Published by Programme B
Let’s go a little while back.
It’s 2009, and you woke up to discover that an exciting yet seemingly-unknown technology has arrived on the market. And it’s known as the Blockchain.
What would your reaction be?
Well, if I’m talking about myself, I pretty much had an “I don’t care” attitude when I learned about blockchain for the first time.
After all, it was a simple idea with a lot of potential back then. But, it was yet to do anything, especially something that could define its market value.
However, then came Bitcoin, and it took the technological and financial world by a massive hurricane-like storm. And, it made blockchain from something experimental to a must-have toy to play around with and bring out some sort of innovation.
From then onwards, though, the aforesaid technology has been bringing something new to the plate almost every year. And dApps or decentralized apps are one of them.
Please keep reading till the end to know more about them.
dApps – A Quick Evaluation
A decentralized app is a computer application that runs on a distributed computing system. In other words, a Bitcoin-trading program uses blockchain technology and works through a reliable, secure network.
Hence, they usually aren’t controlled centrally and, therefore, don’t require the assistance of a third-party authority. Moreover, they’re generally hosted in a peer-to-peer network, such as Loom, Ethereum, or Waves, which improves their overall efficiency even more.
What’s Their Benefit, Though?
So, yeah, dApps can be quite amazing in offering security, efficiency, and whatnot. However, is that where it all ends, though? No, not really.
A decentralized app can be quite beneficial for both an organization and its consumer base. So keep reading this article till the end to know more about it.
- As you’re using a decentralized app, there’s no need to opt for a middleman anymore. This, in turn, can help you save a little on the front of transaction fees to some extent.
- Like blockchain technology, a decentralized app is open-source as well. Thus, it can be accessed or used by anyone on the internet. No need to buy anything at all.
- Because of being a creation of the blockchain technology, a dApp can accept Crypto as a form of payment as well. And, there’s no need to pay any additional fee for that.
- As mentioned before, no one can control or use a decentralized application on their own. So, it’ll be censorship-proof, no matter how you’re using it.
- As a user, you can retain a certain control of your data on a dApp. Also, as there’s no place for hacking, the data breach issue won’t be an issue here.
Finally, a decentralized application is quite scalable from almost every viewpoint. For instance, if you have business in Canada, you can buy bitcoin in canada and invest in dApps.
What About The Challenges, Then?
Most people, including me, tend to appreciate the overall efficiency of a dApp and the technology behind them. However, there’s still a hitch or two here.
For starters, using a decentralized application can be quite difficult for a regular user. Due to their inability, they might end up making a mistake that may put their organization in danger.
In addition, a dApp is quite advanced in every aspect. It can also be quite costly to create. Hence, even if I’m looking at the future, I still can’t understand how an SME can afford it.
Finally, the currently-available dApps also have a rather poor interface. Besides, their user base tends to be pretty small due to their technological advancement.
But that’s about it, really.
What Does The Future Look Like?
With how blockchain technology is progressing, you can expect the dApps to develop even more exponentially as well. And, they might get more involved in the segment of day-to-day living while reducing our expenses massively.
Also, dApps will get rid of the third-part culture from within, thanks to their cost-reducing capability. But, I still feel like they have quite a lot to improve before they can become the next best thing in the market. Hopefully, that’ll happen pretty soon too.
Photo by Marek Piwnicki