May 7, 2020
The list of DApps is growing tremendously in 2020. Blockchain offers more capabilities that allow for the development of more complex decentralized applications. The foremost example is the rise of decentralized finance through the improved availability of oracle data. However, data oracles have also proven to be extremely useful for other applications that rely on accurate, “outside” data.
This article covers a wide range of DApps such as Aragon which helps organizations or communities with creating Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO). Another cool app in this list of DApps is BlackHole. BlackHole allows anyone to transfer files with privacy in mind.
In this article we cover the following 7 DApps:
For those that are not yet very familiar with the concept of decentralized applications, here’s a short recap.
A decentralized application appears to be a normal application that you can access and use from your laptop or mobile. However, the main difference is the way it retrieves and stores data which is referred to as the backend of an application.
A traditional application uses a centralized backend that stores data in a regular database. However, for a decentralized application, the backend runs on a decentralized peer-to-peer network. For example, data will be sent to smart contracts that contain business logic. Furthermore, the smart contract can decide to store data on the blockchain or send a transaction. Therefore, all of the data processing happens in a decentralized way which is completely different from a centralized backend.
Now, let’s take a look at the top seven DApps list.
Here’s a list of the top 7 best DApps you should know about.
Uniswap is a DApp that consists of two smart contracts that live on the Ethereum blockchain. Those two contracts form the basis of the Uniswap decentralized exchange. The contracts allow users to swap any ERC20 tokens but do also support swapping Ether for ERC20 tokens.
However, decentralized exchanges often suffer from low liquidity rendering them useless. Liquidity is a hard problem to tackle for many cryptocurrency projects. Low liquidity causes price slippage which means users have to pay higher prices to swap their assets in comparison with a traditional cryptocurrency exchange which often has no liquidity problems.
Why is liquidity such a big problem? When a user wants to swap token X into token Y, there needs to be another user who wants to perform the reversed operation. But this is not always the case…
Therefore, Uniswap implements the concept of liquidity pools which are part of their product offering. Users who contribute liquidity to any of the supported ERC20 tokens on Uniswap gain commissions for doing so.
The project brands itself as just another decentralized exchange on Ethereum, however, it’s a great enabler of Decentralized Finance applications as they all suffer from the same liquidity problem. Accordingly, Uniswap offers a Software Development Kit (SDK) that allows projects to easily integrate with the Uniswap protocol. This means projects can access this liquidity pool or even contribute to the pool. For this reason, Uniswap should be in this top 7 DApps list.
The Ethereum Name Service acts as a Domain Name Service (DNS) for Web3.0. It allows users to create human-readable addresses for their Ethereum wallet address. For example, instead of sending money to 0x84A0d77c693aDAbE0ebc48F88b3fFFF010577051 you can create an address such as “yourname.eth”.
Next, ENS will take care of the “translation” of your custom naming address into an Ethereum address. This is particularly useful for wallets and exchanges to prevent users from making mistakes when entering addresses. Also, it’s just a great addition to the usability of blockchain technology.
This technology can be further extended to provide metadata about addresses such as a name or even address. This information can again be shown in a wallet so the user knows they’re sending money to the correct person. This functionality can be used for many purposes.
Want to learn more technical information about the ENS registry? This article discusses how the ENS resolver works. Further, you can buy an ENS domain name via ens.domains.
In the above image, you might have noticed we tried registering YouHodler. But, what do we do? We offer crypto enthusiasts the option to store stablecoins or other cryptos such as Binance Coin, ChainLink, Ripple, BTC, ETH, or Stellar Lumens in the YouHodler wallet. You can benefit from this through the interest we pay for holding those assets, up to 12% APR.
You might wonder why we pay you interest? The reason is simple. YouHodler allows other users to borrow your crypto and you receive the interest rate borrowers have to pay. All of this happens through a regulated blockchain platform, removing all risks.
BlackHole is the third project in our DApps list. It’s a blockchain-based file transfer application that operates on the Blockstack network. It uses Blockstack for user login, file storage, and file delivery. All of this data is tied to a user’s profile which lives on the Blockstack blockchain. Therefore, you own your data.
Further, all data you upload via Blackhole gets encrypted first. Therefore, Blackhole can’t read any of the files you upload via their application. Next, the data gets split and shared across different Blockstack users that provide storage capacity. Currently, there’s no storage limit and the generated download link won’t expire.
Additionally, BlackHole sells itself as being a private file transfer service. They don’t require any registration, however, only your username will be publicly shared. Furthermore, only you know who you share your files as you can see the usernames of the persons who’ve accessed your data.
Lastly, BlackHole claims to offer a fast download speed as its protocol can download all the different data segments simultaneously. For some file types, it even allows real-time data streaming while the downloading process is ongoing.
OpenSea is a peer-to-peer marketplace for non-fungible tokens. For example, items such as ENS Names, CryptoKitties, or pieces of Decentraland land can be sold.
One of the most popular marketplaces on OpenSea is SuperRare. SuperRarece deserves a place in this DApps list as it provides a marketplace for digital artworks which you can collect as NFTs. In total, almost 6000 pieces have been sold through the marketplace, totaling a sum of $678,742 earned by artists. The current record for a single piece of digital art sits just over $10,000.
SuperRare claims this was not an isolated case or a publicity stunt. Rather, they see an adoption trend of digital art which is here to stay. Possible reasons why people like digital art?
A cool project that enables digital art definitely fits into this top 7 DApp list! Next up, Aragon.
On the fifth spot in the DApps list, we can find Aragon. First of all, Aragon is focused on enabling users to build decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO). It helps communities with quickly setting up a DAO to govern itself. Moreover, decisions can be made in a decentralized manner through decentralized voting. Therefore, each token holder receives the right to vote.
Aragon sees itself as a concrete step towards realizing the creation of digital-indigenous “unstoppable organizations” beholden to nothing but their own manifest destinies. Moreover, Luis Cuende, the co-founder of Aragon, explains how hard governance can be.
“Governance, as humans have been repeatedly relearning since the dawn of civilization, is really, really hard. To ultimately realize its dream, Aragon must solve a set of enormous puzzles that have consistently defied the best efforts of non-digital societies. How do you reconcile the will of the majority with the goal of making the “right” decision? How do you adjudicate disputes? How do you keep the influence of capital from corrupting decisions?”
One of Aragon’s most useful features is the DAO template for fundraising which made us decide to include this project in the top 7 DApps list. People who are interested in a particular project can fund the project but they also get the chance to vote on how the money will be spent.
In this way, contributors remain completely in control of how they think the product or project should continue. It’s a great way to involve users in your community and actively hear their opinions.
The InterPlanetary Search Engine (IPSE) is a project built on top of the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) to help users quickly locate files. To better understand IPSE, let’s first learn how IPFS works. IPFS helps with linking files located on decentralized storage devices provided by operators all around the world. However, it’s not easy to track all those portions of data across so many devices. For that, IPFS registers where files are located and tracks their history. The main goal of IPFS is to protect data ownership.
However, IPFS lacks advanced searching capabilities and entry points to locate data. Therefore, IPSE helps users with finding files on the InterPlanetary File System without using a centralized search index such as Google. As a user, you don’t have to share any of your searching data and you can avoid advertisement tracking completely. In short, you can use IPSE to retrieve data without experiencing any privacy issues.
Auctionity allows users to auction any kind of crypto collectible in the form of NFTs. All of this happens on-chain via Ethereum where users can create auctions through a smart contract. Other smart contracts allow users to make bids for NFTs. It’s a simple but useful concept.
Next time you want to sell your CryptoKitties, consider using Auctionity. 😊
Michiel Mulders is a blockchain developer with a passion for the crypto space. His interests include blockchain, entrepreneurship, marketing, and carefully crafted beers. Cheers!
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YouHodler is regulated in the EU (Italy) and Switzerland, and does not have a regulated UK entity. YouHodler is NOT regulated by the FCA, and protections offered under UK law do not apply.
YouHodler promotions are not targeted at UK investors, and bonuses or loyalty programs like the rewards programme or sign-up offers will not be available to residents of the UK. You can learn more about the services offered to UK customers here.
Do not invest with YouHodler unless you’re prepared to lose all your money or tokens invested. Crypto Currency is considered as a speculative and high‑risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2min to learn more about risks.