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What does a bitcoin or blockchain developer do?

A bitcoin developer is a type of software engineer who specializes in the bitcoin network and the underlying blockchain technology that powers it. Bitcoin is a decentralized application (DApp) payment system with a public distributed ledger (known as a blockchain) and a cryptocurrency token. Using the blockchain and the bitcoin token, users can anonymously send and receive cryptocurrency around the world without requiring an intermediary.

A blockchain developer will typically either work on the bitcoin core or develop apps and software that use bitcoin, which are most often related to finance. This could involve creating wallet software for users to send and receive bitcoin into, creating financial exchanges for users to trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within the marketplace, or it could involve creating games, gambling services, or apps that use bitcoin as a payment option.

Bitcoin developers are typically cryptographers or people familiar with cryptography and (naturally) cryptocurrencies. Blockchain technology is an emerging field in computer science, so there are very few formal qualifications within the field of blockchain technology, and most bitcoin developers are self-taught. To become a bitcoin developer, a number of tools are required.

Having the right toolset

The codebase of bitcoin and the most popular programming language for working with bitcoin is C++. This means that a prospective bitcoin developer should have a strong background in C++ programming and be familiar with many structures and data types related to finance. Other blockchain programming languages such as Python, Ruby, Solidity, Go, C#, and Java are found within the cryptosphere.

A bitcoin developer should use a preferred IDE (such as Visual Studio, Xcode, or Eclipse) and version control software. The bitcoin core project uses Git and is hosted on Github, but noncore projects might use alternatives. Note that some of the testing framework is written in Python, so an understanding of Python is useful but not necessary.

Understanding the blockchain

Blockchain is immutable and noncustodial. This means that there is no individual person or organization “in charge” of the blockchain, and (after sufficient node validation) any additions to the blockchain are permanent and not capable of being changed or removed.

This means developers need a high level of knowledge and confidence in their understanding of the blockchain when they make changes and submit their code. Some of this knowledge will come from reading and learning about how it works, but a lot will also come from trial and error while working with the blockchain. Fortunately, there is a testnet blockchain for bitcoin that is built for the specific purpose of running tests against, and bitcoin developers should absolutely make use of this.

Writing, testing, and committing code

Due to the immutability of blockchain technology and the use of bitcoin for financial transactions and as a store of value, the cost of mistakes is high and the threshold for fault tolerance in code is very low. Programmers must be very robust and thorough when writing code in order to avoid mistakes.

The testing process for code related to bitcoin is very thorough. Developers must write unit tests for all code that they have written. The bitcoin core uses the popular Boost C++ library, which includes a highly recommended unit-testing framework. In addition to writing unit tests, regression and integration tests are also highly advised. These can all be integrated into a CI automated testing workflow using the testing system from Bitcoin Core.

If you are submitting code to Bitcoin Core, you will need to create a pull request from a topic branch in adherence with the Bitcoin Core contribution process and its coding guidelines. Commits should be atomic, meaning that they should be as small and isolated as possible.

What are popular use cases for blockchain technology?

Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency or blockchain technology. However, it was the first, and as such it retains a first-mover advantage in the marketplace, even though it is relatively limited in its blockchain applications. The bitcoin blockchain is built purely for transactions involving bitcoin and has a relatively low TPS (transactions per second) rate. Due to this limitation and overall congestion on the blockchain as bitcoin grows in popularity, Layer 2 solutions have emerged to help reduce traffic and lower fees on transactions.

The most well-known Layer 2 solution for bitcoin is the Lightning Network. This solution performs transactions “off-chain” and batches transactions to be added to the blockchain in order to reduce fees and congestion compared with submitting individual transactions. Layer 2 solutions are very popular, as they help to reduce the burden on bitcoin’s blockchain, and there are many good opportunities for bitcoin developers to get involved.

Other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum have their own, more-advanced blockchains. In addition to supporting financial transactions, the Ethereum blockchain supports smart contracts, NFTs, and DAOs, which greatly expands the potential use cases.