Learning a new language takes time, energy and perseverance. However, only when you apply the language in the right setting does it really stick in your mind. The most popular programming languages in the blockchain ecosystem are starting to take hold, and the demand for these sets of skills is continuing to rise in 2022.
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a combination of data and databases stored on a public ledger. The blocks can store valuable information like transactions and records. Realising the potential of the underlying technology, companies and individuals around the world began creating new applications using the technology. The use cases within the financial services sector and more recently the gaming world have propelled blockchain technology to innovative uses.
As blockchain goes mainstream and is adopted with applications across various industries, organizations are on the lookout for qualified blockchain developers. According to LinkedIn, the demand for jobs with terms like “Bitcoin,” “Ethereum,” “blockchain” and “cryptocurrency” grew 395% in the United States last year, and the employees that fill the need know how to work with blockchain technology. What are the languages of Blockchain?
Top Blockchain Programming Languages
Solidity
Solidity, one of the most established blockchain programming languages, was created for writing smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. As the first smart contract language running on top of the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM), it has been widely adopted. It is also heavily based around the well-known programming language JavaScript, making it approachable for developers hoping to learn new code.
“Solidity has a fantastic user community that supports a number of development tools for application development. Solidity is quickly establishing itself as a leading development language in the Blockchain community.” says Jim Sullivan, author of Programming in Solidity – Your Guide to Building Smart Contracts.
Although it is mostly associated with Ethereum, Solidity is growing in popularity, and it is positioned to dominate blockchain development. It gives users the ability to create quality decentralized applications. Several other blockchains such as Hyperledger Fabric support Solidity.
Hugo Philion, CEO of Flare Network believes that Solidity offers a scalable blockchain language for developers who want efficiency and for projects that wish to work with the best developers in the ecosystem. “Flare has been purpose built to integrate with as many blockchains as possible — and with Solidity as the widest used language, it will help more developers on more chains easily bring their applications onto Flare.”
Blockchain developers prefer to use Solidity for the Ethereum blockchain network because it allows the developers to make use of the Ethereum digital transaction ledger by creating smart contracts between businesses.
C++
Many operating systems and games use C++ as their base language, making it popular in developer circles globally. With its long-standing reputation, it has multiple low- and high-level tools, plus extended versions that can be used. C++ is deemed to be a highly efficient and optimizable language suitable for blockchain transactions that require speed. As C++ is one of the oldest languages, it may be easier for developers to adopt. Significant blockchains like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Stellar and Monero use C++.
The principles of this language complement those of many blockchain projects in that the data is securely hidden and extra layers of security prevent data alteration.
Python
Python has been ranked as the most in-demand coding language for 2022, according to CodingNomads, which analyzed thousands of job postings in the U.S. and Europe. Renowned for its simplicity, it has a large community of followers worldwide.
Many blockchain developers opt for a hybrid approach when creating bespoke applications that have different requirements. This action may lead to Python being used as part of the overall development and another language used for the core architecture of a project.
Python is an open-source language that supports object-oriented programming. The code is said to be beginner friendly –– it also offers a huge library of assets and can be typed dynamically so that the user does not have to remember the complete architecture of the system they are building. This language has been used to create the LUNA blockchain, to create contracts for NEO and to develop smart contracts for Hyperledger.
Rust
Unlike Solidity, Rust is not crypto specific, making it accessible to the existing pool of developers. It is used by popular protocols such as NEAR, Compound and Solana. Like Solidity, Rust can be used to write smart contracts but is also popular in the gaming community.
Mark Sugden, Head of Growth at the NEAR Foundation, believes that a clear path towards mass adoption is providing a simplified user experience for developers of all kinds. “One of the critical visions of NEAR is to make the mass adoption of Web3 a reality,” Sugden said. “NEAR is on a mission to abstract away the complexity of blockchain, and we do this with a simple UX. Coupled with a concerted drive to make the developer experience as positive as possible, we focus on supporting developers with as much educational content to assist in building the killer application.”
Substrate
Substrate is a project born from the Polkadot blockchain. It is a completely free- and open-source project built using Rust programming language. The development of substrate happens through public channels like Github and Riot with contributors across a wide spectrum of projects. It is designed for creating fast and inherently safe software with a firm focus on popularizing a new decentralized internet infrastructure.
Substrate connects applications on public blockchains as well as creates bridges to other networks. When Polkadot is launched, you can feel secure that the technology that backs your blockchain is the same technology that powers multiple other production-level blockchains.
Greg Zaytsec and Alexander Mitrovich, founders of Unique Network believe that “flexibility is the strongest side of Substrate –– it allows unmatched customization that is needed to handle non-fungible asset classes on-chain. We used it to create the next generation NFT chain, capable of supporting innovative use cases and liberating NFTs from the collectables.”
Why is Learning to Code on Blockchain Important?
Although learning a new programming language may be daunting, it is clear that whoever embarks on this challenge won’t be short of job offerings as the blockchain industry expands into the metaverse. The developer ecosystem for Web3 is growing and in demand. If you have been playing around with cryptocurrencies or NFTs, you may be familiar with the terminology used such as decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized applications (dApps), smart contracts and Web3.
This brand new ecosystem of innovation is ready for budding entrepreneurs to move forward with. If you are interested in building with blockchain technology or planning to develop your very own blockchain start-up, these languages are crucial components of the blockchain world.
