Great article.
To some extent, aren’t “sharing marketplaces” like Uber (and AirBnB) a type of decentralized app with no intermediary? Uber uses spare car / driver capacity across a network, so it’s decentralized. Uber drivers / cabs have been involved in crimes / accidents and victims / law enforcement have struggled to get response from Uber, which took the stance of not being responsible for fulfillment of the ride, which is like a quasi non-intermediary.
Coming to dApps, if I sign up for FileCoin and have a problem accessing my data on the decentralized network, there are two MECE situations: (1) I can complain to FileCoin, in which case FileCoin acts like an intermediary (2) I can’t complain to FileCoin, in which case FileCoin does not act like an intermediary. But, since I won’t where to retrieve my data from, I’ll quit FileCoin. So non-intermediary status is also tantamount to non-existence.
Maybe I’m missing something but, as long as there’s a name / logo / website attached to a dApp, doesn’t the dApp company become an intermediary?
