Blockchain is a technology that stores records using cryptographic techniques, ensuring its integrity and security. It allows data to be managed by peer-to-peer systems, essentially acting as a distributed database.
These peer-to-peer networks are made up of nodes that are accessible to anyone. They store transaction details for each user, including their currency holdings. The nodes aren't as large as you might think. For instance, the total storage space required for all Bitcoin accounts is approximately 490 GB. Similarly, Ethereum requires around 650 GB of storage.
Blockchain is mainly used to power cryptocurrency. Currently, Bitcoin is the main player in the field, but with governments and companies fighting to push the economy away from using cash, there's plenty of scope for growth as people jump on the digital payment bandwagon. And there's even more to get excited about when looking beyond cryptocurrency as well.
In this article, you'll learn about some of the different tools you can use when working with blockchain. You'll also learn about some of the various things you can do with it, such as implementing it on your own sites and apps, developing original tools with it, and participating in the crypto economy.
Why You Need to Develop for Blockchain
Blockchain offers numerous advantages, one of which is the ability to develop decentralized applications, also known as dApps. By leveraging blockchain technology, you not only ensure the security and immutability of records but also gain the advantage of smart contracts, which enables you to conduct business without the need for a centralized authority. This makes blockchain particularly well-suited for financial applications, serving as a reliable payment method that can seamlessly integrate with various types of e-commerce websites. However, the applications of blockchain extend beyond finance, offering the potential for various other use cases as well.
For instance, there's a lot of interest in using blockchain for secure voting, or it can be used to secure shipping records.
When it comes to blockchain, there are numerous opportunities to explore and plenty of room to carve out your own niche.
Why Have the Blockchain Tools in This Roundup Been Chosen
Getting started with blockchain can be quite daunting, and it's hard to know where to begin. But regardless of your use case, there's a tool that can make getting started easier. That's why, in this article, we reviewed multiple tools that address various needs.
Some tools have been chosen because they're easy to work with, with useful user interfaces that provide a strong developer experience. Others are fast, which can be important if you're trying to differentiate yourself from competitors.
Tools to Help You Build on the Blockchain
Here, in no particular order, are the tools:
Remix
Remix is an integrated development environment (IDE) that runs in the browser and is ideal for learning about and experimenting with Ethereum. It uses the Solidity programming language that helps you create the smart contracts that underpin blockchain transactions.
It includes strong documentation and a highly effective visual debugger. It's a plugin-based tool with various options for expanding its functionality.
You can get started with it instantly, making it an ideal starting point for curious developers looking to build an understanding of crypto.
Prysm
Prysm is a proof-of-stake client that lets you run your own Ethereum node and participate directly in making the cryptocurrency work.
With a node, you can also become a validator, though that requires a 32 ETH investment, worth around $55,000 USD at today's price. Validating helps make the network securer, and you can collect transaction fees and commissions from other users.
Prysm is written in Go, and since that's open source, you can use it as a basis for your own projects. Its excellent documentation makes it a great starting point for serious developers who want to understand the deeper workings of blockchain. In addition, there are several guides and best practices available to help teach you how to work effectively with the technology.
Block.io
The Block.io API is marketed as the world's easiest Bitcoin wallet as a service, though it also works with other currencies, such as Dogecoin and Litecoin. By providing common services in a single package, Block.io makes it easy to receive crypto payments on your site or app.
With Block.io, you make transactions by sending JSON objects to endpoints. You need two signatures to carry out transactions, and for added security, Block.io uses strong encryption and conducts regular audits.
There's support for several coding languages and [documentation](https://block.io/docs) showing you how to perform tasks easily. It also boasts stability and speed with uptime of over 99.99 percent and an average response time of 80 milliseconds.
Block.io is easy to work with and is a great way to implement common crypto functions in your own apps.
Moralis
Moralis provides a variety of APIs that cover a wide range of functionality. These APIs not only handle incoming data from various blockchain networks but also assists with other tasks, such as authentication and notifications. By taking care of these services for you, Moralis can significantly reduce your development time.
Additionally, Moralis is fast. It claims response times of 0.5 seconds, compared to between 0.87 and 1.65 seconds from its competitors. It is language agnostic and has tutorials showing you how to work with it in Node.js, Angular, React, Next.js, and Python.
Moralis is a great way to collect data from multiple services, making it a solid choice if you're focused on cryptocurrency or NFTs.
Ethereum Virtual Machine
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) underpins the Ethereum ecosystem. Understanding the EVM can help developers working with it understand exactly what's going on internally. Learning the basic principles will also help you understand other blockchain-based systems.
As a virtual machine (VM), EVM is effectively a computer system implemented at the software level. Similar VMs power JavaScript and Node.js. The EVM converts scripts in other languages into its own bytecode before running them.
If you want to get deep into Ethereum and tinker with its low-level functionality, the EVM can help you do that.
Apperate
Apperate is a data management platform that lets you consolidate incoming data streams into a unified format for integration with your infrastructure. With Apperate, you can gather data from multiple sources and then process, filter, and make it available through your own custom API calls. It's a great tool to set rules and events based on changing data as part of an event-driven architecture.
Apperate provides connectors that let you pipe in information. They're quick and easy to use, and they let you acquire data from all kinds of sources, including Ethereum and Coinbase.
Once you're connected to an information source, you can use code to make informed decisions based on the data. For example, you can set up alerts or trigger actions based on specific thresholds or values in the incoming data.
Using Apperate
Apperate can take blockchain data as well as data from other sources. Once you've gathered the data, you can define rules within Apperate to determine when specific actions should be executed.
You can create rules quickly by clicking **Create Rule** next to any of the examples on the Apperate console home page. You'll then see a rule name, and some autogenerated code appears.
Here's an edited version of one of them:
``` Apperate
If ETHE:currentPrice is above 2000,
send Email to yourname@yourdomain.com
with wait time of 1 hour(s).
```
This code sends an alert if the Ethereum price gets higher than the level you set; 2,000 in this case, which you can set to any number you prefer.
You can read more about rules in the Apperate documentation.
You can also create rules using scripts and choose different output actions. Here's how to output to a webhook:
``` json
outputs: [
{
method: "webhook",
url: https://yoursite.com/yourendpoint,
frequency: 60
}
]
```
Doing this with multiple information sources lets you present data in a standardized API format. It also decouples your information processing from the rest of your infrastructure, meaning you don't have to change all your apps and sites if you change something at the information processing level.
There is also a good tutorial video illustrating how to connect to Ethereum by one of the devs at IEX Cloud here.
Apperate combines ease of use with power, allowing you to easily handle blockchain data and integrate it with various other sources. It simplifies data manipulation, presenting information in a simple way that eliminates the need for additional data manipulation elsewhere in your system. It's a great choice for complex data handling scenarios as well as those where you need to integrate blockchain data with other sources. It also solves one of the challenges with building on the blockchain - it does not come with a standard query language like SQL. Apperate helps to solve that problem by making it easy to access data on the blockchain.
Conclusion
Blockchain is an exciting technology with many use cases. Cryptocurrency is huge and bursting with potential, but it isn't the whole story—the door is open for savvy developers to discover what else it can be used for.
The tools outlined in this article are available to help you achieve your vision. Whether you aim to develop customized applications, seamlessly integrate cryptocurrency transactions into your existing tools, or leverage data manipulation for informed decision-making, these tools can help. They offer the necessary capabilities to empower you in achieving your goals and maximizing the potential of your projects.
And if you're looking for a tool that can help with all these things, consider Apperate. It lets you pull in all kinds of blockchain data and make it available via your own custom APIs. That way, your incoming data is managed by a dedicated platform and presented simply to the rest of your infrastructure. Sign up for a free Apperate trial and see for yourself what it can do.
