Decentralized apps, also known as dApps, are here, and they’re here to stay. If you’ve never used one or heard of them, you might as well read up on it because they’re about to take the world by storm.
Hopefully, this Q&A will let you peek into the world of decentralized finance.
Where can I find a decentralized app?
The first thing you need to know is that decentralized Apps can only be built on a smart contract network foundation.
This means that a blockchain such as Bitcoin’s cannot utilize decentralized applications as it was built to only allow the sending of its native coin.
Ethereum, on the other hand, can utilize them because they are coded to make up a program which, in turn, can be run to execute much more complex things.
Are dApps open sourced?
In what concerns its code, decentralized applications are open sourced, which means anyone can check to see how they work.
When comparing it with centralized applications such as Facebook, for example, users will never know how their apps know what they had for dinner as their code is never disclosed.
However, dApps are transparent and allow users to know exactly how they are running.
Can dApps be censored?
Decentralized apps are censorship resistant which is a major benefit in what concerns freedom of speech and individual liberties.
By simply not having to answer to governments, corporations, or even any specific group of people, you will be assured that no one can control your money, and you won’t be censored because of your views and opinions (unless the dApp is actually written to do so), something which happens on daily basis in centralized apps.
In what concerns downtime, decentralized applications will simply never go offline if properly decentralized, whereas their centralized counterparts might take scheduled maintenance breaks, a server problem, or even a major outage.
Moreover, since they are decentralized, there is no room for government interference of shutdowns as they are run by computers scattered all over the world.
What are the main features of decentralized apps?
The main use cases of dApps are:
· Decentralized Finance: DeFi is a new monetary protocol which uses the blockchain to allow investors to borrow and lend, provide liquidity and earn interest, and use DEXs (decentralized exchanges) with really low fees and without needing any background checks or verification.
· Game dApps and Gambling dApps: Gaming and gambling are intimately connected with the…
