What is a dApp?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
A dApp is an application whose core logic lives in smart contracts on a blockchain rather than on a company's server. Instead of signing up with an email, you connect a wallet and sign a transaction for each action. The front end is still an ordinary website, so appearance alone tells you nothing about safety.
Key points
- Core logic runs in smart contracts, not a server
- Wallet connection and signatures replace the login
- The front end is a normal website and can be swapped
- Every action costs a fee and needs a signature check
Definition
An application that keeps its balances and state in on-chain contracts and calls them from a browser or mobile front end. The name is short for decentralized application.
In a conventional web service, both your data and your balance sit in the company's database. A dApp moves that part into on-chain contracts that anyone can read and write through the same public interface. Exchanges, lending, NFT trading and in-game inventories are typical examples.
For the user, the difference shows up at the login step. Rather than creating an account, you connect a wallet and return a signature for each action. Because every balance change is recorded as a transaction, it costs a fee and cannot be undone afterwards.
Worth remembering: even when the contract is public, the website serving the interface is under the operator's control and can be replaced at any time. A hijacked domain can look identical while quietly pointing at an attacker's contract, so checking the URL and checking the signature are two separate habits.
Watch out for
- · Open dApps from your own bookmarks, not from ads or search results
- · An audited contract says nothing about the front end serving it
- · Connecting alone moves nothing, but the signature that follows can