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Dapps - Decentralized applications

Ethereum-powered tools and services

Dapps are a growing movement of applications that use Ethereum to disrupt business models or invent new ones.

Illustration of a doge using a computer

Get started

To try a dapp, you'll need a and some ETH. A wallet will allow you to connect, or log in. And you'll need ETH to pay any .

1. Get some ETH

Dapp actions cost a transaction fee

2. Set up a wallet

A wallet is your “login” for a dapp

3. Ready?

Choose a dapp to try out

Beginner friendly

A few dapps that are good for beginners. Explore more dapps below.

Uniswap logo

Uniswap

Swap your tokens with ease. A community favourite that allows you to trade tokens with folks across the network.

finance
Open Uniswap(opens in a new tab)
OpenSea logo

OpenSea

Buy, sell, discover, and trade limited-edition goods.

collectibles
Open OpenSea(opens in a new tab)
Gods Unchained logo

Gods Unchained

Strategic trading card game. Earn cards by playing that you can sell in real life.

gaming
Open Gods Unchained(opens in a new tab)
Ethereum Name Service logo

Ethereum Name Service

User-friendly names for Ethereum addresses and decentralized sites.

social
Open Ethereum Name Service(opens in a new tab)

Explore dapps

A lot of dapps are still experimental, testing the possibilities of decentralized networks. But there have been some successful early movers in the technology, financial, gaming and collectibles categories.

Choose category

Decentralized finance

These are applications that focus on building out financial services using cryptocurrencies. They offer the likes of lending, borrowing, earning interest, and private payments – no personal data required.

Always do your own research

Ethereum is a new technology and most applications are new. Before depositing any large quantities of money, make sure you understand the risks.

Lending and borrowing

  • Aave logo
    Aave
    Lend your tokens to earn interest and withdraw any time.
    Goto Aave website(opens in a new tab)
  • Compound logo
    Compound
    Lend your tokens to earn interest and withdraw any time.
    Goto Compound website(opens in a new tab)
  • Summer.fi logo
    Summer.fi
    Trade, borrow, and save with Dai, an Ethereum stablecoin.
    Goto Summer.fi website(opens in a new tab)
  • PWN logo
    PWN
    Easy loans backed by any token or NFTs on Ethereum.
    Goto PWN website(opens in a new tab)
  • Yearn logo
    Yearn
    Yearn Finance is a yield aggregator. Giving individuals, DAOs and other protocols a way to deposit digital assets and receive yield.
    Goto Yearn website(opens in a new tab)
  • Convex logo
    Convex
    Convex allows Curve liquidity providers to earn trading fees and claim boosted CRV without locking their CRV.
    Goto Convex website(opens in a new tab)

Exchanges

Demand aggregators

Bridges

Investment funds

Portfolio management

Insurance

Payments

Crowdfunding

Derivatives

Liquid staking

Prediction markets

Want to browse more apps?

Check out hundreds of dapps(opens in a new tab)

The magic behind decentralized finance

What is it about Ethereum that allows decentralized finance applications to thrive?

Open access

Financial services running on Ethereum have no sign up requirements. If you have funds and an internet connection, you’re good to go.

A new token economy

There’s a whole world of tokens that you can interact with across these financial products. People are building new tokens on top of Ethereum all the time.

Stablecoins

Teams have built – a less volatile cryptocurrency. These allow you to experiment and use crypto without the risk and uncertainty.

Interconnected financial services

Financial products in the Ethereum space are all modular and compatible with one another. New configurations of these modules are hitting the market all the time, increasing what you can do with your crypto.

More on decentralized finance
Illustration of magicians

The magic behind dapps

Dapps might feel like regular apps. But behind the scenes they have some special qualities because they inherit all of Ethereum’s superpowers. Here's what makes dapps different from apps.

What makes Ethereum great?

No owners

Once deployed to Ethereum, dapp code can’t be taken down. And anyone can use the dapp’s features. Even if the team behind the dapp disbanded you could still use it. Once on Ethereum, it stays there.

Free from censorship

Built-in payments

Plug and play

One anonymous login

Backed by cryptography

No down time

How dapps work

Dapps have their backend code (smart contracts) running on a decentralized network and not a centralized server. They use the Ethereum for data storage and smart contracts for their app logic.

A smart contract is like a set of rules that live on-chain for all to see and run exactly according to those rules. Imagine a vending machine: if you supply it with enough funds and the right selection, you'll get the item you want. And like vending machines, smart contracts can hold funds much like your Ethereum account. This allows code to mediate agreements and transactions.

Once dapps are deployed on the Ethereum network you can't change them. Dapps can be decentralized because they are controlled by the logic written into the contract, not an individual or a company.

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