Building dApps For Passive Income

Some of the best passive income revenue streams take leg work up front to get going - but once you have set the foundation, earning that income passively is much easier. dApps, or Decentralized Applications, can work in much the same way.

What are Decentralized Applications Anyway?

A decentralized application (or dApp) is an application that transfers control and decisions from a central authority to a decentralized system. dApps are a solution that can allow developers, creators, or businesses to control their digital assets and data.

dApps can require the use of tokens for features like gaming, trading, staking, or earning interest, and they can be built to collect passive income streams in various ways, depending on the business model you opt for.

Ways to Earn Passive Income Using a dApp

So let’s talk about making some passive income from your dApp. First, we’ll discuss the different ways you can monetize your dApp. Then we’ll discuss the different types of dApps out there and go through the best dApps to start earning passive income.

Before we jump into developing dApps, you may also want to consider the costs associated with producing them. dApps don't follow the traditional monetization strategy used by regular business applications; instead, they use different methods, the most popular method being transaction fees.

There are already significant dApps with millions of active users, such as Augor, Basic Attention Token, and Compound Finance. These dApps provide multiple ways for users to earn tokens through various means.

Earning With Transaction Fees

One way to earn some income passively from a dApp is to charge users for using your services through transaction fees. You may want to consider charging users for using your dApp, if your dApp can offer something valuable, like an item or an act of service.

One example of earning with transaction fees comes from the variety of crypto exchanges and wallets that earn fees every time you trade, swap, or send crypto using their platforms.

dApps Subscriptions for Passive Income

If you want to be sure that a particular piece of code runs only when someone subscribes or pays for access, you can add a "membership" or "subscribe" feature to a smart contract itself.

Either a "Usage-limited" mode that allows the user to use the application for so long before they're blocked from using it again or a "Time-based" mode where the user gets access to the service until X number of minutes/hours/days have passed.

Blockchain Fueled Advertisements

Advertisements do play a role in how decentralized applications make money. So if you're considering including it on your list of dApp business models, you should consider doing so after comparing the traditional model.

If your idea is to build a dApp for passive income in the advertising space, consider AdsDax, Blockchain-ADS, and Presearch on how these names are tackling the advertising side of blockchain and earning revenue.

Create Digital Goods & Marketplaces

One of the most essential uses for Ethereum dApp development is when this monetization model is used. NFTs are a great example of this. Artwork that can be replicated and scaled for sale on various outlets, all in a "hands-off" mode once the project is complete. Some NFT artists have even included consistent percentages of revenue earned on each sale or resale of an NFT.

NFT marketplaces allow users to sell, purchase and even generate their own unique digital assets. If your business involves a related activity, you can utilize the tokenized payment model to increase overall revenue in your dApp.

Gaming dApps

You can generate some income through sponsorship or pay-to-play models once your game is built. Gaming dApps and blockchain-based games are one of the fastest-growing investment sectors.

We've written about the exceptional growth in GameFi investments that might inspire your next great idea for a passive income-generating dApp.

Decentralized Payment Applications

With payment dApps, users can stream funds in real time without paying gas fees. For example, your business payment dApp can generate revenue through the percentage of the fees it receives from clients.

Every time a payment is made or sent using your payment dApp - you would collect a small percentage of the transaction for hosting the dApp that made the payment collection and redemption possible. So it's basically transaction fees with a different name.

You're Still Early

Blockchain is still very early. There remain several decades ahead for this industry to see maturity. Take advantage of these early days to get your dApp up and going so that it can generate passive income in the future, reaping the rewards for a long time.

With its low costs, reliability, and high security, decentralized apps make an irreplaceable business strategy for future applications. Now, all you need to do is to get inspired and act on your idea. Here is a great video to inspire you on profitable business ideas for the next ten years.

Begin by sketching out your dApp for passive income and what problem it can solve. Then find blockchain developers for your project and get building! You don't have to look too far to find projects that can help motivate you to build your next dApp!

Sample Resources To Help You Build dApps For Income

Evmos dApp Store

Evmos is a fully EVM-compatible Layer 1 built from the ground up to enable a more sustainable dApp ecosystem. dApp developers can also attract users through sustainable incentives built into smart contracts.

This workshop will dive into how builders can activate these sustainable growth mechanisms through participation in the Evmos dApp Store.

The Pocket Portal

The Pocket Portal is a gateway to a decentralized RPC network, where developers can create blockchain network endpoints for their applications. Portal users can monitor network performance and configure custom security features around their endpoint.

The Pocket Portal acts as your one-stop-shop to manage, and monitor your application's connection to blockchain data. You can deploy within minutes to a decentralized infrastructure that can service your dApp from thousands of nodes.

The Ethereum Boilerplate, A Fast Way To Build A Web3 dApp

One way to start your web3 development journey is by using the Ethereum Boilerplate created by Moralis. You can skip all the hurdles you may have had in setting up a decentralized application and speed-track your development with Web3 authentication, wallet transactions, token transfers, NFT balances, and more.