Darkcoin has rebranded as Dash in a bid to place less emphasis on its “dark side”, as it were.

Bitcoin, whose transactions are anonymous in several respects, has gained a reputation with some as a tool for criminal transactions over the internet. All the more so for Darkcoin, which seeks to vastly improve upon Bitcoin’s anonymity and until now, has drawn a greater association with illicit transactions and the dark web.

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Last November, the coin became an accepted form of payment on several dark web drug sites.

Now, the coin is placing greater emphasis on its technology and features such as Darksend and InstantX, and drawing less attention to its darker elements. It is positioning itself as “a private and instant payment platform”- a “digital cash”, abbreviated as “Dash”. The announcement reads:

“Our vision has always been to create a private and instant payment platform (e.g Digital Cash), for the benefit of the majority. This is our ethos and most important goal. Recently it became apparent that the Darkcoin branding was getting in our way, so in order to accomplish our greater mission, we decided rebranding was necessary.”

All other features and attributes of the coin remain unchanged.

The rebranding comes at a strategic time. The coin’s traded price is enjoying its best winning streak since last May, rising to the upper echelons in market cap as interest in most other altcoins continues to wane.

If the coin or its technology ever play a significant role in the future world of digital currency, it is perhaps worthwhile to more closely associate with the mainstream.