Blockchain technology and its ecosystem are no longer novel concepts. The blockchain industry has experienced significant expansion and developments, including dApps. Anyone who follows the most recent advancements in the blockchain industry would be familiar with the phrase. In this article, Tokenize Xchange – Digital Currency Trading Platform would introduce you to dApps – decentralized Apps and everything you need to know about dApps.
dApps: An explanation
DApps stand for decentralized apps. Although they operate similarly to regular web applications, dApps have a different base. DApps originate from a peer-to-peer computer network or a blockchain, in contrast to most programs, which are produced by enterprises or other centralized organizations.
Nowadays, most dApps are developed based on specific blockchain networks. These networks allow users to create a dApp with a decentralization-friendly base that is assured. A copy of the data is kept on each node since dApps are connected to blockchain networks. This implies that a DApp cannot be controlled by a single person or entity, just like what blockchain is meant to be.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Security: dApps are thought to be significantly more secure than conventional applications because they don’t rely on a centralized server for authentication. Compared to regular apps, operators have full control over the content, and information and are able to edit whatever they want.
- Easy to code: Since many of the dApps’ extremely complicated protocols have been simplified by various templates, developers won’t have to worry about how to code those applications.
- Immutability: It is ensured that there will be no data loss because dApps are hosted throughout an entire decentralized network. There are many nodes on the blockchain for your dApp data to be synchronized in case one goes down.
- Cost savings: dApps run on public blockchains. Moreover, blockchains can also process transactions without a centralized server. So you won’t need a physical server that may significantly cost.
Cons
- Lack of user experience: dApps don’t always provide the optimal user experience and don’t always operate in the same way as centralized applications.
- Unstable speed: users may experience the instability of dApps speed because it depends on the blockchain. When the blockchain is congested, as, in the case of Ethereum, dApps will also be affected.
- Lack of developers: currently, blockchain technology and dapp development are not widely educated in university curriculums all over the globe. So it is difficult for projects to find suitable developers.
Centralized app vs Decentralized app
Centralized app | Decentralized app | |
Runs on | Centralized server | Blockchain network |
Working method | Users use apps to interact with centralized servers | Users use apps to interact with smart contracts |
Computing power requirement | Low | High |
Security | Less secure | High secure |
Transparency | Non-transparency | Transparency |
Transaction speed | Low | High |
System | Apps are down when servers are down | Apps still work normally when a node is down |
Scalability | Good | Poor |
We can take social networking applications like Facebook, Twitter,… as examples. They are centralized applications. That means the companies behind the apps like Meta or Twitter have full power over any aspects of their apps. If a user for some reason violates the terms, the companies have the right to edit the profile, and status or even lock the user’s account. They also collect user information to sell or run ads. In addition, all the posts on those platforms will belong to the companies, not users. That causes serious effects on user privacy.
On the other hand, Facebook’s competitor on the decentralized side is Deso, a decentralized social network. On this platform, the user’s content will belong to the user. Inheriting the advantage of blockchain, once the content has been recorded, it cannot be edited, even by the application developer.
Why use dApps?
Nowadays, dApps play an important role in connecting the decentralized web of the future, Web3, and Web 2.0 systems. This means that dApps frequently work with standard web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge but apply smart contracts to connect to specific blockchain networks. In the short term, while dApps have a familiar front end, their back ends are decentralized compared to current apps which are centralized.
>>> Read more: How Web3 is changing the Internet
DApps are the foundation for a wide range of applications on Web3:
- DEXs: The DEX web address will navigate users to a page where they can connect their crypto wallets. Users can then begin engaging with the DEX dApps and taking part in various activities like swapping, liquidity mining, staking, and farming,…
- Social media: Social media dApps promote online connection similarly to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Instead of holding and making money off of users’ data, social media dApps reverse the flow of value and reward users for using the network.
- GameFi: GameFi is one of the most popular trends of the blockchain ecosystem in 2021. Popular gaming dApps like Axie Infinity, Decentraland, or Sandbox integrate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to ensure users retain the value they generate in the metaverse.
Follow Tokenize Xchange – Cryptocurrency Platform Singapore for more helpful articles about Blockchain technology and market news!