Decentralized apps are becoming more popular as they offer privacy, transparency, and, most importantly, user control. Centralized apps are slowly becoming less relevant based on current customer demands, especially since their single point of failure is a direct vulnerability in the face of downtime. Moreover, central authorities have lost their users’ trust due to inadequately handling their data.
Therefore, decentralized apps might slowly replace traditional ones, specifically as new technologies emerge. Blockchain and cryptocurrency are less of a mystery for developers and investors, and their introduction to the real world will drive the dApp expansion.
dApps run on blockchain platforms and are powered by the most common cryptocurrencies, such as BTC, ETH, and XRP. Recent developments have made it possible for users to access even digital fiat currencies. For example, you can convert 1 BTC to USD from your dApp to your digital wallet.
Hence, dApps become more needed in the real world, and these trends will push for global adoption.
User experience and user interface
User experience (UX) makes applications easy to use and engage with, while user interface (UI) shapes the design elements of an app. UX and UI are important because they link the end user with the company and its services while offering intuitive visuals.
Users might find it difficult to switch from traditional apps to decentralized ones, considering the blockchain designs aren’t that refined. Therefore, these design features will reduce the need for support, simplify new concepts, and ensure confidence and trust.
Designing a user-friendly dApp on the blockchain can be tricky, considering the legal and regulatory considerations. Before designing a product, UX and UI designers must be wary of each country’s acceptance of cryptocurrency and blockchain. They must also translate jargon into visual features to reduce the learning curve of terms like “hashing” or “smart contract.”
Artificial Intelligence
While AI is as new on the market as dApps, its potential to improve these tools is immense. The benefits would include real-time data analysis to enable smart decision-making processes, transaction efficiency through transaction automation, and enhanced security.
Building an AI dApp involves:
- Finding a use case: healthcare monitoring, customer service chatbots, or image recognition;
- Writing the smart contract based on the environment and deploying it;
- Identifying the AI features on the blockchain to ensure the ledger supports them;
- Integrating the smart contracts within the dApp;
- Using AI for real-time processing and continuous learning;
Integrating AI in decentralized apps will make them less vulnerable to censorship and strengthen security. Still, the lack of proper regulations is making it difficult for developers to blend in the two technologies. AI’s biases hinder trust, which is why we need improved data sets to craft compelling AI tools.
Layer 2 solutions
In blockchain, layer 2 solutions increase transaction throughput without affecting decentralization or security. These scaling technologies inherit a blockchain’s security, so they’re built on top of the central ledger to address its main challenges.
Layer 2 solutions allow transactions to be processed off-chain, which would benefit dApps by allowing them to perform without being exposed to vulnerabilities. This can make dApps efficient in transaction speeds and reduce costs.
Most blockchains devised their own layer 2 solutions:
- Bitcoin has a Lighting Network, the Liquid Network, and Stacks;
- Ethereum uses Optimism, Arbitum, and Polygon;
- Cardano uses Hydra and Midgard;
However, there are more types of layer-2 solutions:
- Optimistic rollups derive security from the main chain and have a good incentive structure;
- ZK (zero-knowledge) rollups have fast finality periods and maintain the integrity of decentralization;
- State channels can decrease costs for long-term use and provide instant finality;
Blockchain interoperability
Blockchain interoperability has become more important recently, especially since the ledger’s closed-off approach started limiting user benefits and innovation. The rise of DeFi (decentralized finance) has made it imperative for blockchains to communicate with each other to save time and resources.
Blockchain interoperability delivers:
- Enhanced liquidity by allowing tokens to move between ledgers efficiently;
- Broader assets and more users due to investment opportunities;
- Improved inter-blockchain communication through oracles;
- Flexible payments through cross-chain transactions;
Achieving interoperability can be difficult but not impossible. For example, Ethereum’s layer 2 solutions are about to become interoperable in the next few months. Some of the standards used include the ERC-7683, which is made for cross-chain execution, and RIP-7755, which will allow cross-chain transactions to be executed easily.
Of course, other blockchains aim to solve the problem as well. Polygon created the AggLayer to enhance interoperability between Ethereum’s layers and connect smart contract chains. In addition, Uniswap introduced the ERC-7683 standard to operate similarly to an order ticket.
Decentralized Finance
The rise of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is pushing the dApp landscape since financial applications are necessary for users to achieve their goals while benefiting from decentralization. Lending protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and yield farming platforms are in demand more than ever, so creating the dApps necessary to support them requires innovation.
Decentralized dApps are building the path to financial inclusion and accessibility for the unbanked. This is necessary at the moment, as billions of people worldwide cannot access banking solutions. However, in the future, with proper regulation and enough research and testing in decentralization, this won’t be a problem anymore.
Some of the most popular DeFi dApps include the following:
- Uniswap is an Ethereum-based DEX through which users swap ERC-20 tokens via liquidity pools;
- Ave is a decentralized protocol supporting borrowing and lending with beneficial interest rates;
- Raydium is a Solana-based DEX that offers a central order book for limit orders;
- Curve Finance is a DEX made for trading stablecoins with low slippage;
Are you using decentralized apps?
Decentralized apps are becoming more important as the use of centralized solutions disappoints users in terms of data safety and transaction efficiency. dApps operate on blockchains and use digital assets to operate, which is why some of the latest innovations are pushing for new trends. In 2025, we might see an increase in AI, Layer-2 solutions, and interoperability integrated into dApps, while the demand for decentralized finance products will trigger new developments in how dApps are built.
