There are hundreds of new projects using blockchain technology every month around the world. It is estimated that by 2025, the value of the blockchain market will reach 39.5 billion. Therefore, blockchain remains one of the few industries where the demand for specialists so far exceeds the supply. In that case, which blockchain developer will meet your company's expectations and how to find one?

How much demand is there for Blockchain developers?

Entrepreneurs around the world are investing more and more money in blockchain development, and companies like JP Morgan, Oracle, Amazon, and Facebook are already using blockchain technology to handle their daily financial operations. 

If the number of top companies, including the world's largest banks and real estate giants, interested in blockchain technology is growing every day, there is basically no doubt that the demand for Blockchain developers is also growing. 

That's why LinkedIn has already rated blockchain as the most needed skill in 2020. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic has ranked Blockchain programmers among the fastest growing occupations in 2019-2020.

What skills a blockchain developer should have?

We have already written more about the skills needed by a Blockchain programmer in our article Blockchain programmer - how to become one?  

In a nutshell, every Blockchain programmer should understand the concept and tenets of Blockchain technology, cryptography, and be comfortable with topics such as tokens, smart contracts, decentralized applications and registries, and be fluent in the necessary programming languages. 

What programming languages should a blockchain programmer know?

The blockchain programmer you hire for your company should be proficient in all or most of the following programming languages:

• C++
• Scala
• Python
• Java
• Javascript
• Golang
• Solidity

In addition, you should look for a blockchain developer who:

• They previously worked with OOPS (Object-Oriented Programming Structure), this structure allows the program to be quickly updated when needed.
• Deep understanding of language syntax makes a really big difference with Dapps
• Be able to implement multithreading 

Specific skills a Blockchain developer should have

A Blockchain developer should have a deep understanding of Blockchain technology and its applications. As a rule of thumb, a Blockchain programmer will be comfortable with the following concepts, which you should also be familiar with before interviewing him:

SHA (Security Hash Algorithm) - its familiarity is an absolute must, make sure that your company's Blockchain developer candidate knows the difference between SHA-1 and SHA-2 and can choose the right one for your application.

Encryption and decryption methods - necessarily along with a deep understanding of public and private key concepts. 

DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) - a technology that allows data to be stored in multiple, distributed nodes rather than in a single location. The developer should be able to identify and explain its use cases in different Blockchain. 

Consensus- defines how new data is added to the blockchain (each node in the network must "agree" to add new information). A blockchain developer should distinguish between consensus methods such as PoS (Proof of Stake) and PoW (Proof of Work).

Tokenization - Tokenization is the process of converting both physical and non-physical assets into digital tokens using Blockchain technology. Every Blockchain developer should be able to create tokens and distinguish their basic types such as Utility, Security or NFT tokens. You can read more about them in our article: New token types – everything you need to know about them.

Dapps - decentralized, peer-to-peer applications.

Smart contracts - this is a self-enforcing contract in which the terms agreed between the parties are written directly into the lines of code. Smart contracts are the backbone of decentralized applications, where they allow for the abandonment of intermediaries. 

Various Blockchain Protocols - Currently, the most popular are Ethereum, Hyper Ledger Fabric and Corda. Blockchain projects mostly use one of these, so a Blockchain developer does not need to be proficient with all of them. On the other hand, his or her experience with them should certainly coincide with your needs. If you do not know which Blockchain protocol will work best for your project, our consultants can help you free of charge: contact@nextrope.com

Public and Private Blockchain - A blockchain developer should understand and be able to explain the differences between the two and justify their different business uses.

Where to find a Blockchain developer

Online forums

Online platforms, forums, and groups on sites like Facebook, Reddit, and the IEEE Blockchain Community can also prove to be good places to look for Blockchain developers

. 

Conferences

Nowadays, all such events have moved online, making it difficult but not impossible to find a blockchain developer at them. 

Schools

More and more universities are introducing courses focused on Blockchain. It is among their students and graduates that you will most easily find young people hungry for development and experience for the position of Blockchain programmer. 

Websites for freelancers

Among them, especially noteworthy are: CodementorX, X-Team, Toptal, BountyOne and Stack Overflow.

How to hire a Blockchain developer with Nextrope

We are a Polish software house providing Blockchain outsourcing services. We approach each project with great attention to detail and personal commitment. Among our clients there are revolutionary startups from financial and legal sector as well as one of the biggest banks in Poland - Alior Bank. You can read more about our success here. 

After years of work, we simply know the basics of fantastic projects. Want to find out why Nextrope - make an appointment for a free consultation: contact@nextrope.com