Recently, cryptocurrencies and blockchain have been the talk of the globe. Not a surprise was given that by 2027, the global blockchain market is anticipated to grow to $69.04 billion. It is obvious that decentralized app development ledger technologies are becoming more popular.

You’ve probably noticed a lot of news in the media using phrases like NFTs, Bitcoin, and crypto-wallets. Decentralized applications (DApps) are something you probably hear about less frequently.

DApps will be the topic of our discussion today. Even though they haven’t received much media attention yet, it’s crucial to understand what they are, their benefits and drawbacks, and whether your company needs them.

Professionals who want to assist their organizations in leveraging cutting-edge technologies must keep up with the most recent innovations. So let’s get going and explore the realm of decentralized applications.

A DApp is what?

Given that the idea is still in its infancy, it is difficult to give a concise explanation of what DApps are. But we’ll try to make things clear to you in a straightforward way.

DApps are, in essence, regular software programs with the addition that they are created on decentralized networks like Ethereum. Therefore, you must first comprehend blockchain, the technology that underpins DApps, in order to completely appreciate the notion of DApps.

Blockchain is a digital ledger that facilitates the tracking of assets and the recording of transactions. Numerous blockchain application cases that are revolutionizing several industries are already available. The insurance, healthcare, and financial industries have already begun to change as a result of this technology, but this is probably just the beginning.

The most well-known cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. Possibly the first thing that comes to mind when discussing blockchain technologies. Ethereum is a term you’ll hear the most frequently, though, when we’re talking about DApps. That’s because this blockchain platform is where the majority of decentralized applications are created.

In conclusion, unlike conventional apps, DApps link to the blockchain using smart contracts rather than centralized data servers. A smart contract serves as the foundation of a DApp development since it automates the execution of agreements between participants.

Platforms for developing DApps

As we’ve already mentioned, the Ethereum platform serves as the foundation for the bulk of DApps. With over 3,500 DApps already developed and close to 160k daily active users, it’s possible that these applications may soon become standard.

The top 5 development platforms as of May 2021, according to State of the DApps, are Ethereum, EOS, Steem, TRON, and Klaytn.

As you can notice, when it comes to the total number of DApps and daily active users, Ethereum significantly outpaces all other platforms. The fact that Ethereum’s decentralized apps receive the greatest attention is, therefore, not surprising.

Key Features of DApps

Now that you have a basic understanding of DApps, let’s get more specific and explore the essential elements that make them up.

Free Software. A DApp must be controlled by many parties and be open-source. Both the autonomy and the accessibility of the code are requirements.

Decentralized. It must use a decentralized blockchain to store all of its operating data.

Incentivized. It must be capable of producing tokens as a means of proving value and distributing them as incentives around the network.

Protocol-compliant. Stakeholders in the DApp must concur on a cryptographic technique to demonstrate value. For instance, Proof of Work is now the consensus protocol used by both Bitcoin and Ethereum. The latter, however, intends to switch to Proof of Stake within the upcoming few years.

In conclusion, as the primary distinctions between DApps and regular applications are contained in the underlying blockchain technology, end users may not even be able to tell them apart.

Decentralized Apps Examples

Naturally, it’s a good idea to look at existing DApps before developing your own. The good resource State of the DApps offers facts and statistics on all aspects of decentralized applications.

Three of the top five DApps at the time of writing were created on Ethereum. Five are represented by two from the category of gaming and two from finance.

Tether, a cryptocurrency whose units are backed by an equivalent amount of fiat money, is at the top of the list. It should come as no shock that it is an Ethereum DApp with over 67,000 daily users.

Splinterlands and Upland, respectively, are in second and third place. Both belong to the game industry and are constructed on distinct systems, Hive and EOS.

Clearly, the majority of DApps are on Ethereum. The two industries that are most popular are banking and gaming apps.

We believe we have succeeded in demystifying the fundamentals of decentralized apps. Read on if you’re interested in their benefits and drawbacks.

Decentralized Applications’ Advantages

DApps are becoming more and more popular for a reason. In actuality, there are several. Examine the benefits of decentralized applications to see if your business might profit from them.

Resisting censorship. No organization or government may prevent users from running DApps. The network cannot be controlled, users from submitting transactions, applications from being deployed, or data on the blockchain from being read by a single person. Basically, no one would be able to delete your post on Instagram or prevent you from tweeting if they were both running on Ethereum.

Anonymity. Most DApps don’t require you to use your real identity. You don’t need to complete a laborious enrollment process; all you need is an Ethereum login and a digital wallet.

Nothing is down. As a result of its reliance on a peer-to-peer network, the DApp can continue to operate even if certain components of the network design are disrupted. Once it goes online, it won’t fall apart until the blockchain platform it depends on does too.

Data reliability. The use of cryptography makes sure that hackers cannot fake the data that is kept on the blockchain. Additionally, users have access to the public blockchain to confirm transactions, increasing the trustworthiness of data records.

Integrated Payments It’s not necessary to integrate your app with outside payment processors. As a result, payment processing times are greatly accelerated.