a study into dapps?—?Stuart
The cryptocurrency Ethereum has emergent properties that are not found in Bitcoin. As a result, Ethereum is able to run a full programming language, which allows it to be used to create applications that can be executed in the Ethereum Virtual Machine. Ethereum, like all cryptocurrencies, is a decentralized system. This means that Ethereum is not owned or controlled by anyone. No one controls the Ethereum network; it runs on its own. Because of this, Ethereum is not subject to the whims of any one person or group of people.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an open software platform based on blockchain technology that enables developers to build and deploy decentralized applications. Because decentralized applications run on the blockchain, they are open source, decentralized, and censorship resistant. Ethereum is a platform that was built specifically to realize this vision of the internet?—?a distributed web where everyone can easily build decentralized applications that run on blockchain technology.
If Bitcoin is like http for money, Ethereum is https?—?an encrypted protocol that provides not only end-to-end privacy and security, that allows people to send value to each other over the internet without needing to trust intermediaries like banks, but also an ability to create applications that incorporate the use of smart contracts, which can bring about Novel creations due to Money Legos that can be fit together in unique ways.
Mainstream decentralized application adoption is obvious
The blockchain and digital currency community is the perfect place to experiment and prototype with new business models. For example, Streamr, which is a decentralized platform for real-time data, is developing a marketplace where publishers and consumers of data can trade directly. We have also seen several ICOs for decentralized applications which are disrupting the digital advertising industry.
Brave, for example, is trying to revolutionize digital advertising by blocking trackers and replacing third-party ads with its own, which are paid for using the Basic Attention Token (BAT). The BAT is an ERC20 token based on the Ethereum network and it will be used to pay publishers and users for their contributions to the platform. BAT can also be exchanged against fiat currencies, and eventually other cryptocurrencies, on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. The BAT is not the only digital advertising token that has been created to disrupt the industry. In fact, there are other projects that are also using blockchain to cut out the middlemen and offer a more transparent and efficient way to buy and sell advertising.
AdEx, for example, is a decentralized ad exchange based on blockchain and smart contracts. The ad platform works by enabling advertisers to buy ad spots directly from publishers, without having to go through any third parties. AdEx is also planning to reward users with tokens for watching ads and for sharing data.
Issues with decentralized applications
The same issues that have been there since the beginning of time are still prominent. Centralization is a problem.
Why? Because if you don’t have a central point of failure, then you have to trust the nodes. And if you don’t trust the nodes, then you’re going to have to trust the developers. If you don’t trust the developers, then you’re going to have to trust the miners. And if you don’t trust the miners, then you’re going to have to trust the legislators. And if you don’t trust the legislators, then you’re going to have to trust the voters.
We don’t have to build on this kind of system, but we do have a choice. We can build on a system that is a bit more trustworthy, where we’re building on a system that can be relied upon. The way I look at Bitcoin, it’s a bit like a river. You can take a boat and you can go down that river, but you’re going to be dependent on the current. And if the current is going to be turbulent, then you’re going to have a bad time. If the current is going to be calm, then you’re going to have a great time. But as you move down the river, you’re just going to have to trust that the current is going to be what you think it is. But if you build the boat, then you can trust that the boat is going to go where you want it to go. So, when I think of Bitcoin, I see it as a backbone. It’s a backbone that can, in the future, be used for different types of applications. But for Bitcoin to be used as a backbone, it has to be seen as a completely neutral, open platform. This means that the core developers can’t just say, “This action is good, and this action is bad.”
There has to be a guarantee that the core developers will not do anything that will threaten the network. And there has to be a guarantee that the miners will not do anything that will threaten the network. And there has to be a guarantee that the nodes will not do anything that will threaten the network. And there has to be a guarantee that the regulators will not do anything that will threaten the network. And there has to be a guarantee that the voters will not do anything that will threaten the network.
If we take this approach?—?if we take a system that is seen as a neutral backbone?—?and we start to add layers upon it, then we can begin to build applications that will provide better services than what we have today. I want to see a world where people are able to do business with each other and have access to financial services, no matter where they are located.
This is why I’m excited for the future of ETH and dapps!
As always, Thanks for reading!
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