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Dapps

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Re: Dapps

#131

Post by berberous »

simias wrote: post #84
Geee wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the FAQ: Can Blockstack apps scale, given that Blockstack uses blockchains which don't scale that well? Yes. Blockstack only uses the blockchain for name registration. Everything else happens off-chain, so apps work just as fast as they do on the Web.

Ah, thank you for confirming that, I didn't think about looking at Blockstack's FAQ itself. But then I reiterate my question: what does the blockchain enable here exactly? TFA says that it's "exciting for crypto[currencies]" but it just seems like a cloud computing framework that happens to use ethereum for purchases. Just to be clear I'm not saying it's useless, actually being able to host your own data anywhere you…

Part of the problem here is that we are still in the infrastructure phase of blockchain development, so most dapps still rely on multiple centralized services. But as the infrastructure develops that will shift. For example, (i) all of the blockchains are working on scaling, (ii) Sia, Filecoin and a few others are working on blockchain based storage systems, (iii) Maker Dai, Basecoin and others are working on a stable coin, (iv) 0x and others are working on decentralized exchanges without custodians, (v) many are working on making addressed and key management easier, (vi) distributed identity verification and 'user trust' systems are developing, etc. All of that will take time, but as systems develop, more complex and more truly distributed dapps will be enabled.

Re: Dapps

#132

Post by wellboy »

common_ wrote: post #24

So much of VC funding is just about being in the right place at the right time. A lot of these guys seem like geniuses because of winning bets, but that's because nobody talks about their flops. It's entertaining watching all of the VCs who have made a major bet on crypto, who are now doubling down on what looks more like an overheated casino losing steam. Fred Wilson might end up watching the tide go out on this one…

Isn't is the best time to invest again in crypto when it's at the yearly all time low?

Re: Dapps

#133

Post by jjallen »

homakov wrote: post #90
jjallen wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a huge mining pool is super lucrative. Why would you want to mess with your underlying cryptocurrency and threaten your income if you're a mining pool?

Incentives dont matter, any centralized entity has no incentive to do bad things about their system yet here we are.

In most centralized entities, interests are conflicted. With mining, the value of the income is directly determined by the price of the cryptocurrency.

Re: Dapps

#134

Post by atomical »

zodiac wrote: post #114
atomical wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a dapp.

The core mechanisms are enforced by smart contract, dai issuance comes from multiple entities, it provides (or aims to provide) a large number of users some utility (stable purchasing power, whether to hold or spend) - why is it not a dapp?

Is every smart contract a dapp then?

Re: Dapps

#135

Post by homakov »

jjallen wrote: post #133
homakov wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incentives dont matter, any centralized entity has no incentive to do bad things about their system yet here we are.

In most centralized entities, interests are conflicted. With mining, the value of the income is directly determined by the price of the cryptocurrency.

There are other incentives beyond most obvious ones. E.g. hijacked miner could attack to pump another currency (crypto/fiat) the miner holds.

Incentives are out of equation when you speak of fault tolerance. Incentives are not calculatable. Only "tolerance" (# of tolerable byzantine nodes) matters. And that's 2 for eth and btc. TWO.

Re: Dapps

#136

Post by fredwilson »

common_ wrote: post #24

So much of VC funding is just about being in the right place at the right time. A lot of these guys seem like geniuses because of winning bets, but that's because nobody talks about their flops. It's entertaining watching all of the VCs who have made a major bet on crypto, who are now doubling down on what looks more like an overheated casino losing steam. Fred Wilson might end up watching the tide go out on this one…

So much?

All of it

Re: Dapps

#137

Post by diggan »

amasad wrote: post #123
apo wrote: post #121

Error establishing a database connection There's a Dapp for that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterPlanetary_File_System Interesting points: - there is no token, and so IPFS isn't as sexy as some of the stuff running on Ethereum - there may be no role to be played by VCs in advancing IPFS. There's a lot of innovation going on that ticks both boxes. I'm curious to see how venture funding will adapt (or not).

IPFS has a token called filecoin and has a whole slew of VCs invested in it.

It's important to get the relationship between IPFS and Filecoin correct. Saying "IPFS has a token called Filecoin" is not true, as IPFS works (today, right now) without Filecoin, which has not been built yet.

Filecoin is simply a way to store things in exchange for FIL (or vice-versa). Filecoin does depend on IPFS, but IPFS is a standalone project and does not require Filecoin to be useful.

Disclaimer: I work for Protocol Labs, specifically on the IPFS project

Re: Dapps

#138

Post by ghthor »

mkirklions wrote: post #60
jeswin wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So what Dapps does anyone here use apart from decentralized exchanges and crypto kitties? I use patchwork everyday, just like FaceBook or Twitter. Content quality is excellent. https://github.com/ssbc/patchwork That is, if Dapps can be taken to mean distributed apps - instead of just apps on blockchain with consensus.

Anyone else a programmer/tech person that thinks blockchain is awful for storing information? Centralized servers are extremely good at what they do. I feel like most of the time blockchain isnt needed unless things need to be decentrally verified. I was considering doing my own 'cryptocurrency', but I decided a centralized server was better for doing the job at hand.

It seems like a really good way to store small pieces of information that aren't changed very often. Such as Name System Registry entries. It works really well for this type of use case, and name registries are good things to be distributed. Using an EVM based blockchain allows me as an engineer to get strong identity, authorization and storage guarantees for free, leaving me to focus on the logic and systems around how names are changed and what those names mean.

Re: Dapps

#139

Post by ghthor »

coralreef wrote: post #96
sargun wrote: post #83

So, I might be an idiot. I investigated “Dapps” the other day, and I’m struggling to see the point of these. Yes, they use a blockchain to store their data, and their data manipulation logic (“contract”, or schema, and stored procedures as we’d call it in the RDBMS / Monolith days). The UI, and such is all run by some centralized entity. If the App needs cryptocurrency in order to work, you have to run your own walle…

We have embedded wallets in the browser with things like MetaMask, which lets you execute Ethereum transactions by clicking buttons, fetching data from the blockchain to display on the webpage, etc. Dapps are still evolving. Some offer utility from fulfilling niches that are vulnerable to centralized power; ie. a decentralized Youtube that won't take down your video. Some are safer/cheaper implementations: ie. Hexel…

Metamask is quickly becoming one of the most interesting projects to me. It's so easy to spin up a site now and use metamask for identity and authorization. If you have API's that need to be protected from denial of service attacks, you just channel them through a smart contract and make the user's pay the gas, no more need to protect your backends.

The blockchain just becomes a source of truth and a protection against DDoS attacks. Past that, all other "transactions" can be done off chain. Future is exciting!

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