A decentralized application (Decentralized Application, DApp) is a program whose backend logic runs not on a single central server but in a distributed network using smart contracts. A DApp can be seen as an extension of the idea of smart contracts: if a basic contract describes a single rule, then a decentralized application combines such logic with a user interface into a full-fledged product.

The main difference between a DApp and ordinary applications is the absence of a single point of control. The code is deployed in the blockchain, open for review, and its behavior is determined by predefined rules that are hard to change unilaterally. At the same time, DApps are not limited to financial operations: blockchain-based applications are created for decentralized finance, games, marketplaces for digital assets, and systems for governance and data storage.

Features of a DApp

• open source code and transparent operating rules;
• operation on top of a blockchain, for example Ethereum;
• the absence of a central administrator;
• dependence on the quality of the smart contracts and on network fees.

Before using a decentralized application, it is important to understand how its smart contracts are structured and what risks are associated with storing funds, since responsibility for operations largely falls on the user themselves.