How to Create Blockchain Products by Fr8 Network Lead Engineer
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Blockchain has swept the tech space by storm and we are now seeing the first wave of products built using this technology. One of the biggest challenges with blockchain is taking very technical concepts, such as signing transactions, and making them intuitive and easy to use. In this talk, Yev discussed the tools, design decisions, and best practices involved when creating a blockchain product.
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How to Create Blockchain Products by Fr8 Network Lead Engineer
- 1. How to Create Blockchain Products by Fr8 Network Lead Engineer www.productschool.com
- 2. FREE INVITE Join 23,000+ Product Managers on
- 3. COURSES Product Management Learn the skills you need to land a product manager job
- 4. COURSES Coding for Managers Build a website and gain the technical knowledge to lead software engineers
- 5. COURSES Data Analytics for Managers Learn the skills to understand web analytics, SQL and machine learning concepts
- 6. COURSES Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies Learn how to trade cryptocurrencies and build products using the blockchain
- 8. Creating a Blockchain Product (on Ethereum) May 31, 2018 Yev Spektor
- 9. What is blockchain? Immutable, decentralized data store & computation provider Blockchain creates and enforces trust between parties
- 10. Why blockchain now? ● Bitcoin proved blockchain distributed systems possible ● Native features of blockchain not feasible otherwise ○ Decentralized ○ Always on ○ Self sustaining ○ Immutable ○ Threat-resistant
- 11. About Yev Spektor Blockchain Application, Tech, and Product Consultant CTO Real Estate Investment Platform Lead Engineer Supply Chain & Logistics Researcher Blockchain Math/Econ Research Firm Cofounder Blockchain Consultancy Decentral
- 12. Terms & Definitions Public Key Publicly visible account identifier. Also called an address. Eth public keys look like 0x212Ecb7Caf81dF3895cE71d9030F3D55Dc4A3613 Private Key Secret code used to sign transactions Transaction (Tx) A message typically consisting of a “to” and “from” address, value (Eth), and optional data. A transaction can be used to send Eth or to call smart contract functions.
- 13. Terms & Definitions Transaction Fees/Gas Fees Every transaction that affects the state of the blockchain has fees required to process it. Fees are paid in Eth. Signing a Tx Cryptographic process that encodes a transaction with a private key. This process is used to prove sender and authenticity of a transaction. Wallet An application (web, offline, hardware) used to manage keys and sign transactions
- 14. Terms & Definitions Smart Contract A blockchain “program” containing functions that can be called. Able to hold Eth and tokens Blockchain Explorer (etherscan.io) Website to view all Ethereum transactions and blocks. Used to check status of transactions
- 15. Terms & Definitions MainNet/TestNets MainNet uses real Eth, TestNets use fake Eth. There are various TestNets. Each net is its own isolated blockchain. Distributed Application (DApp) A web, mobile, or desktop application that interacts with the blockchain Web3 Javascript Framework that allows apps to interact with the Ethereum Blockchain
- 16. Blockchain <--> Dapp Interaction Server Client (JS) Web3 Provider Eth Node Blockchain
- 18. We’re in the early days Blockchain is slow and limited Not user friendly Current State of Affairs
- 19. Blockchain Products ● Blockchain has unique challenges related to Product ● Blockchain PMs will require deeper technical expertise ● PMs & Designers must work and deal with the technical peculiarities of blockchain
- 20. Blockchain Product Challenges ● User Education ● Transaction Fees ● Key Management ● Transactions must be signed ● Mining Time & Verification
- 21. User Education ● Know your app’s average user ● They have no knowledge of tx’s, public/private keys, etc ● Most will not even have an account ● Key Management
- 22. TX Fees (gas) ● Calling smart contract functions costs TX Fees (Eth) ● Purchasing Eth is not straightforward and can take over a week Coinbase account → bank transfer → purchase eth → transfer eth
- 23. TX Fees (Solutions) ● Airdrop Eth (expensive, will likely be abused) ● Limited workaround - Reading from the blockchain for free, ie checking a token balance
- 24. Key Management ● Private Keys must be kept secure ● Solutions ○ Store keys on server ○ Hardware Solutions/integrations ○ Software Wallets ○ Web3 Browsers and browser extensions
- 25. Signing Transactions ● Transactions must be signed by a user’s private key ● Solutions ○ Can store user’s private key on server (security risk) ○ Build wallet functionality into app front-end (will need to ask user for the private key) ○ Rely on metamask or other web3 enabled browser
- 26. FR8 Example
- 27. Mining Time ● Once a transaction is broadcast it must be mined ● Mining on Main Net can take 30 seconds to several minutes ● Higher TX fees = Faster mining ○ Product should recommend fees for users ● Depending on level of security, you may need to wait for confirmations ○ # of confirmations = # of blocks built since TX
- 28. Metamask ● Google Chrome Extension & Ethereum Wallet ● Turns Chrome into a web3 browser ● Provides key management and signs transactions ● Acts as a layer between a web app and the blockchain ● [Demo]
- 29. Takeaways ● Basic blockchain concepts and functionality ● Common blockchain caveats and product challenges
- 30. Advice ● Don’t be afraid to explore new ways to solve problems ● This space is growing and evolving at a unbelievable rate ● Go talk to Blockchain companies!
- 32. Part-time Product Management Courses in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, London, Toronto www.productschool.com
Editor's Notes
- understand web analytics, learn SQL, and machine learning concepts