Author name: @nobumei (https://twitter.com/nobu_mei)

<aside> 💡 This page describes dApps.

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Table of Content

In the previous sections, we have explained NFT. In this section, distributed applications(dApps) will be explained.

What is dApps?

dApps are distributed applications.

<aside> 💡 dApps = Decentralized Applications. Refers to apps that run on the blockchain.]

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Features of dApps include the following

1. The app mechanism is open source and uses blockchain technology
2. There is no central administrator to manage/operate the apps, they are decentralized
3. Operations are performed automatically with token incentives
4. There is a governance mechanism where users can build consensus to update the app

Since dApps are "decentralized" applications, they are applications that are not managed by someone else but continue to function in a self-sustaining decentralized manner. In a broad sense, dApps include Bitcoin, DeFi such as Uniswap, and decentralized Stablecoin, which are introduced in this document, and in a narrow sense, applications such as games that incorporate NFT and DeFi mechanisms are also considered dApps, and are called dApps games.

It is called decentralized, but it is impossible to decentralize anything from the moment it is created. There is a degree of decentralization because there are operators who develop dApps at the beginning, and there are still a few centralized parts in dApps. Therefore, it is best to think of dApps = an application that "aims to be decentralized".

Chaos map of the dApps market | Messari

Illustration of the degree of decentralization

For reference, as of April 2022, only Bitcoin and Ethereum have comments from the U.S. SEC acknowledging that they are decentralized and not human-run applications. (Source)

The most obvious example of dApps is games. Since dApps are applications, they are the same layer as the apps in your smartphone. It is the layer that is closest to the user and has the most users because the average user can touch and experience it. While DeFi and Stablecoin cannot be touched without financial knowledge, dApps games can be touched and played easily, so the hurdle is low, and it is said that the entrance to Web 3.0 will start with games.

Overall structure of Web 3.0 | dApps is the top layer, so it is easy for the average user to understand

web3 entrance from games

dApps games rebrands to GameFi

Prior to 2021, games that incorporated FT or NFT into the game mechanics were called dApps games, NFT games, or blockchain games. But just as blockchain was rebranded to Web 3.0, dApps games were renamed "GameFi" in 2021. This is not a clear declaration of rebranding by anyone, but rather a change in the atmosphere of the world.