If you wonder the hype around blockchain technology is worth your attention and time, the answer is YES! The future of the blockchain will likely have an impact on your business and everyday life. 

Blockchain technology first entered the scene in 2009, when the first cryptocurrency – Bitcoin – was created. Satoshi Nakamoto, the “inventor” of Bitcoin, presented this innovative idea to the world, enabling financial transactions to take place freely, without the mediation of a bank or the state. 

Since the beginning of the crypto-revolution, over a thousand similar currencies have emerged. 

Blockchain technology developed through three phases. In the first phase, we had bitcoin, used by a small group of people well informed about technological innovations. 

The second phase occurred in 2015 and brought a development and expansion of this technology, which opened the possibility to expand the number of users and involve a much larger number of people.

How is blockchain technology used today? 

We are currently living in a “blockchain era”. Blockchain is already revolutionizing the business processes of many industries and encouraging people to acquire new skills.

The impact this technology can have on our future is spectacular. The most exciting thing about blockchain is that this technology allows us to democratize opportunities. 

About a year ago, we entered the third phase, where blockchain technology spread to some other areas besides finance.

This innovative technology has been applied in education, sustainable development, finance, logistics, agriculture, healthcare and software development.

The wide-reaching possibilities of blockchain technology provide companies with many business benefits. It is reaching a whole new level and is becoming a part of our everyday life.

The future of blockchain: Where are we heading?

Blockchain software development is a complex process. Blockchain developers who know and can develop blockchain technology are highly valued today and are becoming very sought-after in various sectors.

The first blockchain programming platform in the world was Ethereum. With its appearance, developers around the world had the opportunity to create applications on top of the blockchain. 

Blockchain programming requests several specific steps.

First, you have to understand the basics. 

One of the biggest challenges with blockchain technology is being familiar with various concepts, specific terms, technical aspects, understanding smart contracts, and knowing blockchain development tools that are an integral part of the system. 

When it comes to technical aspects, it is essential to have a basic knowledge of crypto-economics. Crypto-economy is what makes blockchain interesting and what differs it from other technologies.

It is also essential to understand how bitcoin works. The most popular cryptocurrency is the best example of what blockchain technology can achieve.

Where to start? Begin with coding 

Blockchain developers often face many challenges. There are several reasons why creating and maintaining a public blockchain is a complicated task – security, resource management, performance, isolation. 

In blockchain development, transaction operations have to be deterministic.

Just as you can’t have smart contracts that work in two different ways on two machines, you can’t have a transaction that in one day behaves one way and then another way the next day. 

The solution to this is isolation. For example, smart contracts and transactions are isolated from non-deterministic elements.

For developing blockchain projects, developers use many programming languages. It depends on the platform on which the applications and projects will be created, as well as on the final product. 

One of the most popular programming languages is Solidity. It is used for implementing smart contracts on various blockchain platforms, especially Ethereum. 

Solidity is essential for anyone looking to learn how to make DAPPs (decentralized applications) or get into a token offering game. 

Around the Block: Creating the Blockchain

Blockchain technology records information about a transaction on a distributed, immutable, public ledger. Each transaction is then recorded in a digital “block” that is added to the existing chain of information.

To create a quality product, developers have to understand the principle of decentralization and block autonomy.

Once we move from theory and move into practice, the next step is to build a bridge between user experience and smart contracts, i.e., to create decentralized applications.

The blockchain is a chain of data blocks and can be thought of as a page in a book. The pages of a book, in the case of a blockchain, represent blocks. Each page in a book has a specific size, just like each block in the blockchain.

Each block has the following pieces of information: 

• index (to know the block number)
• a timestamp (to know the time of creation)
• data (a data inside a block)
• hash (the hash of the current block)
• the previous hash (the hash of the previous block)

Each blockchain has an initial block to which all new blocks continue. It is called the Genesis Block. It is the first block of the blockchain. When the new chain is created, the genesis block is immediately activated. 

The Genesis block is defined in the code and is always known. Since it’s the first block, it does not reference a previous block and has to be hardcoded into the configurations. The only function of this block is that each subsequent one has a valid previous Hash field.

Since the whole process is quite complicated and cannot be explained in one post, check some of our projects and see how it works in practice. 

Using a blockchain with more understanding will result in better apps and development community.

How can blockchain benefit your company?

Blockchain is an attractive solution if there is an intention or needs for the database to be decentralized. It is also a perfect choice if you want to achieve higher data security and safety.

Through greater transparency, greater security and easier traceability, blockchain technology can bring many opportunities and numerous benefits to your business. 

Here are some of the reasons why you want to choose a blockchain over a standard database: 

• High level of security – digital signature and encryption make blockchain a highly secure system 
• No hidden fees for intermediaries’ services – decentralized system; there is a cost for a transaction, but there is no need to pay intermediaries
• Fraud control – although the system is based on data stored in multiple places, blockchain technology is not immune to hackers, but it is also not easy to hack
• Transparency – blockchain technology ensures increased transparency of transactions and a high level of privacy
• Faster transactions – there is no need to turn on payment systems, thus reducing costs and increasing processing faster transactions
• Automatic reconciliation of accounts – participants check and confirm the authenticity of transactions

To leverage and increase their business, companies need to be aware of blockchain technology and actively consider how to implement it into day-to-day activities.

The application of blockchain extends to various industries and business functions. Check some of the best examples of blockchain technology implementation in different areas: 

Dubai – The Dubai Blockchain Strategy will help Dubai to be the first city fully powered by blockchain by 2020. The focus is on improving government efficiency, international leadership and industry creation.

Ubiquity – this startup creates a blockchain-driven system for tracking complicated legal processes, which creates friction and expense in real estate transfer.

Rewardzzz – is the first universal rewards program powered by blockchain technology. Rewardzzz is used to transfer vendor-specific loyalty points among all participating users on the platform. 

An excellent example in the area of blockchain development is Odee, one of the projects we worked on. 

ODEE is a decentralized exchange for trading Ethereum (ERC-20) tokens. Odee ensures the security of blockchain settlement with 0x protocol, an open protocol for decentralized digital asset exchange that runs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Also, for Rewardzzz we created a product strategy for implementing blockchain into a loyalty type program via Stellar and Ethereum open blockchains. 

As more and more companies embrace this technology, experts predict that blockchain technology will become better and faster, and B2B transactions at all levels will run more smoothly. 

Implement blockchain in your business

In this blog post, we went through the essential functions of the blockchain and the necessary code required for a single blockchain project.

Blockchain technology is not a magic wand that will solve every problem, but it certainly has the potential to improve many processes in society significantly.

Now is the time to consider the best way to incorporate a blockchain into your business strategy.

Blockchain is undoubtedly a transformative technology of the 21st century that will redefine various aspects of society’s organization. 

Understanding the problems that blockchain solves and the main concepts on which it is based makes it clear why this technology is so important. 

We will soon enter the third decade of the blockchain. It is no longer questionable whether companies will accept this technology or not; it’s a question of “when.”

If you are looking for blockchain developers for your project, you are in the right place. 

Not sure how to fit a blockchain into your business? We are here to turn your visions and ideas into real results.