A dApp, or decentralised application, is an app that runs on a blockchain instead of on one company's servers. The back end is a smart contractSmart contractA program that runs on a blockchain and automatically carries out what it was written to do once certain conditions are met., and the front end is often an ordinary website or app.
How does a dApp work?
You open the dApp in a browser and connect your crypto walletCrypto walletAn app or device that holds the keys to your crypto and lets you receive, store and send it. to it. When you do something, such as swap a token, your wallet creates a transaction for you to approve. The transaction goes to the smart contract on the blockchain, and you pay GasGasThe unit that measures the computing work a transaction or smart contract needs on Ethereum, which sets how high the network fee is. for it.
Your online bank runs on the bank's computers, and the bank can change it or shut it down. A dApp runs on a blockchain that no single party controls.
Examples of dApps include decentralised exchangesDecentralised exchange (DEX)An exchange run by smart contracts, where people swap crypto straight from their own wallets with no company in the middle., lending services in DeFiDeFi (decentralised finance)Financial services, such as lending, saving and trading, that run on smart contracts on a blockchain instead of through a bank or other middleman. and NFT marketplaces.
Pros and cons
The advantages are that a dApp is open to everyone, hard for any one party to shut down, and its code can be inspected by anyone.
The drawbacks include:
- Bugs are hard to fix, because code on a blockchain is hard to change.
- When the network is congested, fees rise and everything slows down.
- The experience is often more complicated than in ordinary apps.
- The website you use is often hosted on an ordinary server and can disappear, even though the contract is still on the blockchain.
Watch out for fake dApp sites. Scam sites copy well-known dApps to trick you into approving a transaction that empties your wallet.
Everything in Myntkaup Learn is written and regularly reviewed by the Myntkaup editorial team. It is for education and is not investment advice. Editorial policy. Updated 18 October 2026.