What is a DApp Exactly? ADN Answers for Crypto Users

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adncoinofficial

7 min readOct 21, 2019

Decentralized apps (DApps) have changed how we see blockchain. In this ADN blog, we talk about the DApp meaning to help readers find the best DApp ideas.

As we enter into a new type of future powered by blockchain technology, we find it is crucial to have at least an elementary knowledge of smart contracts and other functions that come with it. Even now, many people still have misconceptions regarding blockchain, thinking that blockchain is Bitcoin and vice versa.

Guilty? It’s understandable; many of us got to know blockchain through Bitcoin. But before we move forward, don’t forget that ADN is an ICO security platform and that we use blockchain technology as well.

Admittedly, blockchain technology is not as easy to understand as we think. Unlike robotics and augmented reality (AR), blockchain technology does its magic in the backend, and what we see in the interface of our decentralized applications (DApps) is only the manifestation of blockchain’s marvels.

That is why in this blog, we will talk about DApps. But don’t you worry; we will dumb our explanations down to the make sure that it can be understood even by a highschooler.

DApp’s Predecessor

Not that we would like to rain on DApp’s parade, but it is not a novel concept that was only conceived through blockchain.

To be sure, DApps are one of the best gifts that blockchain technology has given to us. But for us to understand its concept better, let us look at its predecessors so that we might have a better picture of what DApps are trying to accomplish.

Perhaps the most popular example of a DApp predecessor is the file-sharing practice we usually call torrenting.

For those of us who do not have prior knowledge (we doubt it), torrents are peer-to-peer file-sharing platforms wherein users get their copy of a specific file from other computers and not from the platform creator himself. Those who share data are called “seeders”, while those who receive the data are called “leechers”.

So how different is this torrent protocol from the traditional one?

Imagine if you are a leecher. If you are interested in downloading a specific file, you can search for the title in the torrenting platform’s search bar. There should appear a handful of torrents that you can download.

Among these files, the best torrents to download are the ones that have a lot of seeders and leechers. Having a lot of seeders means that there are many peers that are collectively sending the data to the leechers. Torrenters know that having lots of seeders is equal to having faster downloads.

On the other hand, having lots of leechers also means that there are lots of people collecting it. That inadvertently means that the specific file has good quality, or they will not want to download the file in the first place.

In a sense, torrent platforms can be categorized as DApps because everyone is free to contribute to the system, and everyone can access the files shared by the community without any gatekeeper or middleman.

Now, let’s go to the blockchain’s version of the DApp.

What a DApp is

As mentioned above, DApp is the term used to refer to a decentralized application. Basically, these are mobile and desktop (or laptop) applications that use a particular blockchain ecosystem for facilitating transactions and executing smart contracts.

DApps are generally open source, which means their codes can be viewed by anyone on a specific repository. Not that you would understand anything of the codes even if you look at them unless you’re a programmer. If you are, then you can understand how the app works.

Since DApps use blockchain technology — which is one of the types of distributed ledger technology (DLT) — then every node within the system can have a peek of that ledger and check each transaction that occurs.

Think of an app that you see on the App Store or Play Store. Most of those apps can be downloaded and used for free. But can you access their source codes and check how they work in the backend? Unless you have inside information about a particular app, or you’re an expert hacker, you cannot access the codes of that app.

That is one of the key differences between a conventional app and a DApp. Now, you may ask, “what if there’s a bug that others can exploit to their good?”

For that, there’s an activity that we call the bug bounty program. This is a contest initiated by a company wherein they compensate tech experts — bug bounty hunters — for identifying vulnerabilities in their app or system and reporting them to the company.

This is a good practice because, instead of having others find out about your platform’s vulnerability and exploiting it to hijack your system or get money out of you, they will cooperate with you and get money from you to make sure that the first scenario will not occur.

Wow, that’s a lot of information. Still with us?

Okay, so in a nutshell, DApps are open-source applications that depend on a particular decentralized network to host them.

DApp Advantages

Now that we have learned what DApps are, the next thing that we should understand is why many people prefer them over the centralized ones. Here are the reasons:

1.DApps are secure.

Ironic as it seems, the fact that the DApp’s codes and the smart contract executed are visible to the masses is the exact reason why it is more secure than the centralized applications. Every node has a copy of the data, thereby making them virtually impossible to alter.

Imagine you’re attending a concert. You have a ticket, and so does everyone else who is attending. Now, if you change the date or the venue of the concert that is written on your ticket, would it make any change to the event? No, it wouldn’t.

If you do that, you would have missed the concert because there’s a possibility your ticket would have been damaged beyond recognition. The concert would have proceeded anyway, and it would have one less ignorant person.

That’s the exact reason why DApps are secure.

2.DApps are decentralized.

Unlike centralized applications, DApps do not have any central point of authority. There’s no main server, so it doesn’t matter if you steal the very computer where the DApp’s smart contract was created or executed.

This solves one of the oldest problems encountered by various organizations or services that use a central authority. In DApps, you won’t need the programmers to stay online for 24 hours a day without fail so that they will validate transactions that occur between two parties.

3.DApps have yet to reach their full potential.

A decade ago, we only thought of blockchain technology as the vehicle for Bitcoin. Ethereum arrived, and it taught us that the technology, which was nascent at that time, has a lot of use case potential.

Today, we now know that blockchain technology can be explored for possible use cases in different sectors of our society, including the creation of DApps. Even now, experts are exploring the technology further because they believe it still has lots of potential waiting to be discovered.

DApp Ecosystems

To clarify some things, not all blockchains are created with the intention of hosting DApps. For example, the popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin is focused on facilitating peer-to-peer exchanges of value, even though it has its own blockchain.

If you are planning to create your own DApp, make sure that the blockchain ecosystem that you are using is suitable for it.

Today, there are a handful of blockchains that compete to become the favorite DApp host. The current top 3 are Ethereum, EOS, and Tron. However, it would be a grave mistake to belittle the others, since each has its own unique feature — one is known for being social media-friendly, while another charges cheaper fees.

DApp and ICO

The reason why we went through all this trouble of writing about DApps is that they are mostly associated with initial coin offerings (ICOs). As with most startups, one of the biggest hurdles that they go through is the collection of funds that are essential for them to commence with their operations.

Furthermore, DApps usually have a native token which is usually the asset used to help users avail the DApp’s services. Naturally, these tokens gain value once they are listed on cryptocurrency exchanges. That is where ICO comes in.

ADN: The Platform for ICOs

At ADN, we encourage our users to diligently assess each ICO before investing in them. We are not full-fledged ICO regulators since we will allow startups to create their own smart contracts on our blockchain once we launch it. Nevertheless, we will do our best within our bounds to help distinguish the bad ICO from the good.

Even though ICO has been associated with negative activities, we believe that it should not be blamed for the crimes in the same way we do not blame the US dollar for thefts and money laundering.

That is why strive to assist our readers so that they may learn about blockchain technology and make better investment decisions.

Learned something new in this blog? Why don’t you click on the “👏” button on the left side of the screen? Put those hands together as many times as you like. You may also follow our official channels to learn more about blockchain technology and ICOs.