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Tools for Testing your Blockchain Applications

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Tools for Testing your Blockchain Applications

Are you a Blockchain developer? Want to learn how to get started with Blockchain and test your blockchain-based applications? You have landed on the right page. This article talks about some common types of testing, enlisting popular tools for testing Blockchain applications, detailing challenges associated with the testing. 

Table of Contents 

  • Some Common Types of Testing
  • Popular Tools for Testing Blockchain Apps 
  • Challenges in Blockchain Testing
  • Wrapping Up

Some Common Types of Testing

Blockchain applications are gaining popularity, especially by some prominent industries due to the fact that they are decentralized and follow a secure structure. 

Various types of testing are performed to ensure complete test coverage and achieve excellence for blockchain apps.

  • Functional testing is one type of testing that evaluates several functional parts of the Blockchain, such as smart contracts. 
  • Application Programming Interface testing is also a part of Blockchain testing as it addresses the interaction between apps and ensures that API requests and replies are formatted and managed accurately. 
  • To ensure smooth cooperation, node testing is also crucial. In this type of testing, all heterogeneous nodes on the Blockchain network must be validated and tested independently. 
  • Performance testing and load testing are also crucial in order to check how Blockchain application performs in production and under specific workloads and network conditions and suggests the methods of fine-tuning the system.

Want to gain an in-depth understanding of Blockchain and become a Certified Blockchain Developer? Get started today with Blockchain Council.

Popular Tools for Testing Blockchain Apps 

Now let’s talk about some of the popular tools for testing Blockchain applications.

Hyperledger Composer

Under Hyperledger Umbrella, Hyperledger Composer is a business-oriented set of tools that helps developers to build blockchain applications. With the help of this tool, you can perform three types of testing, such as interactive testing, automated unit testing, and automated system testing, each serving different purposes and ensuring the success of your blockchain projects.

Truffle Suite

This framework is known to offer good testing features such as automated testing, especially for Ethereum developers, and extends its functionalities beyond testing as well. By utilizing this framework, developers can write simple and manageable tests in two different ways, including javascript and Solidity.

Ethereum Tester

Ethereum Tester is a tool suite for testing applications based on Ethereum. We can also say that it is an open-source testing library that is available as a Github repo. Moreover, this tester provides a strong guarantee that backends can be swapped out without affecting the data formats of both the input arguments and return values. 

Moreover, it is easy to set up with manageable API support for various Testing requirements with this tool.

 Embark

Embark is another tool for testing smart contracts, and its framework allows you to develop and deploy decentralized applications easily and quickly. This tool enables you to perform test-driven development with contracts, keep track of deployed contracts, manage different chains, manage complicated systems of interdependent contracts, and other crucial tasks.

Challenges in Blockchain Testing

Now, as we have learned about a few common types of Blockchain testing and looked at popular tools, let’s explore what the major challenges are.

Understanding Technology– The major challenge is that Blockchain is comparatively a new technology, and very few have in-depth knowledge related to this futuristic technology. In order to test an application, its domain knowledge is very important. 

Selecting the right tool: There are not many tools for testing Blockchain-based applications, and therefore, choosing the right tool is often difficult.

Defining Test Strategy– Defining a strategy for testing a Blockchain application is crucial, and it requires a thorough understanding of the technology.

Block Size and Chain Size– As a part of testing, testing for block size and chain size is also essential. This is important because apps may fail without proper validation of block and chain size.

Integration Testing– As the name suggests, integration testing is all about integrating all components involved in the Blockchain app and then testing in order to ensure that each component is integrated correctly to avoid any failures.

Securing Data– Another most important challenge associated with the testing phase is that of security. Securing the data is crucial as malicious attacks can impact the Blockchain apps.

Wrapping Up 

Hope, you have gained a thorough understanding of tools for testing your applications and the challenges associated with Blockchain testing. 

At present, the demand for Blockchain developers is soaring. If you want to gain an in-depth understanding of the functional and technical aspects of Blockchain technology, Blockchain Council is here to assist you.  

Blockchain Council is one of the best online educational platforms that impart world-class training and certification courses in blockchain technologies, including Hyperledger, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Quorum, Corda, and others. If you are interested in learning, we are here to help you gain the knowledge you need to have a lucrative career in this domain.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council. 

Tools for Testing your Blockchain Applications

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Blockchain in Action — 16 Inspirational Examples

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Codezeros

If you want to have a decentralized record of digital data accessible by all, then better fix your gaze towards blockchain technology. To break a single word into two, Blockchain has information in which the data (i.e., the block) is deposited inside a communal database (i.e., the chain).

This digital technology is primarily made to rave up banking security, as unsecured parties fail to hack it. However, Blockchain has various applications; you might have heard of them, so below are their names.

1. Bitcoin

Bitcoin is known to be the most prominent application of Blockchain, which is also termed as a cryptocurrency because it is a virtual currency. Things get completely simplified here, as money transferring gets easier because of the absence of intermediaries like banks or administrators.

Similar to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Atom is also a part of it, used for transferring funds in a simplified way with no trading charges and no possibilities of hacks during exchanges.

Blockchain in Action — 16 Inspirational Examples

2. MediLedger

With Blockchain, MediLedger, a pharmaceutical company, has a decentralized network that can record transactions and data to establish worth and improve security.

3. Spotify

A popular name in the music world, Spotify, opted for the procurement of Mediachain Labs and took help from a blockchain development service provider to switch to blockchain technology. This helps them to associate with an artist who has licensed tracks and agreements.

This move has led to more transparent and clear ownership of records. This move also helped the small artist to get proper recognition, which they were denied before.

4. BitGive

BitGive, which also implemented Blockchain technology, has its sole mission to benefit charities worldwide. It has a project that provides transparent data and financial information to donors.

5. Maersk

Maersk and IDM combined to generate a new supportive Blockchain effort known as TradeLens, which is supported by blockchain software development companies and other leading brands.

TradeLens is exclusive for its customized smart-contract services that execute complicated shipping orders, which lowers the presence of mediators in the whole process.

6. Circle

The peer-to-peer payment technology of Circle, which is also termed Circle Pay, is primarily used for buying and selling bitcoins. Circle uses open, Blockchain-based protocols to build products.

7. Aeternity

Another example of Blockchain development can be found in Aeternity. It serves a great role in performing rapid transactions. The brand has adopted several new things like IoV, IoT, FinTech, Unbanked, Video gaming, Trust-free Exchanges, etc.

8. Matchpool

To stay in association and generate new connections, a platform named Matchpool utilizes cryptocurrencies. It provides bonuses on linking the associates of different communities such as Uber, Airbnb, or dating services.

Here the cryptocurrency comes in the form of Guppy tokens, which is better known as GUP. These are mainly used for making payments within the app.

9. Siemens

Blockchain development services have led Siemens Digital Grid and its start-up financier, named next47, to work in collaboration with LO3 for a new project. The project is related to Blockchain technology, which lets local people generate and use and buy power through it.

10. BASF

BASF Corporation took help from a blockchain development company to scrutinize the value of livestock. The information can be used to see full transparency about the food they eat.

11. Loyyal

Loyyal, which is a cross-sector rewards and loyalty platform, reinvented how customers will get incentives.

It makes use of smart contracts and Blockchain technology to manage travel and hospitality. It also correctly looks over the incentives of all employees and their corresponding credit card rewards.

12. SimplyVital Health

With the added cost of aligning different technologies and issues due to sharing of data for security and privacy issues, the health sector hasn’t yet upgraded a lot from the past.

However, with the help of blockchain app development, SimplyVital Health has granted the authority to patients to share and access their healthcare information.

13. Guts

Guts which also works on blockchain technology, reduces the opportunity of ticket fraud and overcharging. Its algorithm maintains similar ticket prices and locks the prices by linking them to the mobile number.

14. De Beers

By tying up with 5 various other diamond manufacturers, De Beers has developed Tracr. It is a first-level Blockchain platform, which aids in securely tracking a diamond. The platform is designed to deliver untampered data whenever there is any suspicion revolving around it.

15. Ubiquity

Ubiquity, also a part of the blockchain platform, provides records of property information with a clean record of ownership. The consumer can input their data and store it on a blockchain with its Patent Pending API and SaaS Platform.

16. AIA Insurance

The bancassurance network, i.e., AIA Insurance, has led its bank partners to share data in real-time, reducing the processing time. It perceives new starts to have insurance with the blockchain accelerator.

Conclusion

Thus, through this, we hope that it is clear to you that blockchain development is a vast system with a vast scope in every sector. So, align your brand with it to upgrade and earn better revenue.

Blockchain in Action — 16 Inspirational Examples

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PrimeXBT Lead Analyst Kim Chua: Lawsuit Upper Hand Sends XRP Price Rising

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The price of XRP has rallied sharply recently on the back of positive developments pertaining to the SEC lawsuit with Ripple.

The latest update on the Ripple lawsuit seems to be giving Ripple the upper hand. Thus far, US judges seem to agree with Ripple more than with the SEC. This became especially clear after the March 23 hearing where 2 significant events advantageous to Ripple sent investor confidence in XRP soaring.

First, the judge of the lawsuit, Sarah Netburn, was observed to have suggested that the XRP cryptocurrency is more like a currency than a security.

Secondly, observers also noted that the SEC, in one of its defences, unintentionally implied that exchanges that list and allow the trading of XRP would not violate any regulation. What happened was that on the March 23 hearing, the judge questioned the SEC lawyer that, based on his theory, “everyone who sold XRP – including you and me – are selling illegal securities”, after which the SEC lawyer responded, “no, under Section 4, only Ripple and affiliates of Ripple can have sold XRP illegally”, and that “everyone who sold XRP” was not selling “illegal securities”. The statements by the SEC lawyer can be interpreted that exchanges will not be held liable for the sale of XRP. Under Section 4 of the Securities Act, only Ripple and its affiliates could be accused of illegal sales. This was a case-turner for the price of XRP since it would mean that exchanges may start relisting it again.

Positive price action began building momentum during this time, where social media attention on XRP soared. The number of XRP-related posts on different social media networks skyrocketed, with over 80% of all the social interactions bullish about XRP, out of which a campaign called “RelistXRP” was initiated and trending on Twitter in the USA.

This positive social engagement has led many large investors to add more XRP to their portfolios. According to on-chain data, large whales with more than 10 million XRP tokens have started increasing by significantly since March 24, just 1 day after news broke.

A crypto exchange named Lykke, based out of Switzerland, has thus decided to re-list XRP. Subsequently, a rumour emerged on April 3 that Coinbase was going to relist XRP. The rumour mill began to churn when a Twitter user going by the name Krish xrp hinted that Coinbase could be readying to relist XRP. Krish xrp noted that backend work was already underway at Coinbase, while attaching a screenshot of Coinbase back-office API with XRP coding on it.

While there has not been any confirmation from Coinbase yet, this rumour sparked an explosion in XRP price, with it surging from pre-rumour level of around $0.60, to a high of $1.12, its highest level in 3 years, within the first 48 hours.

On top of this, on the discovery hearing on April 6, Ripple received another shot in the arm when the court approved Ripple’s request to gain access to SEC Documents on BTC and ETH, something that will be very helpful to Ripple for fighting its case.

Already, someone found something advantageous for Ripple and posted it on Twitter.

These developments caused investors to FOMO back into XRP, creating a mad rush to buy as many investors have already sold XRP when news of the lawsuit broke in December last year. Now that Ripple seems to have the upper hand, investors are back in droves hoping to purchase XRP before the ruling.

On the technical front, this rush to buy caused the price of XRP to over-extend and a undergo a healthy retracement between $0.90 and $1.00, which is a crucial support area for XRP to build a new base in order to support a move higher. The price of XRP also formed a “Golden Cross” mid-March, a sign that the price of XRP is going on a strong uptrend. Price subsequently broke out of a cup-and -handle bullish formation on the weekly chart, with the upthrust being confirmed by a triangle breakout on the daily chart with a price target of $1.50. With the initial price objective being already hit, price may consolidate a little since it has tripled in a week, however, the chart is still looking bullish for XRP and there is the possibly that price may swing up parabolically to test its ATH of $3.30. Where it goes after that however, may depend on the outcome of the lawsuit as well as sentiment in the broad crypto markets .

Meanwhile, there is additional information favouring XRP that seems to be overlooked by the market. On March 29, the court granted a group of XRP holders the right to file a motion to intervene in the case against Ripple by April 19. The holders blame the SEC for inflicting monetary losses on them when the XRP price plunged in December. As April 19 draws near, we could be in for exciting times when XRP investors gather to trounce the SEC, which will inevitably cause volatility in XRP’s price to rise again.

Another interesting event that is developing is a petition to drop the SEC lawsuit. Crypto & Policy founder, Thomas Hodge, has started a Change.org petition directed at the SEC chairman nominee, Gary Gensler, asking him to end the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple once he’s confirmed as chairman of the commission. The petition alleges that former SEC chairman, Jay Clayton, and his SEC Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman, for “favouring” BTC and ETH while harming XRP.  While the petition may not necessarily raise the price, it definitely will be able to generate more awareness and hype in the XRP token.

With the rise in price, XRP has moved up to number 4 on the crypto top 10, just behind BNB. Progress in the lawsuit may further send XRP roaring back to the number 3 spot which it used to occupy, wiping the past few months away as just a small hiccup in the bigger scheme of things.

About Kim Chua, PrimeXBT Market Analyst:

Kim Chua is an institutional trading specialist with a track record of success that extends across leading banks including Deutsche Bank, China Merchants Bank, and more. Chua later launched a hedge fund that consistently achieved triple-digit returns for seven years. Chua is also an educator at heart who developed her own proprietary trading curriculum to pass her knowledge down to a new generation of analysts. Kim Chua actively follows both traditional and cryptocurrency markets closely and is eager to find future investment and trading opportunities as the two vastly different asset classes begin to converge.

PrimeXBT Lead Analyst Kim Chua: Lawsuit Upper Hand Sends XRP Price Rising

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Return of the oracles: Band Protocol, API3 and DIA price soar to new highs

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Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have been the talk of the town over the past few months, but as the start of the second quarter gets underway for the global financial markets, it possible that traders may start looking for opportunities in other parts of the crypto market.

Oracle projects are one sub-sector that has been making moves over the past few weeks as some traders shift their focus away from NFTs.

BAND/USDT vs. API3/USDT vs. DIA/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

As shown above, Band Protocol (BAND), API3 and DIA are three oracle projects that have entered sharp rallies over the past week.

BAND/USDT

Band Protocol is a cross-chain data oracle platform that operates on the Cosmos (ATOM) network. The protocol aggregates real-world data and APIs and supplies the data to on-chain applications and smart contracts in order to facilitate the exchange of information between on-chain and off-chain data sources.

Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 13 BAND price surged by nearly 300% then in March the token traded in a sideways range between $11 and $15.30.

BAND/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Activity for protocol began to pick back up on March 26 after it was revealed that the team was instrumental in bringing VeChain (VET) to Linear Finance (LINA). The developers also announced that they would continue to assist in bringing new assets to the LINA ecosystem.

The subsequent revelation that BAND had partnered with SCB 10X, one of the biggest financial institutions in Thailand, brought further momentum to the token and pushed it to a high of $17.78 on April 1, an increase of 60% over the past week.

API3/USDT

API3 is a DAO-governed oracle project focused on the creation of fully decentralized, blockchain-native APIs (dAPI) that aggregate data from first-party oracles.

Price action for the token began to pick up on March 1 and continued to build throughout the month as the protocol announced multiple new partnerships including collaborations with Option Room, Royale Finance (ROYA), MobiFi and Bridge Mutual (BMI).

API3/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Since hitting a swing low at $3.28 on Feb. 28, the price of API3 has climbed 220% to establish a new high of $10.50 on April 1.

DIA/USDT

DIA is an open-source data and oracle platform for the DeFi ecosystem that enables market participants to source, supply and share trusted data. Essentially, the protocol provides a reliable and verifiable bridge between off-chain data from various sources and on-chain smart contracts that can be used to build a variety of financial DApps.

The platform brings data analysts, data providers and data users together to create a space for open financial information in a smart contract ecosystem that is like the Wikipedia of financial data.

DIA/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

After dropping to a low of $1.87 on Feb. 28, DIA revealed multiple partnerships in March, including an integration with the Polkadot (DOT) parachain Moonbeam. This resulted in the price of DIA climbing 150% to a high of $4.79 on April 1.

Another potential catalyst for the current rally came shortly after the launch of the DIA Univesity Student network on March 12.

In total, DIA announced partnerships with eight different blockchain projects and companies during the month of March, indicating that the team is serious about its goal to create a cross-network oracle system that provides trusted data for the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Oracles now appear poised to continue the uptrend that began in January as blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies gain additional attention from investors and the business sector.

With the hype behind NFTs beginning to subside, oracle tokens could be the next group to entice investors and break out to new all-time highs.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Return of the oracles: Band Protocol, API3 and DIA price soar to new highs

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MetaMask’s ConsenSys Reveals New “Custom Networks” Layer 2 Solution

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At this point, everyone with their ear to the ground knows of Ethereum’s massive problem when it comes to transaction fees on the Layer 1 network, not to mention the overall congestion in the network traffic. As one would imagine, it’s been a race for the crypto community to pile on the new “Layer 2” solutions in order to try and bypass these rampant fees. ConsenSys stands as the latest figure to recognize and respond to this, coming with a new Custom Networks API for the MetaMask wallet.

Layer 2 Networks Brought To MetaMask

With this new service, developers are capable of recommending an array of chains to their respective users, Layer 2 chains included.

The firm started off its announcement by highlighting the rampant success of Ethereum, which is ironically causing all the problems when it comes to network transactions. ConsenSys highlighted that Ethereum’s fundamentals are stronger than ever, showing that $12 billion in transaction volumes occurred every day, spread out by 1.3 million transactions. Now, however, the firm emphasized the need for off-chain Layer 2 processing.

The Latest Innovations

Metamask can now incorporate any chain as a custom network, the only mandate being that it has the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) enabled. This all can be done through the MetaMask API, where networks can then be added to the menus of the users, all through a simple confirmation process. After that, it’s a matter of ease for any user to switch between these networks, using the usual network switching menus

ConsenSys highlighted that sidechains, as well as Layer 2 networks, can be added, so a user can incorporate everything from xDAI to Arbitrum to their menus.

Nothing’s Pure Good

However, not everything’s all fine and dandy. The firm was quick to issue out a general warning against untrusted networks, advising users to read the documentation regarding setting them up. It’s a sad fact that MetaMask is both one of the most popular user wallets out there and one of the biggest hubs of bad actors and scammers, as well. It’s almost impossible to have the one without the other.

One of the few (immediate) benefits that this recent market crash had enacted, was that the Ethereum network’s gas prices started to settle down. Now, however, with the market in full-scale recovery, it’s clear that these prices are only going to go up. Until ETH 2.0 launches, the only viable option now available is to make use of sidechains.

MetaMask’s ConsenSys Reveals New “Custom Networks” Layer 2 Solution

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How much does it cost to develop a blockchain App in 2020?

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Codezeros

Many businesses have invested in blockchain technology as it has grown enormously over the years. The demand increases many folds when bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are dependent on it. Using this technology, anyone can carry out secure transactions with almost zero transaction fees.

Sensing the impact of cryptocurrency on the global market, many businesses have started accepting payments in Bitcoin. With blockchain development, you can also safely receive or send cryptocurrencies with other wallets. You can find a large number of reliable bitcoin wallet apps like BitPay, Airbitz, Copay, Paper wallet, etc. So, if you want a customized blockchain app for your Initial Coin Offering (ICO) or exchanges, it is necessary to know if it is worth the investment for your business. You should also know if you could afford it or not. So, this article will help you figure out how much blockchain app development will cost you.

Let’s first get started by understanding what all resources you will need:

Developers

The team who is developing the app is the major factor affecting your project as well as the budget. So, make sure that you hire blockchain developers who are skilled in developing the codes. Mostly, these developers charge average or median hourly rates. If you want to invest less, you can also outsource the task as the prices depend on many factors like country, the popularity of the company, skills, and experience of the developers, etc. However, in any case, it is advisable to consult a blockchain development company to get a better idea as to where this technology fits into your business.

Cryptocurrency

The token is a crucial part of the successful blockchain technology. It is possessed by most of the blockchain projects. So, if you are willing to integrate this technology into your business, you need to stand out among the thousands of cryptocurrency by customizing your powerful cryptocurrency.

Firstly, you will need software developers, technology experts, marketing managers, and PR executives to launch your coin in the market. Other crucial things are investors to gain project credibility, consultants to guide your technology, communication channels to engage with customers.

You might also need to promote new cryptocurrency to gain profit. Your blockchain wallet app will be successful by conveying its importance, attracting the customer, showcasing your technology, etc. After strategizing a marketing tactic, you can start creating your blockchain network.

However, if you want to build hybrid blockchain technology, it takes around a month to develop the network with the help of C++, Python, Java, Solidity, etc. The type of technology affects the least at the cost. With different technical factors affecting, you need to have a budget of around $150,000-$200,000 to create a new cryptocurrency.

Crypto Wallet

With cryptocurrency wallet software, you can securely store, send, and receive digital currencies. Did you know that to access most of the cryptocurrencies, you need to use a cryptocurrency wallet? Every application is developed for Android, Web, and iOS platforms as these are the most popular platforms used by users. You can save some of the development prices by using cross-platform technologies like JavaScript and its frameworks.

Moreover, you can work in REST API with client requirements for the web and mobile devices or else build an application that stands alone. You can consult a top blockchain app development company to understand what is best for your business as each approach has its pros and cons.

For everything you plan, you will need a dedicated developers team, a project manager, a business analyst, and a QA engineer. With the help of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, you can build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for a cryptocurrency wallet for around $40,000.

The value changes with the type of coins you add to your wallet application. As you know, the wallet app needs to be fully secure and hack-proof as it is financial software. So, it is crucial to implement advanced security features. Moreover, the security of the wallet, as well as the type of coins supporting it, also plays a part in differentiating the prices.

Conclusion:

However, it is difficult to know the price of these wallet applications but we can get average estimates of the market. The cost of the blockchain development project can be from $5,000 to $200,000, depending upon the supporting platform and application scope. So, you need to consider multiple factors before choosing the right budget for your project. You could define the scope of your wallet, supporting platform, and security needs from the start of the project to get a close estimate of your blockchain application development.

How much does it cost to develop a blockchain App in 2020?

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