Blockchain has been one of the biggest technology trends in the last few years. Be it cryptocurrency, smart contracts or supply chain tracking applications, there are multiple blockchain use cases both in the enterprise or public blockchain space.

The revolution is being led by different developer communities. Developers across big tech companies and startups are building blockchain applications using different programming languages.

Here we list down the different programming languages that you can learn to start building blockchain applications-

Solidity

Solidity is an object-oriented, high-level language for creating smart contracts. Smart contracts are programs which dictate the function of accounts within the Ethereum network. Solidity was inspired by C++, Python and JavaScript and is created to leverage the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). With Solidity, developers can build smart contracts for applications such as voting, crowdfunding, blind auctions, and multi-signature wallets on the Ethereum public blockchain. During the ICO bubble of 2018, Solidity rose as the best-paid technology skills for developers as the majority of fundraising contracts had been launched on Ethereum.

JavaScript

JavaScript is used everywhere on the web and is greatly popular and widespread. Large companies are using it for speed and security across a wide variety of devices like smartphones, PCs and even IoT. JavaScript has multiple libraries and frameworks, all the way from jQuery and React to Angular and Node, which have proven worthy for web applications. JavaScript is considered secure as apps built on JavaScript are on average less buggy than C++ and Java, which is important for writing blockchain apps where transactions are irreversible. Due to state machine processing on-chain, a software error can prove to be a highly expensive event for any company using a blockchain program. 

C++

We know that Bitcoin was originally written in C++, which allows better control over CPU and memory usage. Bitcoin is one of the biggest assets in the blockchain world, thus, C++ will remain important in the blockchain world. C++ prevents accidental edits to data due to its principles and features, which again keeps the blockchain secure and functional. But C++ is not desired for complex blockchain applications like smart contracts. 

Python

Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world and enjoys a huge community of developers. Python’s popularity has been growing for years, and even in blockchain, it can be useful for developers to write decentralised applications and systems easily. Because the language is simple and easy to learn, it can be an excellent choice for blockchain projects. Even professionals with academic or data science background can build blockchain applications without spending too much time. There are many companies out there which are providing packages to create blockchain applications within a few lines of code. 

Go

Used by Hyperledger — one of the biggest open-source software providers of enterprise blockchain, Go has become a popular language for creating blockchain applications. Due to the simplicity of the language, it is finding traction among blockchain developers. The entire development process is simpler compared to other languages like Solidity which can ease the developer team to build applications. Go is a compiled language which minimises random errors that can happen with interpreted languages. For this reason, it is very much suitable for building blockchain applications that rely on a lot of complex cryptographic calculations. 

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