Decentralized Applications (DApps): Exploring the Future of Blockchain Technology

Scrolling through various social media platforms or reading articles related to the blockchain and crypto industry, you must have encountered the term “DApps”. What do you think is a DApps?

DApps also known as decentralized applications are software that runs on a network that is decentralized like the Blockchain. Running on decentralization is a very important feature that differentiates Dapps from traditional apps as the latter runs on centralized servers.

DApps’ decentralized nature ensures that no single entity or organization controls them. Instead, a network of computers, nodes, or users powers them, all working together to run the application.

Why is there an increase in demand for DApps?” people wonder. The key features driving this demand are transparency and immutability. DApps are becoming increasingly popular because they store the application’s code and data on a decentralized network, allowing public access while remaining resistant to alteration or tampering by any individual party. This enhanced security and resistance to censorship, fraud, and other malicious activities make Dapps highly sought after.

What are the benefits of DApps over traditional apps?

Overall, DApps offer a range of benefits over traditional apps, including decentralization, transparency, security, and flexibility, and represent a new paradigm in software development.

DApps have the ability to interact with decentralized assets, such as cryptocurrencies or digital tokens, which enables them to facilitate decentralized financial transactions, online marketplaces, social networks, and many other types of decentralized applications. Overall, DApps offer a range of benefits over traditional apps, including decentralization, transparency, security, and flexibility, and represent a new paradigm in software development.

What is the underlying technology behind DApps?

It is important to state that the underlying technology powering Dapps are Smart contracts, cryptocurrency, and Blockchain.

The Blockchain aspect is what enables decentralization. For example, let’s use Twitter as a case study. The app is controlled from the backend, the company can use the data gotten for a purpose that suits them. They can also control what comes to your timeline as they are run from the backend.

DApps operate on a blockchain network and remain free from control or interference by any single authority. For instance, a developer can create a DApp similar to Twitter and deploy it on a blockchain network, allowing any user to post messages. Once the messages are published, even the app creators cannot delete them.

Decentralized applications (DApps) leverage smart contracts as a fundamental component to automate various tasks.

DApps benefit from smart contracts because they offer the capability to operate autonomously, without the requirement of central control or intermediaries. These contracts provide the essential structure to execute transactions and store data on a blockchain network, which permits the creation of secure and transparent Dapps.

What are the uses of DApps?

DApps have many uses and applications in a lot of fields. Some of them are listed below.

• Financial Industry: It helps in Facilitating peer-to-peer financial transactions, such as the exchange of currencies or the transfer of assets.
• Supply Chain: Used for tracking the movement of goods through a supply chain, ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Verify Identity: Securely storing and verifying identity information, such as for voter rolls or passport applications.
• Real Estate: Facilitating the buying and selling of real estate directly between buyer and seller, as well as tracking property ownership and related documentation such as deeds.
• HealthCare: Storing and tracking healthcare records, as well as facilitating communication and collaboration between healthcare professionals.
• Social Media: Building decentralized social media platforms, enabling users to interact and share content without relying on a central authority.

Examples of popular DApps in 2023

Let’s take a dive into the popular DApps that we have in 2023. These DApps discussed cover a range of sectors and protocols in the blockchain space.

Youves

Youves is a decentralised, self-governing, and non-custodial platform on the Tezos blockchain for creating and managing synthetic assets that are secured by eligible collateral. Users can become minters by posting and locking eligible collateral in a vault to create synthetic assets.

The platform offers Youves tracker tokens as the first type of synthetic asset, and the available assets are visible and is the largest DApps in the tezos ecosystem in terms of TVL.

Alchemy

Alchemy offers developers the SDK and APIs required to build multichain Web3 DApps, along with the necessary skills through a community/university-like initiative. The free tools provided by Alchemy enable developers to create smart contracts for various use cases and multiple blockchain targets. Alchemy has played a significant role in inspiring on-chain transaction value worth over $100 billion, with more than 10 million end-users and royalties exceeding $1.5 billion.

Uniswap

Uniswap facilitates peer-to-peer market making as a decentralized exchange. UNI is the cryptocurrency symbol for Uniswap. The Uniswap platform allows users to trade cryptocurrencies without the involvement of a centralized third party.

UNI holders govern the Uniswap blockchain, which is hosted on the Ethereum platform. Uniswap refers to its blockchain as a public good. Anyone can view and contribute to the code of the Uniswap blockchain since it is open source.

Helio

Helio, offers a comprehensive Web3 payments platform that simplifies the integration of decentralized payments into the applications and workflows of merchants, creators, and projects. The platform provides various solutions such as E-commerce, Subscriptions, Pay Links, Pay Streams, Paywalls, Discord payments, Invoicing, plugins, and more, making it easier for clients to implement decentralized payments.

OpenSea

The OpenSea team, comprised of leaders from Google, Palantir, Lyft, Uber, Stanford, and Berkeley, is building the most trusted and inclusive peer-to-peer NFT marketplace in the world. OpenSea streamlines the process of minting, purchasing, and selling NFTs, and empowers creators and collectors of all kinds to directly own and shape their relationships through its multi-chain options. The company is headquartered in New York, and has received investments from a16z, Paradigm, and Coatue.

Final Note

In conclusion, DApps have the potential to revolutionize various industries, from finance to healthcare, by providing a decentralized and transparent platform for transactions and data storage.

Furthermore, the potential use cases for DApps are endless, with new ideas and innovations emerging every day. For instance, DApps could be used to create decentralized marketplaces, peer-to-peer lending platforms, or even decentralized social networks.

Despite these challenges, the future of DApps looks promising, with more and more businesses and individuals recognizing the benefits of decentralized applications. As the technology continues to evolve and improve, we can expect to see more innovative use cases for DApps, and a greater shift towards a decentralized and transparent economy.