Blockchain is a shared and unchangeable ledger technology that enables the process of recording transactions in a business network and acquiring digital assets. Blockchain technology is less vulnerable to fraud and cyber attacks than other record-keeping systems while offering transparency and data verification. It also provides a method for tracking orders, accounts, production, and payments.
Due to the many useful applications of this technology, businesses and financial institutions are always looking for professionals with blockchain skills. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an increase of 22 percent in the demand for blockchain developers over the next decade. Additionally, blockchain developers earn about $154,550 per year, which is significantly higher than the national average for all occupations.
One of the best ways to get into this industry as a beginner is by combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience. Not only will you gain valuable skills, but you’ll also develop a portfolio of projects that highlights your abilities. This article covers some of the best blockchain project ideas for both beginners and advanced learners.
5 Skills That Blockchain Projects Can Help You Practice
There are many career paths in the blockchain industry. You can find engineers, smart contract developers, and miners within the blockchain infrastructure. Before you choose which profession is right for you, consider the skills you’ll need to cultivate to enter this industry. Here are the five top skills that are critical to understanding blockchain-based platforms.
- Programming. Blockchain developers need strong programming skills to build the different blockchain components. Most blockchains are created with Python and C#. Other key languages are C++, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, and Go.
- Flat and relational database management. The whole idea of blockchains derives from flat and relational databases. Flat databases store data in a single structure, usually tables, while relational databases use a number of cross-referencing records across tables. For this reason, you must understand how databases and data structures work when learning blockchain.
- Blockchain architecture. To become a blockchain developer, you’ll need to understand the architecture upon which blockchain is based. Key concepts to understand are cryptography, hash functions, smart contracts, and consensus algorithms.
- Cryptography. Cryptography comes in handy when developing a secure blockchain ecosystem. Important cryptography concepts in blockchain include digital signatures, keys, and wallets.
- Data structures. Each block from a blockchain can be considered a different type of data structure that clusters transactions meant for the public ledger. For this reason, you must understand the interaction between data structures and blockchain networks.
Best Blockchain Project Ideas for Beginners
Blockchain projects are quickly gaining traction among both beginners and experts. For this reason, we’ve compiled a few project ideas below to guide beginners while engaging experts and advanced learners.
Cross Border Payment Platform
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, database management, programming
Blockchain is widely used to facilitate payments and bypass mediators and middlemen who levy transaction fees and charges. The aim of this project is to develop a similar system but on a smaller scale. You should consider using a script that is already available as this can save hours in development. Many of these scripts come with extensive documentation for installation and setup.
Video Streaming Clone Script
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Programming, database management
YouTube paved the way for countless video streaming services. Now, you can build a platform just like YouTube from the comfort of your home. This project will help you hone your skills by challenging you to create a streaming platform using a decentralized blockchain. You can use the Steem blockchain protocol, which is designed for content creators.
Hello World Smart Contract
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Programming
A “Hello, World!” project is a very simple program ideal to grasp the fundamentals of any technology you are interested in learning. In this case, you’ll be dealing with smart contracts. The goal is to create and deploy a simple smart contract on the Ropsten test network using a virtual wallet as well as Solidity, Hardhat, and Alchemy. This project will teach you all you need to know about smart contracts and how to use them.
Document Storage System
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Database management, data structures, programming
At their core, blockchains are considered data structures. This means that blockchain technology is ideal for creating platforms that store documents and data securely. The aim of this project is to develop a blockchain system where people can upload different types of documents safely and access them easily.
Fake Product Identification System
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, database management, programming
Brands such as Nike, Apple, and Gucci experience huge losses due to cheap counterfeits. The difference between an authentic product and a bootleg copy can be astonishingly small at times, making it difficult for professionals to tell the two apart. The goal of this project is to create a system that uses a 2D barcode to identify a product. The system should allow you to use your smartphone to scan the barcode and find out if the product is the real deal.
Best Intermediate Blockchain Project Ideas
If you have tried some of the beginner projects above and are looking for a bigger challenge, consider some of these intermediate-level projects. The following blockchain initiatives will help you bring your skills to the next level.
Exact Shipment Location System
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, programming, database management, data structures
Many shipment companies have limited capabilities when it comes to tracking the location of a package. This means the customer doesn’t always have access to the location of the cargo and may only be informed of a package’s delivery status after it reaches a particular collection center, city hub, and sorting facility. Even if the data is available, in some cases it can be easily lost or corrupted.
For this project, you will develop a blockchain-based system capable of pinpointing the exact location of a package. The system should collect location data from several linked or interconnected systems, thus giving the customer access to real-time location data. You can build a similar system to track lost luggage from car rentals and airlines.
Electronic Voting System
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, data structures, database management
Using blockchain technology we can cast our votes safely without having to leave our homes. In this project, your aim is to build a secure, transparent, and scalable voting chain that voters can use in the next election. It should contain an ID verifier. Once a person’s ID is verified, your program should generate a ballot for the voter.
Transparent Fundraising App
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, database management, programming
You can use your blockchain skills to build a secure and transparent application that allows people to send money to their favorite charity or to donate to specific causes or individuals in need. Organizations should be able to upload their information to the system safely. In turn, donors must be able to access that information easily to send money.
Land Registry System
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, database management, programming
The real estate industry has always been vulnerable to fraudulent land transactions and falsified documentation which can lead to large losses. In this project, your goal is to implement a secure system to keep records of transactions. It should allow authorized parties to access documentation quickly.
Patient Data Management System
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, database management, programming
The aim of this project is to develop a system using blockchain that stores patient information in a way that is easily accessible by healthcare professionals. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, the security of this system must be robust. Your challenge is to create a system that patients can use to share their data. Your system should grant access to that information exclusively to people with the right permissions.
Advanced Blockchain Project Ideas
If you’ve graduated from the intermediate level by successfully completing some of the projects in the previous section, it is time to try your hand at something a bit more challenging. Here are some advanced blockchain projects that will get you engaged even if you are an expert on this technology.
System for Identifying Fake Medication
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, database management, programming
Large volumes of counterfeit medication are flooding the market. Even experts can have a hard time telling fake and real medication apart. In this project, you will develop a system that pharmaceutical companies can use to keep track of the drugs they manufacture and distribute. Similar to the fake product identification project discussed earlier, your fake drug identification system can rely on barcode scanning.
Solution to Fill Up Empty Hotel Rooms
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Database management, programming
Last-minute cancellations are common in the hotel industry and filling unoccupied rooms on short notice can prove impossible in some instances. This can cost establishments thousands of dollars over time. The aim of this project is to deliver a system that allows empty hotel rooms to be easily tracked and sold.
Ad Targeting System
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Database management, programming
Reading information online can sometimes be an unpleasant experience as banners and ads constantly pop up. These ads are often irrelevant to the reader, and most people end up ignoring them. With this project, you’ll be tackling this problem using your blockchain skills. You’ll be emulating SolidOpinion, a blockchain solution that allows advertisers to target their banner ads to a specific audience.
Pay Per Use Streaming Service
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Cryptography, database management, programming
Streaming services usually charge a fixed monthly fee. In this project, you’ll be giving a twist to the traditional business model by creating a streaming service that charges per individual product. In other words, viewers pay for access to a single football match, television episode, or movie. The system you create should, naturally, allow payment with a digital currency.
Smart Parking App
- Blockchain Skills Practiced: Database management, programming
Parking a vehicle is always a headache, particularly if you leave in a densely populated area. Imagine a system that helps you find, reserve, and pay for a parking spot beforehand. That’s exactly what you’ll be doing in this project. The challenge is to use your blockchain prowess to develop a system that allows owners to rent out parking spaces in busy metropolitan areas. For reference, you can use Parkgene, an app hailed as the Airbnb of parking space.
Blockchain Starter Project Templates
Blockchain projects are an excellent way to understand more about this technology and build revolutionary systems. However, starting ambitious projects from scratch can be time-consuming and tedious as the initial setup and configuration are often complex.
Using a starter template allows you to increase your productivity as you focus on the development process. Here are some blockchain project templates that will help you get started with the projects you are passionate about.
- Blockchain Starter Kit. This starter kit is designed to be a simple and effective way of creating a straightforward blockchain system. The first block of its system is a Genesis Block. The template also features a basic mining algorithm.
- Oxford Crypto USD Starter Template. This template is for anyone who wants to get familiarized with Cryptohopper, an automated crypto trading bot. You can use it to buy and sell coins automatically.
- AWS Blockchain Templates. This template aims to assist users in developing and using blockchain networks on Amazon Web Services (AWS) quickly and efficiently.
- Azure Blockchain Sample Template. This is a template scaffolding for Ethereum development.
- Amazon Managed Blockchain Client Templates. This template makes it simple for developers to set up client hosts on Amazon EC2 to swap information with Amazon Managed Blockchain networks.
Next Steps: Start Organizing Your Blockchain Portfolio
Blockchain portfolios are like online resumes for blockchain professionals that contain their best work. Rather than telling prospective employers about your skills, you can create a developer portfolio to show them your capabilities. Your portfolio should be professional and organized if you are to stand out from the crowd.
Every portfolio should have at least the following three sections: an About Me page, a projects page, and a contact page. Employers will look at the relevance of the projects, your problem-solving skills, and your educational background. Consider the following tips to create an outstanding portfolio.
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Tailor Your Portfolio to the Role
A project portfolio contains several samples of your work. It is always best to choose projects that relate to the role you are after. If done correctly, your portfolio will show potential employers that you have the skills required for the job.
Write Effective Project Descriptions
Project descriptions are a great way to explain the requirements of a project and the skills it demanded. When writing one, keep in mind that your potential employers might not understand complex blockchain jargon. Aim to create project descriptions that both developers and non-developers can understand, keeping the copy short, simple, and clear.
Choose an Eye-Catching Design and Layout
To stand out, you must use a visually appealing design. Fortunately, there are many free and attractive portfolio templates on the Internet. Using a template for your portfolio will save you a lot of time and effort. You can customize these templates to match your own preferences but remember to keep it simple and neat.
Blockchain Projects FAQ
Within the blockchain infrastructure, there are a lot of applications, including international payments, supply chain management, healthcare data, and record management, just to mention a few. As a beginner, you could work on a challenging blockchain project to deliver a system to identify fake products. Other project ideas include using blockchain space to deliver systems that offer a direct settlement of transactions.
There are many blockchain platforms, most of which are free. You can use these platforms to start your project. You need to have a strong background in programming. A simple blockchain project can be built using JavaScript. However, most blockchain core engines from Hyperledger Fabric, Bitcoin, and Ethereum are built in C, C++, Java, Go, Ruby, Rust, and Haskell.
Most people find blockchain technology hard to understand because it is a fairly new concept. However, it’s actually easy to understand as long as you have a fundamental knowledge of programming languages such as Python, C#, C++, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, and Go. There is also plenty of documentation, sample templates, open-source code, and project ideas designed to help you learn.
Blockchain has many real-world applications beyond cryptocurrencies. It’s also used in money and real estate transfers, supply chain monitoring, digital voting, fake product identification, and data backup.
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