2.1 What Are DApps?

Before we start, we want you to sit and imagine a world where your car can transport passengers while you are busy and don’t need to use it. Or maybe businesses around the world are using your computers spare capacity to operate. Or even better, imagine being paid for going on the internet and taking ownership of your attention. Well, we are excited to tell you that what you are imagining right now, is a world we will soon be living in! And we want you to be excited too!

DAPPs are first and foremost going to play a huge part in creating the above world we have just opened your eyes to. Across the world many people are discussing this new breed of applications and we want to make sure we share all there is to know about DAPPs before you encounter your first experience. 

‘DAPPs’ is a nickname, full name Decentralised Applications and to keep it simple, they are types of applications that no one owns. They can’t be shut down, nor do they have any downtime.

If you set your mind back to our previous Blog series, starting with 1.1 What is a Blockchain? (Part 1 of 1), we shared details about Blockchain. Bitcoin was also mentioned on a number of occasions throughout the blog content as it was Bitcoin that introduced Blockchain technology to the world. But now the attention is on Bitcoin and other digital currencies, as they are our most popular examples of DAPPs. However, they are not the only example and in the next few years we are going to be exposed to an ever-growing number of different DAPPs.

It has been estimated that more than 1,000 decentralised applications are currently being developed. Many of the new DAPPs that will launch are aiming to make the world both a transparent and fairer place.

BlockUno, 2020

The exciting world we mentioned above will arrive when more and more DAPPs are created and made accessible. Just like Bitcoin decentralises money, everything else will become decentralised and operate in a new way. We are led to believe that this new wave of decentralised applications will transform many more industries including, politics, gambling, energy and accounting.

What are the key criteria of a DApp?

It may seem most of what we discuss is difficult to explain, but we are sorry to say that DAPPs hasn’t ever been defined and we therefore don’t have a specific definition to share with you. But this is because the application has a specific set of characteristics that it must meet to be qualified as a DAPP instead. 

Keep an eye out for the below characteristics, once you spot them you will know it is a DAPP:

1 – Open Source – The apps source code is openly available to everyone.

2 – Decentralised – Runs off a blockchain-like technology (not all of them run of Blockchain itself).

3 – Incentive – App has crypto-tokens/digital assets for fuelling itself.

4 – Protocol – Generates tokens and has an inbuilt consensus mechanism.

What are the different DAPP Classifications?

Finally, we want to introduce you to the different DAPP classifications, and there are three types that you will stumble across when discussing DAPPs, so it is useful to understand and be aware of them all. The different classifications are broken down into the below three types and it is based on the blockchain model each individual DAPP is using. 

DAPP Type 1

Any DAPP that falls within this classification will run on their own blockchain-like technology. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are examples of DAPPs that fall into this category.

DAPP Type 2

Any Type 2 DAPP will use the blockchain-like technology of type 1 and run on theirs instead of having their own. Type 2 DAPPS are protocols and have tokens that are necessary for their function. The Omni Protocol is an example of a Type 2 DAPP.

DAPP Type 3

Last but not least, Type 3 DAPPS use the protocol of a Type 2 DAPP. The SAFE network is one example as they use the Omni Protocol for issuing SafeCoins that are then used to build distributed file storage.

So, if you are already involved in cryptocurrencies or are looking into investing, you will now be able to notice that majority of the cryptocurrencies currently fall under Type 1. However, if you come across a different DAPP and aren’t quite sure, you can always revert back to the above information to help you identify which classification it is.

Want to Learn More About DAPPs?

Hopefully we have got you hooked and excited about the new world we are rapidly heading towards. But we still have so much more to talk about regarding DAPPs, so stay tuned as next week (08.06.202) we will release 2.2 How does a DAPP function?, you don’t want to miss it!