A Ethereum Chain Smart Contract Dapp is an application built on a decentralized network that combines a smart contract and a frontend user interface. On Ethereum, smart contracts are accessible and transparent – like open APIs – so your dapp can even include a smart contract that someone else has written.
Smart contracts deliver automation, transparency, and immutability, thereby providing benefits to both disruptive startups and legacy corporate enterprises looking to build products and services on the blockchain. Smart contracts also allow for the creation of digital assets that are programmable and capable of executing unique and specific functions according to the contract’s code.
Ethereum has given rise to multiple widely used token standards, such as ERC-20 and ERC-721, which are all part of the Ethereum Request for Comments (ERC) family of token standards. These standards are essentially interfaces that indicate that the token’s contract responds to a set of commands specific to a particular smart contract. As a result, token standards determine the nature of a token as well as what network(s) it is compatible with.
Within the Ethereum ecosystem, the most common types of token standards are
ERC-621
ERC-621 tokens are similar to ERC-20 tokens except that the ERC-621 token standard allows for the later modification (e.g., minting and burning) of the token’s total supply. In contrast, the ERC-20 standard only allows a single token issuance event.
ERC-1155
This standard allows smart contracts to manage multiple token types, allowing for the inclusion of any combination of fungible tokens, non-fungible tokens, and other hybrid configurations.
ERC-827
Another extension of the ERC-20 token standard, ERC-827 allows a token holder to approve a third party to spend or transfer the holder’s tokens based on a pre-established set of rules. This feature opens up new possibilities, like the ability to automate certain operations while remaining ERC-20 compatible.
ERC-721
This standard allows for the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are completely unique and not interchangeable with other tokens. As a result, ERC-721 tokens are generally used for collectibles, original artworks, and in other contexts where provable ownership of a digital asset is a priority.
ERC-20
ERC-20 tokens are fungible, meaning they are identical and mutually interchangeable with other tokens of the same type. As a result, ERC-20 tokens are typically used within a currency context or some other commodity use case where token fungibility is required. Most common digital assets in Ethereum’s ecosystem are based on the ERC-20 token standard. At its peak, 94 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap were based on Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard.
Ethereum's Dapp Ecosystem
Given Ethereum’s open-ended, open-source nature, anyone with the right knowledge can theoretically build a dApp or web service on the network. As a result, since launching in 2015, Ethereum has become the unifying ecosystem for thousands of unique organizations. Roughly half of all functioning dApps on the market are based on the Ethereum network, with more than 600,000 active users interacting with dApps regularly. Ethereum’s dApps range widely, from decentralized credit services and financial exchanges to blockchain-enabled web browsers and data markets. As of January 2021, more than $22 billion worth of digitized assets were locked up in Ethereum’s rapidly expanding decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.
While some Ethereum chain smart contract dApps may appear similar to traditional web applications from a user perspective, dApps are capable of operating and transacting in a peer-to-peer fashion without the need for a central authority. Since the advent of Ethereum, a number of other blockchain projects focused on smart contract-deployed dApps have sprung up. However, Ethereum continues to be the most widely adopted platform of its kind. And as of January 2021, the Ethereum blockchain remains the second largest, in large part because of the project’s success in attracting developers to build dApps on its network.