The DAPP Network is now Live on EOS!
LiquidApps’ vision is to optimize development on the blockchain by introducing a range of products for building and scaling decentralized applications (dApps). We are proud to announce that the DAPP Network, our new layer for dApp developers on the EOS Mainnet, is now live!
With the DAPP Network, dApp developers have the potential to access extra storage capacity, secure communication services, and other critical utilities that could make the development of dApps substantially easier and more affordable.
We’re excited to tell you more about the DAPP Network, its key players, and the features and capabilities it will provide dApp developers starting now.
The EOS Ecosystem and its Scalability Challenges
EOS blockchain was initially designed with the purpose of solving the scalability hurdles faced by earlier blockchains. With Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) and a 500ms block time, amongst other innovations, it’s easy to see why, in less than a year since launch, the EOS blockchain is an industry leader in terms of dApp usage.
However, the prohibitive resource cost of developing and maintaining dApps have held back extensive dApp development and mass user adoption. For example, buying one megabyte of RAM, an EOS-specific database for storing dApp smart contracts and state information, would cost a developer more than 50 EOS today. As it stands with the current RAM model, building sophisticated dApps that require gigabytes of memory to house relevant usage data is impractical.
Introducing the DAPP Network
The DAPP Network is a community-driven ecosystem of developers, service providers and users committed to scaling the blockchain.
The DAPP Network, that functions as a second layer on top of EOS Mainnet, fuels a suite of solutions solving resource scarcity issues that currently severely limit development on EOS. It paves the way for an entirely new class of decentralized applications to emerge — those previously unimaginable due to the systemic limitations of the existing technology stack. By introducing a new ecosystem of collaboration and incentives, a long-tail of truly diverse, creative and useful dApps will likely emerge.
The DAPP Network has three key players (DAPP Service providers, dApp developers and users), a native utility token called the DAPP Token, which grants access to the network, and a collection of tools and capabilities (such as vRAM, Free accounts, and many more).
DAPP Service Providers
At the heart of the DAPP Network are the DAPP Service Providers (DSPs) — any individual or entity looking to impact the EOS ecosystem and provide services to dApp developers that will allow them to optimize their application development processes.
DSPs have complete control and autonomy over the service packages they provide, and they create and offer them to developers on a free market basis. They get to decide the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of their service packages, including the cost of different actions, rate and staking duration of the agreement.
We envision that this free market system will help to ensure that developers have access to the best possible service offerings and allow them to build dApps that were deemed impossible until now.
In the future, the possibility exists that DSPs could be used to communicate between side chains, process transactions on side-chains and provide services for applications of the DAPP Network that are yet to be conceived. As a DAPP Service Provider, not only do you provide much-needed storage, communication, and utilities to dApp developers, you are also an integral partner in maintaining and growing the DAPP Network.
dApp Developers
The DAPP Network is designed for developers, by developers. Its mission is to enable them to build and scale decentralized applications with true end-user utility, helping them to bring blockchain technology to everyone, everywhere.
By combining the communal knowledge and open-source applications with the DAPP Network’s architecture, dApp developers now have the capacity to create novel solutions and advance dApp development.
The DAPP Token
The key to the DAPP Network is the DAPP Token, a utility token that enables developers to gain access to the tools and services provided by DSPs in the DAPP Network.
DAPP token has inherent inflation on a block-by-block basis. The DAPP Network DSPs will be able to claim these inflationary DAPP tokens in proportion to the amount of DAPP tokens staked to their service packages (by DAPP token holders, such as dApp developers), relative to the total amount of staked DAPP tokens to all DSPs.
The DAPP Token Generation Event starts today and will last until January 2020. The DAPP tokens are being distributed through two unique independent purchase tracks — the Instant Registration Track and the Regular Registration Track. We believe that the duration of the DAPP Generation and its dual tracks will help contribute to the widespread distribution of DAPP tokens throughout the community.
For more information regarding the DAPP token Generation Event and the DAPP token, please refer our website or our dedicated Medium post we had published.
The vRAM System
The vRAM System, an alternative memory solution for EOS developers, showcases how different parts of the DAPP Network work together to help developers build better dApps. vRAM, which is offered by DSPs to dApp developers, is RAM-compatible, decentralized, and aims to enable storing & retrieving of potentially unlimited amounts of data affordably and efficiently.
Serving as an EOS Hard Drive, vRAM allows RAM to act as a cache layer for in-operation data only. Data is permanently stored on chain history and indexed by DAPP Service Providers (DSPs), who maintain a copy of the file on distributed file storage systems, such as IPFS. Once it is needed in EOS RAM, the data loaded into a temporary cache table for the duration a smart contract operation. vRAM-compatible smart contracts allow developers to work with multi-index tables, a data structure optimized for efficient data retrieval that is already familiar to them.
In order to optimize for both scalability and efficiency, blockchains must be designed to store the minimum amount of information needed to verify future transaction validity. vRAM gives developers an opportunity to store their dApp data on chain history and have it indexed by DSPs, utilizing RAM resources in order to cache in-use data only.
A Roadmap of Additional Functionalities and Utilities
As usage grows and the DAPP Network evolves, we envision additional functionalities and utilities that could emerge, such as:
- Zeus Software Development Kit: robust open-source, cross-platform software development kit. Specifically designed for blockchain developers.
With Zeus, dApp developers can simulate a local node with a single command, including the functionalities required for using vRAM. Zeus extends beyond smart contract testing and deployment though. Conceived as a one-stop shop for building dApps, Zeus will allow developers to design dApp frontends, build off-chain microservices and incorporate basic monetization tools into their dApp. - DAPP Lending: Enabling DAPP holders to lend their tokens to others, with a built-in expiration mechanism that removes the risk of default.
- vCPU: A simple solution for the offloading of CPU intensive processes from the main chain to child chains.
- Free Accounts: A way to create RAM-free accounts on the EOS Blockchain, allowing for a free user on-boarding for the end-user.
- IBC (Inter-Blockchain-Communications) Solutions: One of the many potential utilities we foresee, is the ability of vRAM to serve as a shared memory solution between EOS side-chains when using IBC (Inter-Blockchain communications). This can be extended to chains with a different native token than EOS allowing DAPP token to be a token for utilizing cross-chain resources.
The DAPP Network Is Only As Strong As Its Members
When it comes to making decentralized applications an essential part of everyday life, the real power lies in the hands of developers and users within the DAPP Network.
So what’s next?
It’s up to the community to help realize the potential of the DAPP Network and you can start today:
- Join our Telegram group where you can ask questions, provide feedback, and help the community learn about the DAPP Network
- dApp developer? — Check out our Github repo and join the Devs Telegram channel
- Read more about the DAPP Network and its components on our Medium page
- Follow us on Twitter for the latest & greatest
The DAPP Network is ready to usher in the next era of blockchain innovation, and we at LiquidApps can’t wait to see where the community will take it from here.
Steve Jobs once said, “everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future”; that’s how we all feel in this moment.
To scalability and beyond!
The LiquidApps team.
