ln the current business environment, specific terms, like blockchain technology, hold high popularity. With the increasing price of cryptocurrency and its decentralized nature, many companies are turning to this market for trading and profit gain expectancy.
In this context, smart contracts have also become a solution for companies. Statistically, 49% of Ethernet-based crypto transactions occur via smart contracts. However, what exactly are smart contracts, and how are they helpful in growing profit potential concerning the blockchain environment?
This comprehensive guide details everything professionals and regular users should know about smart contracts, their uses, and how to develop them. Read ahead.
Smart Contracts- Small Overview
A smart contract, as a solution, essentially refers to a program or code that facilitates asset or digital currency transactions between parties. Smart contracts run on specific regulations that smart contract developers should focus on during the development process to ensure automated execution.
In case of errors in following the rules, the contract can get revoked, and it would block the asset exchange from taking place. Businesses often focus on adopting smart contracts because of the lack of third-party supervision. That is because all parties involved in the transactions can control their specific actions and are not answerable to governing power, as in conventional financial transactions.
Notably, smart contracts have many benefits but are not always easy to handle. These solutions can work in place of several legal functions standard during transactions, like notarization. So, the demand is noticeably high for this development in various industry verticals.
Technologies in Use for Smart Contract Development
A lot of different types of technological solutions are used for smart contract development. A smart contract programmer should know about the Ethereum blockchain, specifically for crypto exchanges.
With a smart contract, all parties involved in the transaction get better security with their assets during the transactions with its security-oriented algorithms. Furthermore, since these solutions operate via blockchain technology, the codework in the smart contract is generally transparent and available to access by all blockchain users.
To note, Solidity is the leading programming language developers use for this development. It is similar to JavaScript scripts, so developers choose this option. Besides the specific coding languages developers must know for developing smart contracts, they must use tools like Ethers.js and web3.js. These libraries are open source and suitable for Ethereum-based development, so knowing how they work is valuable.
Top Use Cases of Smart Contracts
Traditional contracts hold standard-level uses and can feel complex to handle for inexperienced professionals. In addition, the process includes the use of third-party service providers, complicated digitization, and high administrative rates. Blockchain allows contractual clauses to be quick to use, simple, and secure, with no third-party interference.
There are specific areas where smart contracts are used with the most frequency.
1. Insurance
Insurance claims require more extended periods of processing time, which claimants find hard to deal with. As a result, they bring forward the long-time issue as a significant constraint, decreasing efficiency and increasing costs. On the other hand, smart contracts allow users to put their claims into the system and trigger automatically during certain events. Users must put in some details to file the claim quickly, like the partner/legal guardian ID or the damage extent. After completing the process and evaluating the loss amount, the compensation amount generates.
2. Mortgage loans
Like insurance claims, mortgages are also complex to understand for the uninitiated. The lenders work with third-party individuals to evaluate details like credit scores, the income of mortgages, outgoing amounts, etc. Overall, this increases the payment burden on lenders. With smart contracts, the lender and the mortgage recipient can interact directly, following the specific legal terms & conditions. That reduces cost and time overall compared to the transitional mortgage process and is less complex to deal with.
3. Supply Chain
The overall supply chain management process covers all steps, from collecting the raw material to the final construction and delivery of the final product. Here, smart contract developers configure the software to record all product ownership rights within the supply chain.
4. Copyright Protection
Content creators get royalty fees for their products, especially for commercial use. For example, while creating a song, many individuals handle different aspects of the process, like producers, songwriters, etc. Therefore, it is not always easy to understand which professionals have the highest potential for royalty ownership, significantly if most contribute equally.
Smart contracts are useful here since ownership rights are added to specific products in the Blockchain. So, this medium makes it easier to check who holds the copyright.
5. Employment Contracts
The deal between employers and employees is often vague when a conventional contract forms unless a top legal team creates it. However, it is not feasible for small companies or startups to have the resources to hire massive legal advisors for intricate contract planning.
On the other hand, smart contracts are easier to access and understand for both the employee and employer. That is because all transactions are recorded, which smooths the interactions between both sides.
Steps for Creating Successful Smart Contracts
Of course, it is necessary to consider how to increase their success potential after understanding what smart contracts mean and involve. For this, carefully focus on the following steps during smart contract development.
Evaluate its compatibility with your company
Smart contracts are highly intertwined with the blockchain environment, and many companies focus on using digital payment methods instead of conventional ones. If your audience relies highly on cryptocurrencies or digital currencies, you should consider developing smart contracts. You can find this information after careful research and insights into your target audience. Also, check if any of your business operations require blockchain support. If there is noticeable compatibility on both of these fronts, you should begin planning the smart contract project.
Carefully check the dealbreakers related to smart contracts
Another way to ensure that your smart contract development process will prove valuable for your company is to consider the limitations. Here are some of the points to feel. The operation of smart contracts is fact-centric primarily, and it requires a stronger focus on objective facts than subjective possibilities. There is no authorized regulation for blockchain technology, which runs decentralized. Smart contracts are usable within this ecosystem, so these are not highly relevant outside the scope of the internet.
Prepare a suitable plan
One of the main things you should concentrate on to create a profitable smart contract solution is the plan for the project. It would be best to research what is acceptable or otherwise related to this development and then frame your base workflow. To plan this, take the time to understand how the software would verify transactions, handle crypto exchanges, transfer payments, etc.
Also, research the currently active and popular smart contract solutions in the market for additional information. Then, based on these details, prepare the main plan for the process.
Work With A superior-level Team
Use proper software developers' help for the smart contract planning and development process. While many company professionals have a basic understanding of the process, the trained development experts know the complex steps of the process. The developers at top agencies like Owebest are skilled in Blockchain and Ethereum frameworks. Therefore, they can use their in-depth knowledge and experience to prepare robust and smart contract solutions.
To note, these professionals consider the business requirements of their clients and plan the project around their business objectives.
Testing the Solution
Statistically, around 60% of IT professionals consider cybersecurity a top 5 risk companies face. Hacking is one of the most significant issues related to that, and smart contracts are not entirely safe from them.
Therefore, testing the solution well after completing the full development process is very important. Errors and bugs in the coding can cause resource or data loss in the smart contracts or leave a vulnerability in the firewall. So, it is crucial to conduct frequent QA tests and audits to ensure that the smart contract is well-functional and secure.
Specific Highlights About Smart Contract Development
Indeed, there are particular factors to remember in the context of developing smart contracts.
They are as follows.
- Smart contracts are user-friendly.
- It is important to handle the auditing process for smart contracts to eliminate all bugs, improve transaction reliability, and avoid data breaches.
- The architecture of smart contracts is typically well-organized and easily accessible.
- It is easy to use in varying industry verticals, like banking, healthcare, real estate, etc. That is due to the adaptable nature of the decentralized environment it operates within.
- Developers can utilize Ethereum-based smart contracts to create Dapps, which benefits businesses in different sectors.
If you are optimistic about focusing on smart contract development next, then you should take the right team's support for the work, like Owebest Technologies. The experts available in this agency are highly skilled, professionally trained, and experienced with diverse technological solutions, like Blockchain. Moreover, they focus on understanding their clients' main project criteria and providing valuable service quality aligned with their needs. So, hire the best support always.