DApp Browsers: An Easy Access to a New World

2020-10-30 14:48:13

Most veteran blockchain users must have heard of DApps.

 

In 2018, as multiple public chain projects flourished, the blockchain community was flooded with discussions about blockchain 3.0, and one theory earned extensive recognition: the next blockchain revolution will be triggered by “killer DApps”.

 

Though the theory is mentioned less often, the importance of DApps has gained extensive recognition. That said, what exactly is a DApp?

 

 

DApp = D + App

 

The D in DApp stands for decentralized, which means that a DApp is a decentralized application.

 

We are all familiar with App. In the age of smartphones, we are swamped with various apps, such as Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. In a way, Apps allow us to enjoy the benefits promised by the mobile Internet.

 

App

 

A traditional App relies on centralized servers, and a large amount of data is stored and managed by the project team. Therefore, the project team wields the supreme power in an App. DApps, on the other hand, store their data and code partially or completely via a decentralized network.

 

Many people’s first impression of DApps is that they are exclusive to the blockchain industry, which is not completely accurate. Broadly speaking, all decentralized applications can be defined as DApps. However, most DApps are built on a blockchain due to its decentralized property.

 

 

DApp is to the blockchain as App is to iOS or Android. If blockchain reshaped the world one day, then DApp would be the best or even the only way through which most ordinary people could enjoy its benefits.

 

At the end of 2017, the well-known CryptoKitties was born and heralded the GameFi era. Through this project, we learned the concept of DApp for the first time. The success of CryptoKitties quadrupled the number of Ethereum’s pending transactions in a very short period, which led to large-scale network congestion.

 

CryptoKitties

 

In 2018, FOMO3D migrated a FOMO game featuring “the war of attrition” onto Ethereum. Thanks to its simple, intuitive gameplay and huge potential profits, FOMO3D provoked strong market excitement in just a few days, which triggered the appearance of many copycat projects.

 

FOMO3D

 

In the early days, popular DApps were mainly games and gambling applications. Although such DApps can attract droves of users in a short period, most of them diminished soon after initial success due to their lack of practical functions and sustainability.

 

The second half of 2020 witnessed the beginning of the DeFi boom, and DApps in the DeFi category entered our horizons. Through innovations such as decentralized transactions, liquidity mining/yield farming, and unsecured lending, many first-rate DApps like Uniswap achieved huge market success.

 

Uniswap

Uniswap, the biggest blockchain unicorn in 2021

 

Financial DApps combine derivatives with blockchain features in an elegant way. This allows them to build up a large user base by delivering incredible short-term returns while offering continued practical value. Thanks to financial DApps, popular DApps are no longer a flash in the pan.

 

As blockchain technology and innovative gameplay progress, future DApps will play an increasingly important role in the blockchain space, and the ability to use DApps will also become an essential skill for all blockchain beginners.

 

 

DApp Browsers

 

Though the DApp categories have kept expanding, the user experience of DApps has stagnated over the recent years.

 

Unlike Apps that are normally based on mobile phones, a majority of DApps are web-based, which is why most early DApp users chose MateMask. However, for beginners, having to download and create a plugin wallet before using DApps is often too complicated.

 

For ordinary users, the disconnection between mobile devices and web-based applications significantly increases the learning cost, which makes it a major obstacle to the popularization of DApps.

 

We have introduced WalletConnect, a function that connects mobile devices with web-based applications, in a previous article (How to Get Started with DeFi? Try WalletConnect). With WalletConnect, users of mobile wallets can also easily get started with web-based DApps.

 

WalletConnect

 

 

However, there is also a problem with WalletConnect — users need to open the web-based DApp and the mobile wallet at the same time, which is not that convenient.

 

DApp browsers solve this problem once and for all. By adopting a DApp browser, users can start using DApps directly through their mobile wallet, which eliminates the need for webs, allowing users to benefit from significantly improved convenience and efficiency.

 

A DApp browser can be considered as the combination of a DApp store and a search engine. Users can access a DApp by tapping it or searching for a DApp by entering its URL. Moreover, operations like authorization, contract calls, and asset transfer can be completed in the mobile wallet.

 

 

How to use a DApp browser?

 

CoinEx Wallet has launched the Ethereum DApp browser in V2.1.8, which enables users to directly access any Ethereum-powered through CoinEx Wallet.

 

Open CoinEx Wallet, tap [Discover] at the bottom, and tap [ETH DApp] to go to the Ethereum DApp browser.

 

 

 

CoinEx Wallet’s DApp browser now features the following functions:

 

Search

 

You can search DApps in one of the two following ways:

 

1.Search for the name of a DApp

 

2.Enter the URL of a DApp

 

Access DApps

 

You can access DApps in one of the two following ways:

 

1.Log into a DApp by scanning its QR code

 

2.Select a DApp and give authorization

 

Recent

 

The function shows DApps you recently used and allows you to access these DApps right away.

 

Favorites

 

Apart from Recently Used, CoinEx Wallet also offers a favorites feature, which helps you easily manage the DApps you frequently use.

 

You can add a DApp to Favorites in one of the two following ways:

 

1.Open a DApp, tap […] at the upper right corner, and tap [Favorites]

 

 

2.Find the DApp you wish to add to favorites in Recently Used, swipe left, and tap [Favorites]

 

 

Note: Recently Used and Favorites only cover DApps listed on CoinEx Wallet

 

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