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Decentralized applications, or dApps, offer similar services to normal apps, but they are made on blockchain technology that gives users more control over their data, as it eliminates the need for intermediaries. As a result of this independence, one can quickly learn how to buy ETH, accommodate amounts in their digital wallets, and conduct transactions with cheaper fees than usual, among other advantages. Today, hundreds of dApps exist on Ethereum and other blockchains, and in the future, the number is expected to increase even more.
What is a decentralized application?
Decentralized applications are distributed and open-source software applications that run on decentralized networks. The terms might be complex, so to understand better, we will give you an example with a popular app like Instagram. You probably have the app installed on your phone, and you can watch content and post whatever you like on it. However, the application is controlled by an authority who can delete your posts if they violate the community rules or for other reasons. But, if Instagram were created on blockchain technology, then the app would be decentralized, meaning nobody would own it. So, if you posted something there, no one could delete it, not even the creators.
Here are the requirements of dApps.
Open source: Decentralized applications must be open source and freely available to all users. The changes that want to be made in the structure of an app should be taken if the majority agrees with it.Decentralized: dApps should be created on a decentralized platform, increasing transparency and security.Protocol: Decentralized applications should have a protocol to demonstrate proof of value. This will ensure that others will be able to verify the value of a particular process.
The history of dApps
Bitcoin is the first blockchain network, but the technology has evolved since the first currency was launched, and now blockchain platforms are used for more than financial transactions. This is why, when Vitalik Buterin thought about the creation of Ethereum, he considered something much bigger, more like a decentralized way of life.
Buterin envisioned a blockchain where users would have control over the operations instead of enterprises. This is why Ethereum is based on smart contracts, which are immutable, and any party can transact without the need for an intermediary.
2014 was the year when a report was released defining the characteristics of dApps. The paper classified three types of layers of dApps.