If you want to launch a blockchain project yet are not a developer, the process of hiring a technical partner might be painful. Since blockchain is a new technology, it is difficult to find experienced professionals to implement an idea the best way. Next, this article will tell you about blockchain development peculiarities and how to find skilled specialists to launch projects of this complexity.
Why is Blockchain development special?
Blockchain is one of the most advanced technologies requiring safety, accuracy, security, transparency, and decentralization. The experts predict the global blockchain market will grow from 3 billion dollars in 2020 to 40 billion dollars by 2025. Average annual growth will reach an incredible 67 percent. Blockchain will be employed in a wide range of sectors: finance, logistics, accounting, marketing, documentation processing, elections, fiscal, and many-many others.
However, blockchain is a complicated technology with its features, advantages, and disadvantages that those who want to employ it must first be analyzed. It is even more crucial to use blockchain to optimize the business process for real enterprises.
Where is blockchain beneficial to employ?
The main peculiarity is that blockchain can’t be a universal remedy; it won’t solve all your issues. This is a specialized product designed for some instances. According to Bryan Schreiber’s research, blockchain should be employed for the following:
Constancy
It guarantees that the network participants are not able to change historical data. If you do not require changelessness, more straightforward methods to launch IT platforms and applications.
Your system does not require changes and deletes
It is only possible to add information to a blockchain that is significant for finances and fiscal. Yet it will not fit storing private or business data in ERP systems or other databases as it needs a permanent fix of various issues and inaccuracies.
Suppose you need to build trust between a few parties
Blockchain is designed to organize trusted interactions between multiple parties without the help of a third-party guarantor (a bank or government). But if you require a system with only one party (your company). There are plenty of other solutions for that.
Suppose you require full or partial transparency
If you already use external means of control (escrow or notary service) to check and audit transactions and are happy with the results, you do not need a blockchain. However, if the services are too expensive, you may consider a blockchain to save money.
Suppose you must identify the participants of the network
Is it necessary to you to determine the people and parties participating in a transaction to guarantee that the transactions can not be forged or compromised? Blockchains are beneficial when you want to identify the participants of the transaction. Otherwise, the users wish to remain anonymous, but you want to forbid a particular participant from dealing with your network transactions.
Suppose you need your decentralized ledger
These systems are pretty expensive. For that reason, they are not employed for projects that can use just a central server or a group of servers. However, if you want to have a safe system without faults in the nodes and the security and integrity of multiple participants, you necessitate blockchain.
Best solutions for blockchain development
There is a notion in the blockchain world called the trilemma of blockchain scalability. It is a theory invented by Vitaliy Buterin saying that scalability, security, and decentralization cannot be maximized simultaneously in distributed, decentralized ecosystems. Hence, when launching your blockchain project, you need to select a more significant parameter with the following development of the platform in the chosen direction.
- Scalability — the speed of operation during an increased load on the system
- Decentralization — all participants have the same access, rights, and opportunities.
- Security— the network is secured from hacking, data theft, DDoS attacks, etc.
It also means that the market cannot offer a one-stop solution for blockchain development. Instead, we have many chains of blockchains and platforms with their features, advantages, and disadvantages. For example, Bitcoin is the most secure chain, perfect for relatively simple financial applications. By simple, we mean that the Bitcoin network is not supporting smart contracts that allow us to create more complicated solutions.
Ethereum supports smart contracts. It is the most popular network to launch and deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications, making it the most secure (more participants = more security). Yet, Ethereum is relatively slow, and the fees are too high (at least until the release of Ethereum 2.0). Hence, many start-ups search for alternatives and use Polkadot, Solana, or Binance Smart Chain blockchains.
The cost of developing blockchain solutions
The cost of development is another unique thing about bitcoins. According to various researches hiring a blockchain developer is 20-30% more expensive than hiring a regular programmer. There are a few experienced professionals, and the demand is higher than the offer. Hence, the price of blockchain development is more heightened. According to Codementor, the average hourly rate of a blockchain developer is 80-100 dollars, while a standard backend developer is 60-80 dollars per hour.
Comparison of the cost of hiring a blockchain developer (above) and just a backend developer (below). The difference is most noticeable when hiring experienced specialists.
Source.
How to choose a blockchain developer?
As you might have understood, unlike the other advanced technologies like virtual and augmented reality, implementing blockchain solutions (Dapps, NFT, DeFi) requires highly qualified specialists. The situation is even more complicated if you need a complex solution that will function along with several databases or participants (e.g., cryptocurrency exchanges, marketplaces, or platforms supplying chains).
Many business owners spend a month finding a single worker to find the right and qualified talent. In this case, the best solution is outsourcing the development to a company focusing on blockchain development.
Next, this article will tell you about such a company. Furthermore, it will show you where to find these companies, what things to consider while choosing a company, and how to boost the process of searching for a company in just a few simple steps.
Define the conception and aims of your project
When you search for the right blockchain development company, the first thing to do is define your business idea. Then you will need to understand your target niche and study the competitors on the market (at least subtly). The more clearly you see your ideas, the easier it will be to find a company to implement them.
For example, if you want to launch an NFT platform, you will need a blockchain marketplace development team that understands the technology of non-fungible tokens. If you want a website targeted at a specific sector (sport, music, real estate, art, etc.), it is better to have experience in that sector.
List your candidates
If you know what blockchain solution you need and what team it requires, you can search for possible candidates. You may use platforms like LinkedIn, Clutch.co, Goodfirms.com, Upwork, and Toptal, or blockchain-focused ones like Coinality, Blocktribe.com, Cryptojoblist.com, Crypto.jobs, Beincrypto.com, or BountyOne. These websites offer you companies focusing on blockchain solutions. There you can study their rates and portfolio,
Of course, this will be a very superficial analysis, which will give only the most essential things: whether the company works with blockchain, whether there is an experience in the direction you need, where the company is located, and how old the company is. Furthermore, these websites share contacts and links to the developer’s website to find more specific information like services, portfolio, cases, feedback, etc.
Thoroughly study your candidates
You may use this information to remove the developers that do not fit your purposes from the list. Thoroughly study the following things to make it successful.
Company’s portfolio
A vast and detailed portfolio is the main criteria in hiring a blockchain development company. The best way to understand if a particular team can do something for you is to see what they have done for other developers. For example, if you need a platform to trace the supply chains like Wide Wine, you will need a developer with a similar project in the portfolio.
Wide Wine development case: Tracking service based on blockchain. Source:
Merehead.
Client’s feedback and comments
Next, you will need to see what the clients and employees say about your candidates. The client’s feedback is often on platforms like LinkedIn, Clutch.co, Goodfirms.co. Yet, trust them only if you can see the name, surname, place of work, position, and social media link of the person who wrote the feedback.
An example of exemplary, full feedback on Clutch.com.
The employees leave their feedback on Fairygodboss, Glassdoor, Vault, CareerBliss, JobAdvisor, WorkAdvisor, etc. There you may find out the ‘vibe’ within the company. For instance, this way, you will know of turnovers, low salaries, and regular crunches. These are all hints that will help you to hire a blockchain developer.
The blog and social network pages
A promising sign is if the candidate is an active social network blogger. Their blogs often describe the cases, sector trends, news and create learning content. You are not obliged to read everything, and it is enough to study a few posts to see the relevance and quality of the information on the blog.
Talk to some company representatives
You will generally have 5 to 10 companies on the list at this stage. And possibly most of them are capable of helping you to launch your blockchain project. The last thing is to choose a developer that offers you the best quality/price pair. However, you will need to call them or arrange a meeting. During your first conversation, clarify the following:
- Briefly describe your idea and ask whether your candidate has ever dealt with something similar. Usually, the managers say yes, yet offer you to consult their specialists for a detailed answer. These specialists are the project managers, leading programmers, or the CEO.
- Next, see the approximate price of the development. No one will tell you precisely, yet they may say the possible amount. Here you must understand that the price depends less on the experience and the expertise of the team than on the company’s location. Hiring a blockchain developer in the USA or West Europe usually is two-three times more expensive than in Eastern Europe, Asia, or Africa.
- Understand the way you will cooperate. You must know when and why they do a sure thing. Also, ask them what their duties and responsibilities are. Finally, defining the way you will communicate is crucial too.
- Other points that you find essential.
Make your final choice
Ideally, choose a developer that meets all your requirements, understands what you want to do, and has the best offer on the quality and price. If you’re going to
develop your cryptocurrency or make the initial coin offering, you will need a blockchain development company with token launch cases in their portfolio.
Moreover, you must understand that a low price is not about poor quality (while a high price does not guarantee excellent quality). Apple, Google, IBM, and other IT giants often give a part of the development of their project to outsourcing in ‘cheaper’ countries that keep the same level of quality of their IT products on the market.
Merehead — is the best supplier of blockchain solutions
As a leading blockchain, cryptocurrency, and DeFi, NFT, and Fintech solutions company, Merehead offers extensive technical support to launch projects of any complexity. We have experience building blockchain solutions in finance, e-commerce, logistics, video games, insurance, medicine, and other areas.
Our company can help you rapidly and easily:
- Launch your smart contract or decentralized applications on blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, HyperLedger, NEM, Tezos, Cardano, Stellar, Solana, Polkadot, etc.
- Develop your cryptocurrency or a native token for your application, video game, marketplace, cryptocurrency exchange, or another platform.
- To run ICO, STO, IDO, IEO, IGO, or another type of token sales on any crowdfunding platform. This service includes running the token, creating the smart contract, developing the website and application.
- To develop a solution for a specific sector. If you need a custom application or protocol on blockchain to solve various tasks of your industry — we can help.
- Launch an exchange or P2P platform for cryptocurrency trading.
- To develop your cryptocurrency wallet.
Why should you choose Merehead?
- Safety and security - qur blockchain-based software solutions have a high level of protection against malicious acts, fraud, and data leakage.
- Economical effectiveness - we offer competitive prices that allow you to implement your idea for an acceptable price without overpayments and unreasonable payments.
High-level expertise - since 2015 our company has been developing various projects in Blockchain, DeFi, NFT, and FinTech — from simple, smart contacts to logistics platforms and crypto exchanges.
- Support after the launch - we are interested in the success of our customers, so our team is ready to provide staff training, post-release support, evaluation of KPIs, and the creation of an internal helpdesk.
- Transparency - thanks to constant communication with the development team and regular reports, our customers always know the status of their project.
The way we work (roadmap)
We use Scrum in Merehead. An Agile methodology helps develop highly-productive, reliable, and scalable blockchain applications that enhance the security, effectiveness, and transparency of business processes. We use the following algorithm for the entire development process of blockchain solutions:
- Defining the aim. In the first stage, we discuss the project details with our clients and clarify the requirements and functions to be integrated into the application. It helps us compile a plan for the development and make our clients’ ideas become practical and functional solutions.
- UI/UX design development. Next, our designer analyzes the target audience and competitors’ relevant design trends to create a neat and effective user interface. At this stage, we build the brand’s style, develop the information structure, optimize the user flows, and create prototypes.
- Writing the code. Our development team implements the backend and the frontend in the code. They also may update, modernize, extend, or refactor the existing protocols, applications, or services.
- Testing the product. Our developers test each application thoroughly to ensure a superb user experience and meet the client’s requirements. Moreover, we try the security and productivity of the system, conduct an audit of smart contracts and NFT solutions.
- Deployment and release. When the blockchain solution is ready and tested, we move the software from the production environment to the production one. The applications are added to Google Play and App Store.
- Support. All digital solutions require improvements. This is why we offer our clients support and service after the deployment.
Our recent projects
BigFan
It is a platform for selling sports NFTs using ERC-1155. All tokens are issued in cooperation with sports teams and players or their official representatives.
Wide Wine
A logistic blockchain platform that helps trace the supply chains of wine and verify the authenticity. Study more.
Coinbird/CEX
It is a platform that helps to buy and sell cryptocurrency assets. It has high-level security and safety. Furthermore, it supports operations with fiat currencies. Study more.
AltcoinsHub
It is a community P2P exchange for digital assets. It helps to trade all popular cryptocurrencies.
Vleppo
This BaaS platform provides freelancers and enterprises with a solution to manage and transfer their digital assets, create smart contracts with integrated escrow features, and take a loan with cryptocurrency collateral.
Conclusion
Merehead is a leading company in the sector of blockchain-related technologies. We can provide you with full-cycle software development, starting with business analysis and projecting, ending with programming, testing, and supply. You can fully trust us in developing a blockchain project of any complexity, from launching ICO to developing a scalable cryptocurrency exchange. We would gladly help you to implement your idea.