Bitcoin rockets up. XRP shoots down. ETH does both within an hour. And then it all flips around and starts again the next day. Repeat this process at pace ad nauseum for a few years, and you’ll have the first inklings of what the cryptocurrency markets have proven to be like in this nascent era of the decentralized age. The volatility is enough to make even the most hardened techno-libertarian economist’s head spin.

But digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are only the top layer of what blockchain technology is capable. Decentralized computer networks and the transactional trust platforms made possible by the public, immutable ledgers intrinsic to blockchain remove the need for gatekeeper institutions like banks or data-hoarding centralized social media apps or even record labels and online casinos.

Mainstream news sources seem often only to understand speculation on the prices of digital assets. Their understanding and reporting on blockchain and crypto is modeled after their understanding of financial markets. However, that leaves a major part of the equation in the dark. There’s a whole world of fast-paced development going on behind the scenes that is working towards delivering on the promise of blockchain and Ethereum by shifting the global coverage focus of the movement from discussion of price to a discussion of tech application via dApps.

In fact, a look around the milieu of decentralized applications already available shows a wealth of projects that range from essentials like Metamask, the Brave web browser, and mobile app Status, platforms and markets like VR world Decentraland, SingularDTV’s artist tokenization platform Tokit, prediction market Augur, and collectivized computer power portal Golem. Even how we find and do work is changing thanks to apps like Bounties.Network and Gitcoin, while social media apps like Peep.Eth and Minds are bringing people together without intermediaries.