Before discussing bitcoin as a dapp, I'd like to shed some light on what a dapp actually is as many people seem to have a narrow understanding of the concept.

So what is a dapp?

Put simply, a dapp (decentralized application) is an application that runs on a peer to peer network and is therefore not controlled by any central entity. Such applications have been around even before the advent of blockchain technology. BitTorrent, Tor, BitMessage, etc are all examples of dapps that existed before bitcoin. It follows that we have different classes of dapps.

Classification of dapps.

The classification of dapps is relatively complex as there are different technologies (blockchain, holochain, hashgraph, etc) on which these dapps are (can be) built. Of course, blockchain is the parent technology for building these applications as most of the dapps we have in the space are blockchain-based. To keep our classification short and simple, we are focusing only on blockchain.

There are generally two types of blockchain-based dapps: independent dapps and dependent dapps.

Independent dapps are those that do not rely on other blockchain platforms for their existence. For example, bitcoin, ethereum, Cardano, etc are built on their own blockchains that have been designed from scratch. Whereas, dependent dapps are usually built on blockchains that are meant for building decentralized applications. On this account, all the dapps listed on DappRadar are dependent dapps.

Coinmarketcap differentiates between cryptocurrencies that run on their own blockchain and those that are built on other blockchain platforms as coins and tokens respectively. To view all the coins or tokens on coinmarketcap, click the tab labeled cryptocurrencies as shown below. From there, you will have the option to select either all coins or tokens.

So when talking about dapps, we are not only referring to those that are built on platforms like Ethereum, Neo, Tron, etc as these platforms themselves are also dapps.

Note: blockchain refers to the technology while a dapp refers to the product of said technology.

Why I consider bitcoin as my favorite (bestdapp).

Of all the dapps we have in the industry today, my greatest respect goes to bitcoin despite its shortcomings. Here are a few reasons:

• The launch of bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto back in 2008 marked a new era not only in the way we transfer money but also in the way businesses and other organizations (will) operate. Thanks to blockchain technology, we no longer have to worry about a lack of transparency nor accountability because every transaction can be traced back to its roots.
• Bitcoin has changed lives for the better. No, I'm not talking about people becoming millionaires because they bought bitcoin in its early days - even though it counts. I'm referring to people living in countries like Venezuela where Inflation has taken a toll on people and they had no choice but to embrace bitcoin as a safe haven. Bitcoin was the first crypto that many Venezuelans could easily buy to retain the value of their funds.
• Bitcoin is still the most secure of all the digital assets to invest in. Its huge market capitalization compared to other cryptocurrencies means that it's more difficult for whales to manipulate its price. Whereas, cryptocurrencies with a smaller market capitalization are more prone to pump and dump schemes.
• Ther are also more places for spending bitcoin than any other cryptocurrency, making it the most widely adopted crypto so far.

How bitcoin works.

A majority of the crypto community already know how bitcoin works. For the uninitiated though, let me just do a quick overview.

Basically, bitcoin is a peer to peer payment network. Unlike our traditional financial systems where banks typically serve as payment gateways, all that is needed to send and receive bitcoins is a bitcoin (crypto) wallet. To illustrate, let's say Bob owns bitcoin and wants to send some to Alice. First, Alice has to provide a public address to which Bob has to send the required funds. After Bob sends the funds, Alice has to wait until she gets around 6 confirmations to be certain that she is now the owner of the newly received bitcoins. Details of how bitcoin works can be found here

Upsides (advantages of bitcoin)

The decentralized, opensource, tamper-proof nature of the bitcoin network means that there is no fear of a central authority who could impose unnecessary rules. There's no room to game the system or tell lies as everything is publicly accessible and can be traced. These few characteristics of bitcoin alone are enough for bitcoin to be considered more trustworthy than the current centralized financial system.

Downsides of bitcoin.

bitcoin has serious scalability issues. Right now, bitcoin can only process around 7 transactions per second which is nowhere near visa's average of around 1700 transactions per second. Even the lightning network that is meant to solve bitcoin's scalability problem is still far from being mature. That means any significant increase in the number of people transacting bitcoin will quickly increase transactions fee, making it once more unfit for everyday purchases.

Apart from scalability, there's also the issue of price volatility. The rate at which the price of bitcoin fluctuates makes it impossible to serve as a steady currency for day to day purchases in spite of all the venues where it can be spent online.

Is there really such a thing as a BestDapp?

The idea of the best dapp isn't practical if we are considering all the dapps that exist in the space. However, if we were to put together various dapps in groups based on their purpose, then comparing them would definitely make sense.

For example, bitcoin and litecoin are built for the same purpose - to serve as a peer to peer payment network. So it's totally fair to compare them. Meanwhile, Ethereum and Neo would fall under the same category. And so would steemit vs publish0x, Cosmos vs Polkadot, etc.

On that account, I have many favorite dapps in the space. These include but not limited to:

Ethereum: leading platform for building dapps

Chainlink: bringing real-world information to smart contracts

Brave: enjoy ad-free browsing experience

Publish0x: Earning crypto made simple.

Cosmos: allowing blockchains to talk to each other

And many more...

On the whole, bitcoin is still the king of all decentralized applications (dapps). Without it, I probably won't be participating in this contest, at least, not at this very moment. But again, there are also many interesting dapps in the space that are solving unique world issues and cannot, for any reason, be ignored.