Decentralized application

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

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

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.

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.

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

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]

Examples

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. 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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