



On one of the industry’s largest directories of decentralized applications (DApps), roughly 20% of included DApps are classified as “abandoned.”







For context, decentralized applications are blockchain-based programs that are designed to operate outside of the control of any single influence. As a result, DApps are often the product of the community at large.





As of press time, the directory on State of the DApps lists around 1,300 decentralized applications which are classified as being “live.” This is out of a total of 2,281 DApps currently on the site.





In comparison, the site says around 394 DApps in its directory have been abandoned, with others falling into categories such as “work in progress,” “beta,” “prototype,” “concept,” “stealth,” or “broken.”





According to a post from State of the DApps, a DApp is listed as abandoned if no development activity is shown on GitHub for more than one year. Further, abandoned decentralized applications are not displayed in the site’s rankings.





Thanks to the open nature of DApps, governance is left to their users. This decentralization can help heighten trust and reduce the risk of censorship. DApps are, by design, able to outlive their creators. But this does not make them immune to being left behind.