How to Develop Blockchain Application: A Comprehensive Guide

Quick Overview: Blockchain is an ingenious invention that promises to make the digital world more secure and decentralized. If you are looking forward to integrating innovation into your business, then you’ll require expertise in the same niche or a complete guide on how to develop a blockchain-based application, right? In this blog, we’ve covered the steps from scratch to help you craft a blockchain app for your industry.

In the continuously advancing digital realm, blockchain technology is revolutionizing how we interact with each other, assets, and data. From ensuring security and transparency in supply chains to redefining finance with cryptocurrencies, this technology is creating a buzz in multiple industries.

For instance, as per the report by Zippia, 81 of the top 100 publicly traded organizations in the world are using blockchain technology. Also, Over 300 million people, or you can also say 3.9% of the global population, use it for cryptocurrency.

And the technology has gained popularity, particularly among developers and companies trying to streamline their daily processes. Wondering how this innovative technology translates into web and mobile apps? Well, the simplest answer is - blockchain app development. These digital solutions are a unique blend of innovation and practicality, which provides businesses and end-users with new ways to interact with decentralized systems. Peer-to-peer lending platforms, decentralized exchanges, and cryptocurrency wallets only scratch the surface of the expanding market for blockchain development solutions.

Having worked with this remarkable technology ourselves, we’ve curated this article to help you explore the fundamentals of blockchain app development.

Blockchain Applications: A Quick Glance

A blockchain app is a decentralized digital solution that runs on a distributed ledger to store data and execute transactions, making them secure, transparent and resistant to censorship.

Furthermore, these apps can be used for several purposes, including digital identity verification, supply chain management and so on. They are also used to craft and manage cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Moreover, you can expect the global blockchain market size to grow from USD 20.1 billion in 2024 to USD 248.9 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 65.5%. Well, the digits talk for themselves!

How Does a Blockchain Application Work?

A blockchain is a network that shares all information among its members and stores it in chronologically ordered blocks. This information implies that when anything happens in the network, it is shared with all network participants, and everyone probably has a record of it and their own devices.

A chain of data blocks is maintained, and once a block is included in the chain, it cannot be removed. This helps in blockchain, one of the most difficult innovations to breach and take data from.

You will need between gigabytes and terabytes of storage capacity to put up a blockchain. Most of the time DApps operate on only a portion of the chain since mobile devices have a limited storage capacity.

Different Use Cases of Blockchain Applications

Blockchain technology provides a wide array of use cases across different industry verticals. It is gaining traction due to its decentralization capabilities, transparency, and security. Following are some significant use cases:

Cryptocurrency Wallet Apps

These apps help store and handle cryptocurrencies, which allows users to send, receive, and monitor their crypto assets. They might also help users to engage with decentralized applications (dApps) directly from the wallet. The cost of developing these blockchain apps can range from $20,000 to $300,000.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Apps

These apps help provide financial services (like asset management, trading, borrowing, and lending) without depending on centralized financial institutions. They function on networks like Ethereum, which enables peer-to-peer transactions. The cost of developing DeFi apps can fall anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000.

Smart Contract Apps

Smart contract apps automatically run, enforce, or validate contract terms without the need for mediators. These apps are used mainly in business, financial, and legal processes. The development cost of smart contract apps ranges from $20,000 to $300,000.

Decentralized Applications (dApps)

These apps operate on a blockchain network instead of being hosted on central servers. They are used for multiple purposes, such as finance, social networking, and gaming. The development cost dApps starts from $30,000 and can go up to $1,000,000.

Supply Chain Management Apps

These apps use blockchain implementation to optimize security, traceability, and transparency in supply chain management. They also help with real-time verification of product authenticity or tracking of goods, which minimizes fraud. The development cost of blockchain-based supply chain management apps can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $1,000,000.

Voting Apps

Voting apps integrated with this technology help with tamper-proof, transparent, and secure voting processes. These apps are mainly used for decision-making processes in firms and elections. The cost of developing these blockchain apps ranges from $50,000 to $800,000.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Apps

These apps help develop, purchase, and sell specific digital assets, such as collectibles, arts and crafts, music, etc., which are represented as NFTs in the blockchain implementation. The development cost of NFT apps starts from $50,000 and go up to $1,000,000.

IoT (Internet of Things) Apps

Combining IoT and blockchain helps with automated and secure communication between different connected devices. These apps also enhance data integrity and protect the devices by decentralizing control. The development cost of IoT apps ranges from $50,000 to $1,000,000.

Healthcare Apps

Integrating blockchain technology in healthcare offers better, secure medical data management, ensures patient privacy, and allows transparent and seamless sharing of health records across different departments. The cost of developing these apps ranges from $50,000 to $1,000,000.

Gaming Apps

The development of blockchain gaming apps helps players to own their in-game assets (such as tokens, skins, and characters) as NFTs, which ensures players have control over their digital property. The development cost of gaming apps ranges from $50,000 to $1,000,000.

Benefits of Blockchain App Development for Businesses

Blockchain application development has been gaining a lot of popularity lately, right? But why do you believe that is taking place? What direction is this innovation headed? Of course, there is a plethora of advantages associated with this breakthrough. So, without delay, let us walk you through its significant benefits.

1. Enhanced Security

As a business, you will agree that your data is sensitive and crucial for your organization, right? You can, nonetheless, considerably alter how your crucial information is perceived with the help of blockchain.

By crafting an encrypted end-to-end record, blockchain helps prevent fraud and unauthorized activity in the best possible ways.

2. Enhanced Transparency

Without blockchain, every company would need to maintain a separate database. The reason behind the same is that it uses a disturbed ledger; the transactions and the data are recorded identically at several locations.

By providing complete transparency, participants with permission access can readily view the same information concurrently.

3. Instant Traceability

With the blockchain implementation, it is possible to create an audit trail that records an asset's provenance at every stage of its journey. In several industries where people are concerned about their human rights and other such things, this technology helps in providing the ultimate proof.

Hence, data on the provenance can now be shared directly.

4. Improved Efficiency and Speed

You will all agree that traditional paperwork is time-consuming and prone to human error. Well, by streamlining these processes, most of the transactions can be completed quicker and more efficiently.

Blockchain will help you to save documentation with all the transaction details, eliminating the need to exchange papers.

5. Automation

Blockchain transactions can be automated with the help of smart contracts, which further improves efficiency and speed. Additionally, it will lessen the need for human intervention and the reliance on other parties to confirm that the contract's provisions have been followed.

8 Steps to Develop a Blockchain Application

If you have been surfing the web for how to build a blockchain application from scratch, then read on. As with any other app development process, it prioritizes defining the application's scope and purpose. Wondering what we are talking about? Let us start the process and help you understand the steps to craft a blockchain app.

Step 1: Analyze the Industry for App Development

Several apps are distributed among industries, such as gaming, finance, health, and security. Let us walk through each sector and understand it for blockchain app development.

• Banking and Finance

Well, it holds much promise, particularly when considering transparency, ease of use, and efficiency, particularly for financial transactions. Simply put, the primary services banks offer, including payment, clearness, and settlement systems, can be performed with current technology.

Several industries in the banking and financial sector are already making the most out of blockchain, for instance, JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse, and Western Union.

• Insurance

Priorities first: blockchain does not offer or add anything extra, particularly for the insurance sector. Instead, insurance companies are integrating this technology nto their current insurance software solutions to increase operating frequency, lower costs, accelerate time to market, and improve client experience.

Industries in insurance that have implemented blockchain are Insurwave, Surity.ai, and Ryskex.

• Healthcare

One of the most difficult parts of the healthcare business is the use of several systems to handle and store data and the lack of communication across these platforms. Such systems also include sensitive data, including personally identifiable information, which is highly vulnerable to attack. With blockchain, healthcare organizations may easily share data with other network users without jeopardizing the integrity and security of the data.

Industries in healthcare that have implemented this technology are HealthVerity and Hashed Health.

• Real Estate

Well, purchasing and selling real estate frequently carries the danger of excessive paperwork, fraud, and mistakes in the public record. The real estate sector may quickly eliminate the requirement for paper-based records using blockchain. Land titles can be recorded, tracked, and transferred using blockchain in real estate while ensuring their accuracy and credibility.

Industries in real estate that have implemented blockchain are Propy and Chromaway.

• Retail

Customers rely entirely on the seller's trust when they make purchases. Once more, belief is not always justified. There are instances where fake goods end up on the store's shelves and are purchased by unsuspecting customers. Integrating blockchain while developing retail apps can increase confidence and transfer it away from marketplaces and other eCommerce platforms.

Industries in retail that have implemented blockchain are Overstock, Expedia, and ConsenSys.

• Supply Chain

This cutting-edge technology has already made its way to the supply chain niche. Even when there are multiple supply chain partners engaged, blockchain implementation may be used in the best ways to track the steps of the supply chain and provide the highest level of transparency.

Some of the top examples are Provenance, Fluent, and Blockverify.

• Gaming

The video game industry has transformed from a pastime to a sport. These days, there are gaming competitions with significant cash costs and a blank market. Blockchain has the potential to address legacy-related problems in the gaming industry.

Industries in gaming that have implemented gaming are Ethereum, EtherRockets, and Fomo 3D.

Step 2: Come Up with an Idea

As in every business, you will have to come up with an idea, so here, you will also require an app idea. Identifying your application's use case and determining whether your concept needs blockchain are, to put it simply, two related tasks.

Even if you plan to use it to secure a medium-sized application, consider the trade-off between profit and the price of developing the app.

Imagine a case scenario where you use it to decentralize a social media platform. The concept can be well implemented with cryptocurrency for payment and user transactions. On the contrary, you might also wish to leverage blockchain to enable transparency in your own business or company. To do the same, testing whether application development is required is crucial.

Step 3: Do Competitor Research

If you plan to create a application for your business or organization, research your rivals to determine what they are up to.

A competitor can be identified through one of the simplest methods possible through their social media, such as LinkedIn or Facebook.

Step 4: Choose a Platform for Your Blockchain Project

After you have conducted your market research, the next would be to analyze the suitable platform or technology for the app development. There are two approaches, to put it simply.

• Craft New Blockchain

This option allows you to create your framework in which all decisions—from the algorithm to transaction validation—are made by you.

Although expensive, it is regarded as one of the most thorough methods of blockchain development. Simply put, you are excited about creating your own Bitcoin or Ethereum, which can be expensive even though it sounds profitable. Furthermore, you may only use this option if you are creating your coin.

• Clone Popular Blockchain Platforms

Adopting a well-known platform is yet another effective technique for creating a blockchain-based application. These platforms are typically open source, so you may deploy the code on your servers by simply forking their repository. The main query in this situation is why the world would decide to use the solution you created.

The number of network nodes that can validate transactions determines how effective a blockchain platform will be, so keep that in mind. The platforms Ethereum, Hyperledger, R3 Corda, and Ripple are just a handful.

Ethereum: One of the most well-liked platforms, it enables you to create your own ecosystem and an application using the solidity programming language.

Hyperledger: DApps platform using fabrics. If your firm requires a corporate tool for data communication. For you, Hyperledger is a fantastic tool. To create an app for this platform, you will need a team of Go, Java, and JavaScript blockchain app developers.

R3 Corda: A platform primarily concentrates on supply chain, trade finance, healthcare, and commerce. A platform called Corda is used to build permissioned blockchains.

Ripple: It is a fantastic tool for anyone who wants to design a financial tool. With Ripple, you can connect to banks and payment processors and send money anywhere with ease.

The choice of platform that you opt for will influence the skill set you will require from your professional development team. Several platforms allow the developers to craft an app in more conventional languages like C++, Java, Kotlin, and JavaScript.

Step 5: Design Your Blockchain App

Keeping insight into the project's complexity, the design aspect is expected to take up to 20% of the budget capacity. The process helps lay down the rules and terms for the structure of your app and its components, for the same reason ensure that you do not overlook the guide to mobile app design. Simply put, you can map out all its features and ensure everything works together as expected with the help of design.

Step 6: Start the Development and Testing Process

One thing you should know about the development process is that based on a number of factors, the process of producing a dApp will appear completely different.

• What dialect and system will you employ for your project?
• What is your method of consensus?
• The methodology guiding all nodes' interaction and transaction

Other than these aspects, the development will also rely on whether you rely on an existing system, use a BaaS, or craft new solution.

Simply put, it is crucial that the transition runs in a smooth manner, and the designers and the developers can clarify details before the coding starts. After the coding is complete. The QA engineer runs a complete regression test before the deployment to check that everything works out perfectly.

An application must abide by the terms and conditions of the App Store or Google Play Store in order to be successful. Cross-checking the performance and data user analytics is crucial after the deployment procedure is finished.

Step 7: Maintenance and Support

This process entails updating operating systems, frameworks, libraries, and libraries in addition to adding new features and modifying the application to suit your current business requirements. For expertise help with the same, you can seek help from professional application maintenance services.

Step 8: Marketing and Promotion

Now that you have an idea of building blockchain apps from scratch, you need to know there is something more to it. Even while development is a necessary component of the work you must do, grabbing and retaining users' attention is as important. Most of the time, businesses adopt marketing and promotion plans while their product is still being developed. A few marketing strategies that you can include are:

• Content marketing and SEO
• Paid ads
• Email marketing
• Social media marketing
• Influencer marketing

The goal is to make the customer aware of your application. Always pay special attention to client feedback, as it offers the most insightful information about what the target audience wants and anticipates from your application. Don't forget to study the results, analyze the most potential promotional channels, and take into consideration the results.

Blockchain App Development: The Tech-Stack Used

The following tech stack helps developers to create scalable, secure apps crafted to specific features and functionalities:

• Blockchain Platforms - Ethereum, Stellar, and Corda are a few of the most prominent platforms, popular for their smart contract support and robust ecosystem.
• Programming Languages - Rust is known for its high-performance blockchains for its speed and memory safety. Golang is popular for building enterprise-level, permissioned apps.
• Frameworks and Libraries - Ethers.js and Web3.js are important JavaScript libraries that allow interaction with Ethereum. Hardhat and Truffle provide tools for compiling, testing, and leveraging smart contracts.
• Data Storage - IFPS ensures immutability and data integrity. BigchainDB amalgamates blockchain with conventional database functionalities, which makes it ideal for apps that require high throughput.
• Databases - MongoDB is generally used for off-chain data that doesn’t need immutability. LevelDB is prominent for its practical key-value storage.
• Testing tools - Remix IDE is best for writing and testing smart contracts, while MetaMask assists in testing decentralized transactions and handling user accounts. Ganache is an Ethereum simulator that helps with free testing.

Important Factors to Consider When Building Blockchain Apps

There are several aspects and things that you should consider looking into while you are looking forward to building a blockchain application for your organization. Let's go over the list of factors one by one.

1. Platform Type

Well, on the one hand, where few blockchain platforms are cryptocurrency-based; on the other hand, a few rely on smart contracts or several crypto tokens. Analyzing what is better for you will help you in making the creation of these apps easier.

2. Smart Contracts

Another aspect that you cannot overlook while looking forward to building an app is considering if you need a smart contract or not. You might be well-versed in the fact that a smart contract is a self-executing protocol that processes, verifies, and enforces any trigger-based action that is stored on the blockchain system.

3. Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is another aspect that you will have to investigate while looking forward to developing these advanced apps. Make sure you do your research and determine whether or not you need to include cryptocurrency in your mobile application. When it comes to choosing the best platform, this element is essential.

4. Private/ Public Network

Look into if you’d want to have a public or a private network. Well, consider if you wish to have a network where anyone can make changes or where only authorized users can participate. After making a choice between both platforms, start to develop an application based on your situation.

5. Adoption Rate and Functionality

Investigating a current blockchain's adoption rate and amount of community support can be challenging. The adoption rate denotes the extent to which a specific invention has been implemented. Opting for a technology that has been widely welcomed and adopted is a way better alternative than opting for one with a low degree of acceptance.

6. Scalability

Businesses looking forward to blockchain platform development on the current technology should pay close attention to the transaction capabilities and analyze whether their needs will be satisfied or not.

When looking at scalability, there are three key factors that you need to look into speed, security, and decentralization. The phrase "scalability trilemma" alludes to the possibility that each developer may only be able to meet two of the three requirements.

Estimating the Blockchain App Development Cost

The overall app development cost depends on multiple factors, beginning with personnel. You can gather an in-house team of blockchain app developers, team up with experienced development service providers, or hire freelancers.

Below mentioned is an estimated cost breakdown of blockchain application development based on the three complexity levels:

Developing a simple blockchain app typically costs between $30,000 to $80,000 which involves basic features and functionalities like data storage, record keeping, or asset tokenization.

For a mid-complex blockchain app generally costs anywhere between $70,000 to $200,000 with multiple blockchain features like DeFi (decentralized finance), cross-platform compatibility, decentralized applications (dApps), smart contract functionalities, etc.

On the other hand, the cost of highly complex blockchain apps cost can vary between $250,000 to $1,000,000 or even more including highly advanced features like large-scale scalability, multi-layered smart contracts, complex tokenomics, full-stack decentralized finance, and decentralized governance.

Also, the following are the core features that will contribute to your upfront and ongoing costs:

• Smart Contracts - Simple contracts can go as low as $5,000. However, if you need multi-functional, personalized contracts, it might take a lot of development time and extensive testing, and the cost can go up to $20,000.

• User Authentication and Profiles - The average cost for identity management and secure login, integrated with multi-factor authentication, can be between $3,000 and $7,000.

• Decentralized Data Storage - Decentralized systems like IPFS can cost between $2,000 and $10,000. It majorly depends on the complexity of integration and the amount of data stored with the blockchain.

• Token Integration – Secure integration and in-app asset exchange can cost anywhere between $5,000 to $15,000.

• Transaction Management - Tracking all the transactions, validation, and timestamping can cost $5,000 to $12,000. Real-time transaction analysis and tracking can increase the overall app development cost.

• Blockchain Wallet Integration – These wallets come with encryption standards and high security. You must pay around $5,000 to $15,000 to ensure smooth transactions.

• Payment Gateway Integration - Besides security and compliance needs, the cost can go anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000 for fiat and crypto payments.

Unlock Blockchain Innovation with Radixweb's Expertise!

Blockchain technology has become increasingly popular. The reason for its popularity is that it is known to provide a secure and a little more transparent way to store and transfer data. Businesses can simply enhance their efficiency, eliminate costs, and enhance customer trust and satisfaction with the help of this advanced technology.

Yet again, you need to understand that crafting a blockchain-based application will require a specific skill set and expertise in planning, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

So, if you’re thinking about leveraging blockchain development services, you can always consult experts at Radixweb. We can help you craft a sustainable and secure ecosystem for your blockchain solutions. With great expertise across all the blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum, Corda, Quorum, and Hyperledger, our professionals will help you shape your ideas into the most viable use cases.

For more information on the same, contact us and get insights.