As You Wade into Web3, Know dApps Need a Support Ecosystem
Web3 technologies are positioned as the next big thing in business. In fact, technology research and consulting firm, Gartner, estimates that 20% of businesses will be using blockchain to track data and processes by the end of 2022. As the number of businesses dipping their proverbial toes into the world of dApps continues to grow, so too does the need for these organizations to have a clear understanding of how to ensure their dApps are compatible with multiple blockchains. Are you compatible?
Currently, there are eight major protocols to be aware of when it comes to building dApps: Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, NEAR, EOSIO, Hyperledger Fabric, and Corda. However, trying to build an application that is compatible with all platforms can be costly and time-consuming.
So, Where Do You Begin?
The answer depends on the needs and goals of the organization. Many companies start by building their dApps on Ethereum because it currently has the largest number of developers and projects. This provides a large, existing ecosystem to support businesses as they venture into the world of Web3. What’s more, Ethereum has the most comprehensive tooling and infrastructure when compared to other protocols. Things like development frameworks, testnets, and wallets that businesses can use to help build and deploy applications.
How Do You Know if Your dApps are Compatible?
Here are three ways:
- Go to the dApp website where the dApp development studio or group will advertise collaborative blockchains. This information is disclosed publicly and specifies which blockchains are currently integrated and which are in the pipeline for future integration. For example, Uniswap is a decentralized finance (Defi) dApp enabling swapping and liquidity providing between trading pairs. It was initially built on top of Ethereum and has since scaled and ported over to multiple other blockchain networks, such as Polygon (Layer 2 Ethereum Scaling), Arbitrum (Layer 2 Ethereum Scaling), Optimism (Layer 2 Ethereum Scaling), and Celo (Layer 1).
- Another way to verify dApp compatibility with your preferred blockchain is to search for the dApp name plus the blockchain name in any search engine. You will see the latest published articles on that work front.
- One additional method is to click “Connect A Wallet” in the dApp to see which wallets are compatible. You will be able to determine which blockchains are compatible by the process of elimination.
