Blockchain is one of the newest technologies to be invented, and it’s growing every day.
That means there is a huge demand for developers for blockchain and smart contracts.
Maybe you are thinking of getting into blockchain development, but you don’t know where to start.
First thing you will want to do is to choose the right programming language.
It wouldn’t make sense to learn a new programming language only to find out that it isn’t really used by any blockchains.
I’ve gathered the 7 most popular programming languages for blockchain development, so that you can narrow down your choices.
Solidity
Solidity is probably the most popular programming language when it comes to blockchain development. This is solely because Solidity is what the biggest
software platform blockchain, Ethereum, uses to write and deploy smart contracts.
Solidity is very influenced by programming languages like C++, Python, and JavaScript. If you already know these languages then picking up Solidity will be pretty easy. Not only is it easy to learn, but it’s one of the fastest growing programming languages. That means a lot of people will be there to help, and documentation will be readily available. You could be writing
smart contracts in no time.
Solidity is an object-oriented programming language that was developed specifically for creating smart contracts on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Most smart contracts written in this language will be compatible with each other, and is a big reason why cryptocurrencies like
Polygon ($MATIC) are easily compatible with Ethereum and other blockchains built on Ethereum.
Advantages of Solidity are ease of use, developer friendly, growing quickly, access to certain JavaScript tools, and is compatible with many different Ethereum-based blockchains.
Since Solidity is used for Ethereum, almost all of the projects built on Ethereum use the language. This includes Ethereum itself, and other popular cryptocurrencies like Polygon, Chainlink, UniSwap, Shiba Inu, Enjin, Dai, and so many more.
C++
C++ is another major object-oriented programming language when it comes to Blockchain development. In fact, most older cryptocurrencies are built using C++ including
Bitcoin’s blockchain developed by Satoshi Nakamoto.
The great thing about C++ is that it is not a new programming language. It was created in 1985, and is used for all sorts of technology. That means there are plenty of people out there in the community who are knowledgeable and willing to help you. There is also years of fully fleshed out documentation to help you if you get stuck.
Some other advantages of C++ its performance, speed, CPU, and memory management, which is essential for blockchain and smart contracts handling many transactions. Due to being an object-oriented programming language, it is developer friendly, and easy to use.
Let's take a look at a few of the cryptocurrencies that are built using C++. You may recognize most of these if you've been in crypto for a while.
Blockchains built with C++ are Bitcoin, Stellar, Ripple, Litecoin,
Dogecoin, Monero, EOS, Zcash, and Dash.
Python
Python is not a new programming language created especially for blockchain. In fact, it has been used to create many projects online right now including many AI programs. Python is another object-oriented programming language.
There are many advantages to using Python for blockchain development including already having many open-source plug-ins available in its extensive library. It's great when a language has been out for a while because resources, documentation and help from the community will be plenty.
One of the best things about Python is its ease of use. It’s very understandable and almost reads like English. Many people can learn the language extremely fast because of this.
Python has even had a spin off programming language called Vyper that is used for smart contract development on Ethereum as an alternative to Solidity. The two differ slightly, but if you already know Python, you can start developing smart contracts on Ethereum.
Besides Ethereum, some of the most popular cryptocurrencies built using Python are Algorand and Avalanche. Neither of these two cryptos are fully built on Python, but many of the parts that help them run correctly are.
Rust
Rust is a newer programming language, which was created specifically for performance and security.
Rust has many advantages other than speed and security. Rust is easy to learn, has great documentation for learning and understanding, has many tools to aid in development, and has friendly easy-to-fix errors.
One of the main reasons that Rust became so popular in cryptocurrency development is because it was used by Gavin Wood to develop
Polkadot and its framework to build blockchains called Substrate.
Since then, many of the newer, popular cryptocurrencies have used Rust to develop their blockchains. This includes Algorand, Solona, NEAR, and Zcash. Even some Ethereum smart contracts have been developed using Rust.
Haskell
Haskell is an extremely old programming language usually used for industry and web applications, but has gotten popular in blockchain development.
Haskell is a very advanced language and will probably not be so easy to learn. In fact, this is probably the hardest programming language for blockchain development on this page to learn.
There are many benefits. These include a decent database of packages (pre-written code), and speed due to the way Haskell code is compiled.
Cardano is the main blockchain built using Haskell. Cardano uses its own smart contract platform called Plutus, which is a layer on top of Haskell, so knowing it is necessary for being able to develop smart contracts on Cardano.
Java
Java is a proven, battle-tested programming language that has been around since the 1990s, and has been used to develop a wide variety of software including Android. Now Java is part of the blockchain game.
Java is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. It has over 9 million developers in the world, which means you can easily find the answer to any question you may have. There is plenty of documentation and resources that you can use to learn the language quickly.
The advantages of Java are that it is able to process multiple tasks at once, runs on practically everything, has built in security, and is very developer friendly. All of these make it great for blockchain development.
One major cryptocurrency that uses Java for its development in Tron. Tron is an alternative to Ethereum, where developers can create smart contracts. These smart contracts are written with Java. Tron aims to become a large ecosystem of apps, so that could be good news for Java devs who want to get into blockchain development.
Go
Go is a programming language created by Google, and modeled after a programming language called C, with added features. These features help with memory and speed thus making it great for blockchain and smart contract development.
Some advantages of Go are that it is easy to read and learn, fast compilation time, the ability to run multiple processes at the same time to help with performance, and allows for massive projects with easy to maintain code.
One of the main reasons that Go is a popular blockchain programming language is because it is used to develop Ethereum smart contracts using Go-Ethereum (Geth). This can even be used in Android, or iOS projects, which may be hinting at mobile blockchain projects.
Ethereum is the big one that uses Go, but other cryptocurrencies currently using Go are Algorand, Avalanche, Chainlink, IOTA, and Cosmos. The last one, Cosmos, uses Go for its main chain, and the Cosmos SDK, which is used to develop blockchains on the platform.
Summary
When it comes to picking out a programming language for blockchain development, there are a lot to choose from. Here are some of the most popular programming languages for blockchain development
Solidity, which is the programming language used by the Ethereum Virtual Machine, and is what most of the smart contracts on Ethereum are written in.
C++, an old, but popular object oriented programming language that was used to develop the very first blockchain, Bitcoin, and the many others that followed including Litecoin and Dogecoin.
Haskell is widely used to develop on Plutus, the smart contract platform of the Cardano blockchain, a major software platform and top cryptocurrency.
Python is an easy to use programming language that has a massive library, and is used in developing smart contracts on Ethereum.
Rust got popular in blockchain development with Polkadot and is now used by other big chains like Solana and NEAR.
Java is used to develop smart contracts on Tron, an Ethereum competitor. Java has the ease of use and performance that’s great for blockchain development.
Go is mainly used for Ethereum and Cosmos, and is known for its speed and performance especially with big projects.
