Web development using blockchain technology

Blockchain is well known in the modern world, primarily due to the news about Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the rapid development of technology has led to the fact that it is used not only for financial transactions, but also in the development of services or applications. This increases the security of their work, speeds up the exchange of information and provides transparency.

How much potential the new technology has and why in the future it will significantly change the way we interact with business in the network, AVADA MEDIA specialists understand.

At its core, blockchain is a decentralized system in which data about each transaction is stored in a continuous and unchanging blockchain. Depending on the type of data access, there are:

Open blockchain is a database in which any participant has access to view transaction history, study information and create smart contracts.

A private blockchain assumes that users have the appropriate permission to work on the network (these can be the parties involved in the transaction), since it restricts access to information stored in the registry.

Public (inclusive) blockchain allows users to create blocks on their own and does not impose restrictions on the identity of transaction handlers.

The exclusive blockchain is open to the general public, but only allows a well-defined list of entities with established identities to process transactions.

The use of blockchain in development has a number of features:

• Decentralized network

The database is decentralized, so even if one or more computers involved in the chain fail, the information will not be lost. This network structure makes the blockchain less error-prone and provides almost 100% reliability.

• User control

Blockchain users who participate in a transaction have full control over the content of the corresponding data block (where the transaction is recorded) and can trace it at any time.

In open networks, there are no restrictions on reading block data and restrictions on sending transactions for inclusion in the blockchain.

• Security

The blockchain is based on a consensus algorithm that maintains the integrity and security of the system. Thanks to it, the network is almost impossible to hack or unauthorized to make changes. This will require access to more than half of all the computing power of the system, as well as a huge amount of resources and money.

• Immutable records

The data stored in the blockchain cannot be changed. As soon as a record is entered into the system, it remains there forever. It is impossible to delete information without the consent of all users.

The likelihood of being hacked by fraudsters is eliminated, and thus a reliable transaction registry is created, which can be fully trusted by all network participants.

• Lack of intermediaries

Information is transmitted over the network without intermediaries. This process is implemented using consensus protocols that ensure that all transactions take place in a trusted manner.

Interaction between the parties is carried out through a peer-to-peer network, without the involvement of a third party. This removes the need for payment gateways and large companies (like Google, Facebook, and others) to act as intermediaries between users.

You can read more about the peculiarities of blockchain implementation in mobile applications in our article “Mobile Development Using Blockchain Technology”.

There are many use cases for the new technology: in insurance, logistics, supply chain, financial transactions and identity verification.

If you are thinking about integrating blockchain into your business, try answering the questions below to see how good this idea is.

Are you going to store a large amount of data?

You are unlikely to need a database if your business project does not require storing a huge amount of information. In this case, the blockchain is useless.

If you plan to manage large amounts of data, you can use a distributed ledger (a database that is distributed among several network nodes) for this purpose. The key feature of this technology is the lack of a single control center: the quality of data on the network is ensured by database replication and trust built on computation.

The technology provides decentralized storage of information, while you do not have to maintain multiple databases.

How often will the data be updated?

Paper documents are difficult to forge, but they have a limited shelf life. If transactions need to be updated and printed frequently, maintaining them on paper will take a lot of time and effort.

With the introduction of blockchain, the need for this disappears – the technology virtually eliminates the likelihood of hacking a database or stealing information, so you will effectively secure your work. In addition, users will be able to track transactions at any time.

Should the central authority control the data?

Centralized solutions tend to have lower costs, including information security, which are easier for the end user to use, but they can create trust issues due to lack of transparency.

The blockchain does not have a central governing body – transactions are verified by all participants in the network. This allows for better transparency, simplifies procedures and eliminates intermediaries.

Blockchain integration has many benefits including scalability, security, and cost savings. Technology allows you to implement innovative ideas and increase business productivity.

AVADA MEDIA develops reliable and secure blockchain applications and business programs. In our work, we use various stacks of web technologies, in particular JS, Python, Go, Rust, as well as clouds such as AWS, Google Cloud and Digital Ocean. Our approach covers the full range of development processes – from consultation to full project implementation.