How do decentralized applications introduce blockchain to new industries?

From social networking to taxi travel, there is always an app to help us. Now, there is a new and better model to innovate the way we build scalable programs, called DApp or decentralized application software.

David Johnston, CEO of the DApp Fund, predicted in his white paper that “distributed applications, with their superior decentralized architecture, flexibility, transparency, resilience, and distributed nature, will one day surpass the world’s largest software companies in terms of utility, user base, and network valuation.

What is a DApp?

A DApp has four characteristics. It must be open source, its changes must be based on majority consensus among the user community, and its data must be stored on a public blockchain to avoid centralized node failures. There must be a corresponding cryptographic token, in this case App Coin, to access the software. These tokens must be designed based on standard cryptographic algorithms as proof of value for nodes that contribute to the application software.

Bitcoin is an example of a DApp because it is an open-source token that uses blockchain, a peer-to-peer, public, distributed ledger, to build a trustless system. In fact, Bitcoin is the most successful and popular DApp because it streamlines many aspects of the traditional financial system, such as transferring money around the world.

Other DApp applications are programs built as protocols that use other blockchains and their own tokens to function. An example is Omni Protocol, which is "a set of protocols built on the Bitcoin system that allows users to generate, send, trade, redeem, pay dividends and stake tokens representing any real asset." This is what Patrick Dugan, a board member of the project, mentioned in an interview with the website Bitcoin.com.

A DApp can also be used as an extension of a project. For example, the SAFE network, a peer-to-peer storage network, uses the Omni Protocol to issue safecoin tokens to maintain network operation. In the SAFE network, all data security of distributed applications can be guaranteed, and there is also SAFEpress in the network, similar to WORDpress to help people develop this network. (Translator's note: WordPress is a blogging platform developed in PHP. Users can set up their own websites on servers that support PHP and MySQL databases. WordPress can also be used as a content management system. WordPress is a free open source project.)

Imagine a DApp that becomes a computer operating system (OSX or Windows), a program that runs on that system (such as Photoshop, Dropbox), or a dedicated software that uses that program, such as a blog integrated with Dropbox. Bitcoin is just the tip of the iceberg of this new application possibility.

Are App Tokens Valuable?

In another white paper, David Johnston and his team defined App Coins as: “Tokens that are intrinsically valuable to decentralized applications and are closely tied to their use and monetization.”

And the token can be developed in ways that Bitcoin cannot, at least for the time being. A Javascript-based programming library called Solidity and another Python-based library called Serpent allow the creation of decentralized applications on Ethereum.

In addition, the network can choose a network-specific token to maintain the network operation, such as safecoin to maintain the operation of the SAFE network. Doing anything on the network requires the use of safecoins, and developing on the network provides additional value to developers.

“I want to run my apps on the SAFE network so I don’t have to worry about the servers,” Francis Brunelle, an app developer and enthusiastic community member, told Bitcoin Magazine. He predicts that “safecoin will be valuable because it is the only means of purchasing storage space on the SAFE network.”

A strong user base in a software can be reinforced by the implementation of a token. An application that can reward developers and enable users to gain monetary value through tokens has a substantial advantage over applications that do not have these features. Furthermore, a strong user base using a token represents a barrier to competing services compared to those with unpopular tokens.

Ultimately, as an alternative, App Coins offer a monetization option to fiat and Bitcoin. People have different opinions on monetary policy, especially with the rise of digital currencies. App Coins can accommodate any number of monetization perspectives, allowing people to vote on the economic policies they prefer.

Consumer Future

Dapps will soon become "consumer apps" because there are many programs under development. The SAFE network decentralizes Internet services and ensures the privacy of all network users. Ethereum provides a decentralized application layer and programming language for DApps to be developed. Factom is a scalable data layer that can simplify the management of big data for record keeping. Augur is a decentralized prediction market that allows people to predict events and get rewards.

As Johnston said in Johnston’s Law: Everything can be decentralized, and everything will be decentralized in the future.

Original article: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/how-decentralized-applications-could-bring-the-blockchain-to-new-industries-1455324259
By Michael Gord
Translator: Orange
Reward address: 1FCiRAuQYUqMzyy7XHueLs5SCRzd11P6kj
Editor: printemps
Source (Translator): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/blockchain-to-new-industries)