2017 saw an expansion in popularity of DApps, decentralised application browsers based on the Ethereum blockchain. DApps like CryptoKitties – a Christmas craze for digital game collectibles – can occupy as much as 20% or more of the daily transactions on the whole Ethereum network. This kind of activity helps to demonstrate the capabilities of Ethereum's network, with its potential for processing a substantial volume ofdecentralised ledger transactions. Digital asset trading can, in the future, cut out the middle man, by conducting its trades in this decentralised fashion.

CryptoKitties in particular has been praised by cryptocurrency experts, who perceive it as an early example of a long-held dream. That idea is to use Blockchain for frictionless cross-border trading of all kinds of digital assets; not only cash, but concepts. It might also be seen as a one-off sensation, a Christmas craze that reached an astronomical commercial peak, fuelled by widespread social and mainstream media coverage. Such instant success is rare for an Ethereum-based DApp, but is a herald for their future direction.

Ethereum-based DApps use the ERC20 token protocol, and function using native tokens which are compatible with Ether. Digital token trading can therefore be processed seamlessly on decentralised exchange platforms, and some experts believe these systems are on the brink of a market revolution.