Decentralized application

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This article is about trustless decentralized applications. For other types of decentralized applications, see Distributed computing.

A decentralized application (DApp,[1] dApp,[2] Dapp, or dapp) is a computer application that runs on a decentralized computing system.

DApps have been popularized by distributed ledger technologies (DLT) such as the Ethereum blockchain,[3] through the use of smart contracts.

Characteristics[]

DApps have their backend code running on a decentralized peer-to-peer network, as opposed to typical applications where the backend code is running on centralized servers. A DApp can have frontend code and user interfaces written in any language that can make calls to its backend.

Decentralized applications are stored on and executed by a blockchain system such as Ethereum or Bitcoin. DApps are typically open-source. Validation of a DApp is incentivized via tokens to, in compliance with a specific protocol agreed upon within the community.[citation needed]

DApps have been utilized in decentralized finance (DeFi), in which dapps that perform financial functions on blockchains.[4]

DApp Browsers[]

All the DApps have a unique code that may only work on a specific platform. Not all DApps work on standard web browsers. Some of them only work on special websites with a customized code, adjusted to open certain DApps.

Accessibility[]

There have been criticisms of DApps surrounding their inaccessibility to the average user.[full citation needed]

Many DApps struggle to attract users, particularly in their founding stages, and even those that attract widespread initial popularity struggle to retain it.[full citation needed]

A notable example was the DApp CryptoKitties, which crashed the Ethereum network at the height of its popularity.[5] CryptoKitties and another similar gaming-based DApp, Dice Games, have failed to attract similar traction since.[6][needs update]

Examples[]

  • Augur[7] - prediction market platform
  • Cryptokitties - game based on the Ethereum.[8] It slowed Ethereum down due to insufficient transaction processing and exposed the scaling limitations of public blockchains.[9]
  • Blockstack - a platform for developing decentralized applications.[10]
  • Freelance - platform on smart contract.
  • Steem - blogging and social media[8]
  • Uniswap - a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange[11]

References[]

  1. ^ "CVC Money Transmission Services Provided Through Decentralized Applications (DApps)" (PDF). FinCEN. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  2. ^ "IEEE DAPPS 2020". ieeedapps.net. Archived from the original on 2020-04-26. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  3. ^ Popper, Nathaniel (1 October 2017). "Understanding Ethereum, Bitcoin's Virtual Cousin (Published 2017)". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Why 'DeFi' Utopia Would Be Finance Without Financiers: QuickTake". Bloomberg.com. 26 August 2020.
  5. ^ "People have spent over $1M buying virtual cats on the Ethereum blockchain".
  6. ^ Vigna, Paul (29 May 2019). "CryptoKitties and Dice Games Fail to Lure Users to Dapps". Wall Street Journal.
  7. ^ Leising, Matthew (July 26, 2018). "As Crypto Meets Prediction Markets, Regulators Take Notice". Bloomberg.
  8. ^ a b Cai, Wei; Wang, Zehua; Ernst, Jason B.; Hong, Zhen; Feng, Chen; Leung, Victor C. M. (2018). "Decentralized Applications: The Blockchain-Empowered Software System". IEEE Access. 6: 53019–53033. arXiv:1810.05365. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2870644. ISSN 2169-3536.
  9. ^ Kharif, Olga (2017-12-05). "CryptoKitties Mania Overwhelms Ethereum Network's Processing". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  10. ^ Corbyn, Zoë (2018-09-08). "Decentralisation: the next big step for the world wide web". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  11. ^ "DeFi Boom Makes Uniswap Most Sought-After Crypto Exchange". Bloomberg.com. 16 October 2020.
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