Development of a mobile app for a crypto wallet

A crypto wallet is software that is designed to effectively manage digital assets. It stores public and private keys, and interacts with different blockchains, providing the user with quick access to the cryptocurrency.

Depending on the implemented functionality, a crypto wallet can solve different tasks, for example:

• storage of digital currency;
• receiving and sending transfers;
• payment for goods in retail outlets;
• cryptocurrency exchange at the market rate;
• buying digital assets with fiat.

A mobile cryptocurrency wallet is rightfully considered the most convenient and secure. It is installed on a smartphone and provides the user with access to assets in a few clicks. At the same time, it is not subject to phishing, and all possible attacks on it often come down to the plane of vulnerabilities of the IOS and Android operating systems themselves.

There are two types of mobile crypto wallets:

• Hot – often used to send and receive cryptocurrencies. Due to which they must be constantly connected to the Web. This increases the risk of asset theft, so storing large amounts on a hot wallet is not recommended.

• Cold – they are characterized by relatively rare use, which is why they are mostly disconnected from the Internet. Accordingly, they represent a safer place to store digital assets.

Since the smartphone is often constantly connected to the Internet, it is almost impossible to use the same wallet as hot and cold at the same time. Therefore, the required set of characteristics of such software is determined in the process of its development.

Since smartphones can run on different operating systems, the technologies for producing mobile cryptocurrency wallets can also differ. For IOS devices, the Swift programming language is used, for Android, Java / Kotlin languages, and with the help of Flutter, a development kit from Google, you can create cross-platform projects that work simultaneously on both OSes. At the same time, the production process often follows the same scenario. Let’s consider its main stages.

Step 1. Gathering information and planning

The work of creating a mobile crypto wallet begins with a thorough analysis of the requirements of the customer, the market and competing applications. Based on this information, a project implementation plan is formed, taking into account the functionality and business tasks that it faces.

Step 2. Create technical documentation

The software documentation describes all its technical characteristics:

• required functionality and schedule for its implementation;
• performance requirements on different devices;
• user interface requirements;
• security settings.

When the document is drawn up, the terms for the implementation of the cryptocurrency wallet and the necessary budget are calculated.

Step 3: UX Design

During the creation of UX design, specialists design the logic of user interaction with the software. To do this, the structure of the cryptocurrency wallet and a convenient navigation system are being worked out. Also at this stage, CJM is formed – the client’s path, which displays exactly how a person will use the wallet from the moment of registration or authorization, ending with the performance of a target action – for example, making a transfer or exchanging digital assets.

Step 4. UI Design

UI design is the design of the user interface. At this stage, specialists create a visual shell of the product that end users will interact with. This includes the selection of fonts, colors, the development of forms, graphics and other elements, as well as their location on smartphone screens. It should be added that the external attractiveness and convenience of the interface play almost a decisive role in the commercial success of a crypto wallet, so a lot of time is devoted to design.

Step 5. Frontend

Frontend is the client side of the application with which end users interact. It is developed on the basis of a ready-made design layout, and is responsible for receiving requests, sending them to the server, and then displaying the result on the smartphone screen.

To develop the front-end in a mobile application, the same technologies are used as for the back-end: the Swift language for IOS, Kotlin/Java for Android, or the Flutter cross-platform framework. In addition, the JavaScript programming language and its Vue.js library can also be involved.

Step 6. Backend Development

Backend is the server part of the project. It is the “brain” of a cryptocurrency wallet and is responsible for all the internal processes of a cryptocurrency wallet: data exchange, information storage, communication with blockchains, performance and security, and so on.

Step 7. Testing

Before getting into the hands of the end user, a cryptocurrency wallet goes through a mandatory testing stage, during which QA-engineers check:

• correct operation of its functions;
• compliance with the terms of reference;
• convenience of the interface;
• level of protection against intruders.

This allows you to eliminate all possible shortcomings at the production stage, and provides an impeccable user experience.

AVADA MEDIA has experience in developing blockchain projects of varying complexity. To create a crypto-wallet, we form a separate team of developers of the required specialization, who act under the guidance of a project manager who provides feedback to the customer.

This approach gives us the opportunity to create a high-quality software product that fully meets the established technical requirements.