple App Store. This wallet features the InstantSend functionality, which is what most people seem to like about Dash as a currency. Multiple years of wrangling with Apple to get this application approved are finally paying off, by the looks of things. It is good to see this wallet finally appearing in the App Store, as it has been long overdue.

Moreover, it appears that the list of merchants accepting Dash payments is on the rise as well. According to a recent Reddit post, this number has grown to just over 200, which is quite a significant milestone for this altcoin. The news also comes at a time during which the number of major retailers accepting Bitcoin payments is on the decline. Whether or not there is any correlation between these two developments remains to be determined, though.

It is good to see the cryptocurrency ecosystem thriving as we speak. More importantly, it’s nice to see currencies other than Bitcoin and Ethereum make some positive headlines these days. While Bitcoin will remain the top cryptocurrency for quite some time, Dash is certainly trying to climb the ranks once again. More competition can be a very positive trend in the world of cryptocurrency.

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