To outline entry points into the profession, we must first briefly outline what blockchain development is in principle – for those who are unfamiliar with this topic.
The specifics of blockchain is its decentralization: the system does not have a single server for data, so it is stored by all participants in the chain (hence the name of the technology – distributed registry). To take actions in the blockchain, participants in the chain need, conventionally speaking, to agree: all new records must be verified by each node in the network. The set of verification rules is called the blockchain protocol, and the verification mechanism itself is called the consensus algorithm. There are different algorithms: Proof of Work, Proof-of-Stake, Delegated Proof-of-Stake – but we will not go into them now.
No special hardware is required to create blockchain-based applications: the development is done in the same way as in the classic version, in IDEs – for example, in JetBrains. There are also specialized IDEs like Remix Solidity IDE.
Technology Stack
Different blockchains differ in their protocols and technology stack. Applications are most often written in Ethereum, with Solana and Cardano among the other popular ones. These are open-source blockchains that allow anyone to create their own projects on them. Their programming languages can be unique or universal: for example, Etherium developed its own language Solidity, while Solana uses the more familiar Rust, C and C++.
Blockchain logic is triggered by smart contracts – programs that allow network participants to negotiate changes to the blockchain. In simplistic terms, such a contract encapsulates conditions that must be met under certain circumstances. Smart contracts are written in high-level programming languages – Solidity, Vyper, Haskell, Rust, JavaScript, C++, Python and others.
Many other tools are associated with distributed registries: for example, to connect the front end of a website or an application to Ethereum, you need to turn to Web3.js or Ethers.js libraries; the blockchain has its own frameworks, APIs and SDKs.
The biggest application of blockchain is in cryptocurrency-related projects, since crypto itself is based on distributed ledger technology. But developers from other areas can participate in the creation of such services: for example, when the part related to currency purchases and sales is built on blockchain, and the application interface and its logic – on classical technologies.