Are you building a decentralized app (Dapp)? If so, the Corona Dapp Network wants to help! Network Founder, Daniel Greene, gave an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph about their objectives and the state of Dapps in the cryptocurrency ecosystem now, and in the future.

Cointelegraph: How did you get involved with blockchain technology?

Daniel Greene: At the end of 2010 a friend introduced me to Bitcoin, and soon after that I built my first GPU mining rig from computer parts I had lying around. The rest is history.

CT: What is Corona Dapp Network?

DG: Corona is a global hub for decentralized application developers and entrepreneurs in search of educational resources and financial support. We believe that decentralization will revolutionize the next generation of internet applications and services in ways that will greatly benefit the user.

Our goal is to accelerate adoption, increase awareness, and optimize the creation of the new decentralized web. We do this by promoting and funding the building of social and economically disruptive decentralized applications.

CT: From where you sit, how does the future for decentralized apps look? And do you think the decentralization of apps will overcome the disapproval of traditional corporates and regulators?

DG: I think decentralized applications have a very bright future. Decentralization is a market force, and demand by consumers for the advantages it provides will drive growth and adoption. Decentralized applications are a powerful technology, and yes they will overcome the disapproval of traditional institutions the same way the internet did across the world.

What’s more relevant is that just like BitTorrent and Bitcoin, other Dapps will not require a central authority’s permission to operate, nor can they be forcefully regulated. It would be like trying to regulate how people dance.

CT: You fund developers and entrepreneurs and provide them with educational tools and resources for them to build decentralized applications. What procedure do you use to identify the beneficiaries of your support?

DG: As we are an open and collaborative community, our educational resources are public to everyone. We also do our best to provide opportunities to our network members by helping them to connect with one another. Dapp projects that seek funding can apply using our Funding Application form, and we extensively review submissions for eligibility. This includes proper due diligence and approval by our team.

The key criteria we look at are skill and proficiency levels of the applicant and his team, and the added value a Dapp would provide to the Corona network and the decentralization community as a whole. More information on this process can be found in our whitepaper.

CT: Since you support and fund developers and entrepreneurs, how different is Corona Dapp Network from an accelerator?

DG: We are similar in that we are assisting early stage projects and building a collaborative environment for innovation, but our model is not that of a classic accelerator or incubator. We do not rely on a financial interest in the Dapps we are helping to build in order to fund ourselves. We believe there is massive value and opportunity in being central to this new space, building a brand, creating resources and helping people to network.

CT: What are your revenue streams or how are you funding your projects?

DG: Currently we are a donation and sponsorship funded organization. Other than self-funding, we are also launching a fundraiser to help create awareness and exposure of our efforts, and to bootstrap a dedicated community. We are exploring other revenue streams to continue funding the Corona Network long term.

CT: Supporters of Corona receive membership credits; can you explain the benefits they get?

DG: The Corona membership credits are an acknowledgment of the supporter's participation in the fundraiser. They can be thought of like a VIP member pass to Dapps within the Corona network. They provide access to services across the network that are defined by the Dapps themselves. The membership credits are multi-purpose in that sense and can be compared to arcade tokens in an arcade that is constantly growing.

CT: How big is the Corona Dapp Network community and what are your projections?

DG: Our community has grown to dozens of members very quickly, and we project to be in the thousands next year. We are evangelical proponents of Dapps and believe many classic developers can quickly become Dapp development savvy. Our goal is to educate and onboard as many new developers into the space and grow the existing Dapp communities.

CT: What are your short and long term goals?

DG: Short term goals would include raising awareness of Dapp development amongst the larger developer communities, in addition to the building of killer decentralized applications, such as a prediction markets and peer-to-peer secure messaging.

Another important goal is the creation of a free and universal Dapp directory which facilitates the finding and downloading of Dapps. On that note, we are also collaborating with Crypti to use their Dapp store as a means to distribute Corona Dapps.

A long-term goal of ours is the creation of a Dapp development platform that would allow non-technical users to build easily amazing Dapps, similar to how Dreamweaver made web design accessible to almost anyone.

CT: What areas of blockchain technology interest you the most; currency, smart contracts, etc.?

DG: I find the financial aspects of smart contracts very interesting, such as decentralized exchanges and prediction markets. Frictionless and trustless financial utility can be the core of a truly free market economy.

CT: According to the Corona Dapp Network whitepaper, all projects funded by you should carry the Corona network branding and integrate the Corona membership credits; doesn’t this go against your mission of decentralization?

DG: No, these aspects are not mutually exclusive to our mission of decentralization. To clarify, we don’t force anyone to integrate our membership credits if it doesn’t make sense. We do ask that the Dapp project acknowledge they are part of our network by displaying our brand logo (especially if we are funding them); however this is not in any way anti-decentralization.

In fact, true decentralization means that individuals are free to voluntarily associate with one another, and this is exactly what we are offering.

CT: What part of the Corona Dapp Network do you believe is critical for our readers to understand?

DG: It is important to understand that we provide funding opportunities for decentralized application developers and entrepreneurs to build next generation internet applications. We do so while remaining platform agnostic, meaning we encourage using any and all decentralization technologies available in order to create the best software possible.