Crypto Gloom

How to Build a Blockchain Application

Today’s world revolves around making money. In that case, cryptocurrency platforms will play a major role in 2024. However, people’s interest in crypto investment may vary. But the main player, who steals the spotlight is the Blockchain application. Blockchain is a digital system of recording immutable ledger transactions that makes it difficult to attempt malicious damage.

Every crypto platform needs to be secured for the user’s purpose. A fusion of skills in technology, user-focused design, and a futuristic view of the financial sector is required to create a blockchain application. Moreover, the Blockchain market size is projected to increase from $13.2 billion and is projected to increase by 84.8% (CAGR) from 2023 until 2030.  This blog will guide you with the concepts like :

  • What are Blockchain Applications?
  • How to Build a Blockchain Application?
  • Types of Blockchain
  • Reasons to Develop Blockchain Application
  • How Does a Blockchain Application Work?
  • How Much Does It Cost to create a Blockchain App?

What are Blockchain Applications?  

Blockchain Application is nothing but dApps built on blockchain technology. This application serves as a distributed ledger across the entire network of computers that are connected to the blockchain. Whenever the transactions are made, immediately it is stored and a small piece of information about that transaction is also added to every participant inside the blockchain. 

A chain of data blocks is curated and after creating each block it is then added into the chain. Blockchain is the toughest innovation to attack since the added blocks cannot be removed or altered. The data that is stored inside the block depends upon the type of blockchain. i.e. – The bitcoin blockchain stores the transactions. That is the sender, the receiver, and the amount of transactions.  

Each block carries 3 sets of information

  • Some data,
  • Hash, and 
  • The hash of the previous block.

Next, let’s know something interesting about how to develop a Blockchain Application promptly…

How to Build a Blockchain Application

If you’re wondering how to build a blockchain application perfectly, then read ahead. Like every app development, Blockchain application development also prioritizes the purpose. In this section, we have explained the step-by-step process of building a blockchain app.

Step 1: Analyze and Identify the Industry

Numerous industries require blockchain technology such as gaming, banking & finance, insurance, healthcare, real estate, and security, etc… Let us delve into each sector and understand it for blockchain app development.

Gaming

The gaming industry has evolved from a game to a professional sport. There are some gaming competitions these days that have a blank market and high financial expenses. Blockchain technology possesses the capability to tackle legacy-related issues within the gaming industry.

For instance – Users can have their own character with all of their resources and abilities and blockchain would only operate as a checking point for stealing. Sky Mavis, Playkeu, Dapperlabs, The Sandbox, and Uplandme Inc. are some of the blockchain gaming companies. 

Real Estate

In the real estate industry purchasing, and selling often carries the danger of excessive paperwork, fraud, and mistakes in the public record. With the help of blockchain technology, the real estate business can easily eliminate the requirement for paper-based records. Further, the blockchain helps in recording, tracking, and transferring land titles along with ensuring accuracy and credibility. Propy and Chromaway are the industries in real estate that have implemented blockchain. 

Healthcare

The most difficult method in the healthcare business is the usage of several systems to handle and store data. Such kinds of systems include sensitive data, including personally identifiable information, which is highly vulnerable to attack.

Therefore creating a single system for sharing data among the entire institution is highly dangerous. The healthcare sector can share the data with other networks easily. This technology shares the data with integrity and high security. HealthVerity and Hashed Health are the industries that implemented blockchain. 

Banking and Finance

Considering transparency, efficiency, and ease of use the financial sector requires the help of blockchain applications. Payments, Clearness, and Settlement Systems, etc… all the primary services in the banks can be easily sorted out with this technology. JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse, and Western Union are already making the most out of blockchain applications. 

Supply Chain

Blockchain technology is now being used in the supply chain business. This means that when different companies work together in the supply chain, it helps to track and show all the steps involved, making everything very clear.

For instance – Imagine a restaurant that wants to know where its meat comes from. With blockchain, they can easily trace the history of the meat they use in their dishes. This isn’t just for restaurants but also for other industries like farming, transportation, and fashion can also use blockchain to keep track of their products.

Some companies in the supply chain industry that use blockchain are Provenance, Fluent, and Blockverify. They use this technology to ensure transparency and trace the origin of products.

Step 2:Choose the right blockchain platform

Create a blockchain application by choosing the right type of blockchain for your business. Considering the consensus process and the challenges you desire to address, blockchain apps have 4 different types. They are

Permissionless blockchain (public) – This blockchain is used by all the members of the network and on any device. Anybody can be a part of the blockchain and can make the transactions, can verify, and still stay anonymous. For instance –Bitcoin is a public blockchain.

Permissioned blockchain (Private) – This blockchain is accessed by authorized users alone. Further, this type of blockchain has a set of rules that regulate the transactions between network participants. Private blockchains are mostly preferred by organizations for internal purposes.

Hybrid blockchain – Some organizations prefer choosing the best from both the blockchains. By using this way, we can control access to the specific data stored inside the blockchain and which set of data is open to all the network participants. 

Consortium blockchain – Consortium blockchain is also called federated blockchain. It’s more or less similar to the previous blockchain offering limited access to a specific set of groups. This blockchain can initiate, receive, and validate transactions via the validator node.

After deciding on a blockchain platform, you need to identify your specific business requirements and conduct a brainstorming session.

Step 3: Do Competitor Research

You must conduct competitor research to understand their current activities. Utilizing social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook can aid in identifying your competitors. This is one of the essential step in the process of developing a blockchain application.

Step 4: Choose a Blockchain Platform for Your Project

After doing the competitor’s market research, analyze the suitable platform for app development. There are 2 ways. They are: 

Create New Blockchain

This choice empowers you to establish a new blockchain framework where every aspect, from algorithm design to transaction, is under your control. Despite its high cost, it is considered one of the most unique approaches to blockchain development. Moreover, you are enthusiastic about crafting your unique version of Ethereum or Solana. Then this option is applicable when developing your own cryptocurrency.

Clone Popular Blockchain Platforms

Another effective way of creating a blockchain-based application is replicating a well-known blockchain. But these platforms are open source, only you can deploy the code on your servers by simply forking their repository. The main question at this point will be why the world would have decided to use a blockchain that you created.

How effective a blockchain platform is will be determined by the number of network nodes that can validate transactions. Hence the platforms Ethereum, Hyperledger, R3 Corda, and Ripple are just a handful.

  • Ethereum stands out as a popular platform, allowing users to build their own ecosystems and blockchain applications using the solidity programming language.
  • Hyperledger, known for its DApps platform using fabrics, is particularly suitable for corporate tools focused on data communication. Developing for Hyperledger kind of platforms requires a skilled team of Go, Java, and JavaScript blockchain app developers.
  • R3 Corda focuses on specific sectors such as supply chain, trade finance, healthcare, and commerce. To build permissioned blockchains, a platform called Corda is used. 
  • Ripple, an excellent tool choice for those designing financial tools, facilitates connections to banks and payment processors, enabling stressless money transfers.

In addition, various platforms offer the flexibility to develop blockchain applications using conventional languages like C++, Java, Kotlin, and JavaScript.

Step 5: Design Your Blockchain App

Design your blockchain application, it might be a theoretical build-up or a design prototype. Every project under theoretical build-up needs theoretical incidents in order for customers to understand the product’s applicability and viability. It is possible to write suggestions that outline every aspect of the project. Following the development of a theoretical build-up and feedback, a prototype is created that consists of:

  • Drawings 
  • Mock-ups
  • Tested information architecture, and 
  • Product designs

Design APIs that are to be incorporated with UI to run an application in the back-end. Visual layouts and designs are created to give a great look and user-friendly feel to the application. 

Step 6: Development and Testing Process

In this phase, you should either have to develop or integrate APIs for specific use cases of the application. The Blockchain application is built under multiple versions. The development and Testing Process is a significant one.

Pre-Alpha – Firstly, A blockchain application development which is not yet undergone formal testing is called a pre-alpha version of the app. Once it got approved by the client, the next stage would be the alpha version. Here the Blockchain app developers will test the software with white-box techniques. 

Beta version – Once the alpha version is released, the Blockchain app will be prepared for the Beta version. In this version, it incorporates the complete features set up but with some unknown bugs. Developers will share the beta version with a certain group of people outside the organization to test its functionality.

Candidate Version – Once the best version is approved and tested, the Blockchain application is released for the candidate version. An advanced beta version will be the final application and it will be launched. 

Step 7: Maintenance and Support

This phase is meant for updating OS, frameworks, libraries, and adding new features, and modifying the application to meet your current business requirements. 

Step 8: Deployment

After undergoing several tests, the application will finally move to the production phase and get ready for deployment. Before any application goes live, it should be deployed on the test network to test its functionalities promptly. 

The admin manages which version of the apps will be deployed. Once the application is provisioned, it should be hosted on the main chain. If the developed blockchain is a hybrid platform, i.e. it contains both off-chain and on-chain business entities, then it needs to be deployed on the cloud server and in the app store/play store. It should also be able to upgrade according to the needs and prioritization.

Nearly, gigabytes and terabytes of storage capacity are needed to put up a blockchain. Since you’ve got the knowledge regarding how to build a blockchain application right?? You may now have a question like, what’s the reason behind developing a blockchain application…. To clear your doubts, read ahead.

Reasons to Develop Blockchain Application

There are several solid reasons for developing a blockchain application. Come let’s uncover the top reasons in the following:

Public Verification

One of the main reasons for constructing a blockchain technology is it provides the public verification of transactions. Anybody from wherever can view all the activities carried away, which ensures the trust between parties.

Transparency

Transparency is achieved by recording everything in a public ledger. This prevents fraudulence and corruption by tracking out the transactions in a simple way and ensuring they are legitimate.

Privacy

By using Blockchain technology, we can guarantee high privacy to the users and can have high confidentiality towards the data. For instance – Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin allows users to make transactions without revealing their true identity. 

Immutability

Cryptographic techniques are used in Blockchain technology to prevent unauthorized changes and for secure transactions. Whatever is added to the blockchain cannot be deleted or even altered. 

Easy Transactions

Implementing Blockchain makes it simple for transactions by neglecting the intermediaries. This will help the business to reduce costs and at the same time improve efficiency by streamlining the process. It also reduces the required time.

Cryptocurrency Exchange

Constructing blockchain-based applications offers a more secure way to fast buy and sell cryptos. The blockchain technology helps to build a user-friendly interface, with low fees and fast transactions. 

High-Security

High security is maintained using cryptographic techniques which secure the user transactions. Blockchain technology prevents unauthorized access to participate in the network. This decentralized nature of blockchain apps makes them less vulnerable to cyber threats.

Astounded by the above reasons?? Come let’s find out how it works in the upcoming….

How Does a Blockchain Application Work?

The specialty of a blockchain network working is, that it shares the information among its network members and stores it in a chronological way of ordered blocks. Let’s have a look at the working process to be followed to develop a blockchain app and how it works briefly. 

Hash (the information will run via an encryption algorithm, that creates a hexadecimal number) of each block plays a major role. For your understanding, we can compare it with a fingerprint, which is always unique to hacking. The Blockchain Apps identify the block and its content and are unique just like the fingerprints. Once the block is created, the hash is calculated. Changing any data inside the block will cause the hash value to change. 

The next element inside each of the blocks is the hash of the previous block. This effectively creates a chain of blocks and this technique makes a blockchain so secure. The first block is a bit special. It cannot pinpoint the previous block since it’s the first one. It is called as “Gensis Block”.

Transaction Process

The transactions in the blockchain follow a specific process. For instance, say a transaction is initiated on Bitcoin’s blockchain using your crypto wallet. It executes a sequence of events. The transaction is passed to the memory pool, which stores and queues until a minor picks it up. Further, it enters, fills, and closes the block. It is then encrypted using the encryption algorithm. The mining process begins, where the complete network works to try to solve the hash.

Every miner starts with a nonce (number used only once) of zero, which is added to the end of their randomly generated hash. If this number is not equivalent or less than the target hash value, then the value of one is added to the nonce. A block hash is then generated. This significant process continues until a miner generates a valid hash.

Continuing this process the block gets closed and the transaction is completed. However, the block is not yet confirmed until all the other blocks get validated. Almost it takes 10 minutes to complete each block on average. This process may vary for each blockchain network. 

So far you have read about the entire concept of this revolutionary architect of blockchain application. Now here comes the cost and budget required to build one.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Blockchain App?

Developing a blockchain application costs around $25,000 – $60,000. However, the final cost of the blockchain application depends on several factors such as :

  • Type of the App that you’re developing
  • Complexity of the features.
  • Blockchain platform.
  • Integrations of third party.
  • App complexity.
  • The number of targeted platforms.
  • Location of the blockchain mobile app development. 

The following are some of the examples of blockchain projects on the complexity level:

  • Low Complexity Blockchain – Payment apps, Smart Contracts Development App.
  • Medium Complexity Blockchain – dApps developed on blockchain platforms, Semi-decentralized apps, Hybrid blockchain apps, and Blockchain dApps.
  • High Complexity Blockchain –  Development of a Blockchain Apps from scratch, A complete dApp.

Developing a blockchain application with an in-house development team is quite an expensive choice. However you have enough control over the blockchain Creation, one with deep pockets can opt for this. Apart from this, a wise choice would be approaching the best blockchain development company. Taking up a blockchain development provider would benefit you based on budget constraints. 

Final Thoughts

In the ever-evolving realm of blockchain creation, turning your crypto dreams into reality requires a blend of expertise and innovation. As you set sail on this journey, let Coinsclone be a compass to your ambition that leads you to success. Coinsclone is not just a development platform, it’s your launchpad to the financial revolution. From coding to user-centric design, we shape your blockchain development, ensuring that your crypto business reaches new heights. So, why settle for the ordinary when you can redefine the extraordinary? Let Coinsclone be the architect of your blockchain destiny.