Are you frustrated about determining Flow blockchain and Ethereum for NFT Development? We’ll tell you the key differences between them and give you some valuable advice to smooth the overall NFT development for your requirements.

Flow Blockchain

It is a fast, decentralized blockchain platform that can boost the growth of complete ecosystems of applications, particularly NFTs. The most critical factor in favor of Flow blockchain in the Flow vs. Ethereum comparison is its multi-node architecture. The unique blockchain platform could support the creation of apps with security and composability, which could appeal to billions of users.    

Flow utilizes its native currency, FLOW, as the reserve asset of the network. It also works actually as an exclusive token to facilitate governance, payment of transaction fees, and staking. 

The programming language of Flow blockchain also tilts the stakes in its favor in the comparison between Flow and Ethereum. Cadence offers the functionalities of a resource-oriented programming language equipped with new features applicable to smart contracts. Cadence’s unique features include in-built pre and post-conditions for transactions and functions and capability-based security.

Ethereum

You must know about the fundamental differences when you try to get a firsthand impression of the Flow blockchain vs. Ethereum comparison. Let us start with the discussion on Ethereum before anything else. The second-largest blockchain network, Ethereum, offers a decentralized open-source platform with innovative contract features and is undoubtedly a force to reckon with in the blockchain landscape. The creators of Ethereum needed to introduce a blockchain network with support for a wide range of use cases. 

The exciting fact about Ethereum, an essential aspect of the difference between Flow blockchain and Ethereum is its programming language. Ethereum leverages Solidity as a credible object-oriented advanced programming language for tailoring intelligent contracts. Solidity bears considerable similarities with JavaScript, Python, and C++. In addition, it has been explicitly tailored for Ethereum Virtual Machine.    

While Bitcoin arrived as a successful example of the blockchain network, it served only as a peer-to-peer currency exchange. On the contrary, Ethereum helps in the digitization and efficient movement of anything having a value other than the only cryptocurrency. Ethereum offers the benefit of Solidity as its programming language. Presently, Ethereum serves as the preferred platform for different decentralized applications and NFTs. 

To Compare Them Both

Transaction Fees

The comparison between Flow and Ethereum also takes the transaction fees into account. Ethereum users must pay gas as the fees for performing a transaction and ensuring the successful execution of smart contracts. 

The transaction fees on Ethereum depend profoundly on the complexity of the smart contract and load on the network. Users have to pay gas fees in Ether, the own cryptocurrency of Ethereum. 

In the case of Flow, the creators were not happy with the high cost of transaction fees. So, was Flow successful in solving the problem of high transaction fees? The answer to this question is evident in the facility of two distinct fees applicable for the transactions. 

The first fee in the case of Flow blockchain is the cost of creating your account, estimated at 0.001 FLOW. The second fee is a transaction fee which starts at almost 0.000001 FLOW. 

Consensus Mechanism

The topic of consensus mechanism will be one of the top priorities in the Flow vs. Ethereum comparison. Ethereum presently relies on the Proof-of-Work or PoW consensus mechanism, which pits miners in a competition for creating new blocks. The miners can solve cryptographic puzzles faster than others, with capabilities for establishing cryptographic connections among blocks. 

Furthermore, Ethereum developers are also planning to shift to the Proof-of-Stake or PoS consensus protocol. With the PoS consensus mechanism, validators would place ETH as stakes for participating in transaction verification. 

While Ethereum plans to introduce PoS, the Flow blockchain is already operating on the PoS consensus algorithm. The consensus algorithm comparison for Flow blockchain vs. Ethereum shows the difference in how participants make profits. PoS encourages participants to reap results from elevating the currency value. 

On the other hand, PoW encourages participants or miners to increase the commission. PoW is also one of the important reasons for scalability issues in Ethereum. So, Flow blockchain comes on top as a winner, especially for creators waiting to launch and capitalize on opportunities with NFT projects.

Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are also one of the pointers for Flow vs. Ethereum comparison. Generally, Ethereum is associated with smart contracts directly. It is practically the top platform preferred for creating smart contracts. Any transaction over the smart contract is documented on the blockchain and thus becomes immutable. 

On the one hand, some developers perceive the need for modifications in the intelligent contract after deployment in the event of identification of any issues. Flow helps release intelligent contracts in a ‘beta state’ on its mainnet. Therefore, the original author of the smart contract could easily update the code in a stepwise process. 

On the other hand, users could opt to use the code just as it is at a specific instance. Users could also wait for the completion of the legend before putting their trust in the code. Therefore, it is clear that Flow blockchain offers better flexibility in terms of smart contract optimization. 

Wrapping Up

The Flow blockchain vs. Ethereum debate discussion shows that both have suitable capabilities for various applications. However, the features of both of them have pros and cons, especially NFT development. While Ethereum is working on new solutions for scalability with sharding as the preferred option now, Flow blockchain offers scalability effortlessly with a multi-node architecture. 

Furthermore, Ethereum imposes high transaction costs and does not allow modifications in smart contracts, while Flow blockchain does the opposite. Flow blockchain takes the top edge in some facets in a head-to-head comparison. 

Navigating in a rapidly evolving world like ours is today requires one to be well aware of the top tech trends and skills that are driving the transformation in 2021 and creating the future. 

Doing this is extremely important although not easy. So, we’ve decided to do a thorough market analysis and compile our own list of the top ten tech skills in demand right now – for you to stay armed and informed in 2021. 

Time is money, so without taking any more of your time, here’s a brief overview of the 10 most relevant tech vectors to watch, learn, and invest in this year, according to MintyMint: 

*Listed in a free order 

AI & Machine Learning 

One of the main tech trends dominating modern history is automation, which is permeating every sphere of our lives. And algorithms play a key role in stepping it up even more and taking digitization to the next level. 

From healthcare and transportation to commerce, management, and leisure – digital intelligence is changing the world we live in. Robots are taking on more and more workloads. Self-driving cars are out in the streets, and virtual assistants are becoming increasingly human-like. Such a transformation requires a ton of AI/ML experts, making it this year’s #1 emerging job, according to LinkedIn’s annual report.  

As for the key skills in the arsenal of AI/ML specialists, we’re talking about a mixture of TensorFlow, Python, Java, R, and Natural Language Processing. 

Data Science

Data science is closely related and often an integral part of AI/ML tech. That said, the field is rather independent and big enough to give it a separate place on our list.  

In this regard, last year has shown how big data can affect global processes and help the international community respond to the challenges of the modern world by providing effective solutions. 

At that, businesses remain the main consumers of data science services. The demand for data specialists in the corporate sector has grown by almost a third since 2018, according to refnitiv.com.  

And given that next-gen tech relies heavily on effective data collection, processing, and analysis – it’s clear that data science in all forms is a crucial part of technological progress. 

Speaking of which…

IoT

Effective data collection and implementation of digital intelligence technologies require leveraging a mesh of connected smart devices woven into our daily activities on many levels. 

In this regard, the Internet of Things remains a highly relevant topic when it comes to technology and its development. 

At that, the focus of IoT development is shifting from nice-to-haves towards a more utilitarian range of application across essential spheres of human activity. We see increased integration of smart warehouses and automated tracking & shipping in transportation. Remote monitoring and care, wearables, and contact-tracing solutions are changing the game in the healthcare sector. And various production industries are adopting more and more smart factory equipment and machinery on site.   

As for raw numbers, the world’s IoT market is expected to surpass a $520 billion mark by the end of 2021, with an estimated 27 billion connected devices mesh – about 3.5 devices per person globally, according to a Cisco’s paper. 

Cloud computing

Naturally, all of the complex calculations associated with the above-mentioned processes require immense computing power to be processed. This brings us to another one of the top tech skills in 2021 – cloud computing.

Revolutionizing computer resource usage, cloud tech is gaining huge momentum due to the sheer convenience and unmatched performance it offers. 

Speaking about which, we have to mention AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. The three largest cloud service providers on the market today, and yet another major force of the tech progress in 2021.

Just to give you some perspective, over 90% of all public companies in the world are using virtual tech, with 94% of all workloads being performed in the cloud this year, according to a HostingTribunal’s assessment.    

You do the math…

Cybersecurity

Now, operating that much of (often sensible) data in a place without physical barriers requires a decent level of security to protect the service consumers. The more information is stored and accessed online, the more vulnerable it becomes to all sorts of tampering and fraud. 

I this regard, after slightly shrinking in 2019/2020, global cybersecurity spendings have bounced back during the pandemic. And the market is not looking to slow down in the nearest future, according to threatpost.com’s conclusions. 

Therefore, it is safe to conclude that cybersecurity specialists are going to be in high demand throughout 2021. 

As for the top cybersecurity sub-niches, we’re seeing areas like authentication, cloud data protection, and application monitoring gain extra attention.    

Blockchain 

Speaking about secure digital structures…

While closely tied to safety online, Blockchain deserves a place of its own in the chart. That is, of course, because of the cryptocurrency boom that is happening right now. 

Although blockchain is not young, we can watch an actual crypto-revolution unfold right in front of our eyes. Like that, some of the leading international tech giants are beginning to invest in the technology, skyrocketing its value. 

With the price of Bitcoin soaring to quite shocking figures, the news about more and more businesses opening their doors to crypto operations leaves no doubt that blockchain experts will dominate the tech market’s talent demand in the nearest future.   

Mobile Development

On the consumer’s level, all of the above only makes sense when integrated with the one digital platform dominating user time and attention – mobile devices. 

With annual mobile app downloads estimated to reach $258 billion by 2022 (almost 50% growth in a 5-year time), the demand for mobile developers is one of the highest across the entire IT development spectrum, according to StackOverflow.  

Moreso, given the 5+ billion pool of unique smartphone users globally – mobile development will remain relevant in the foreseeable future. 

As for the niche technologies, cross-platform development tools (like React Native) are harnessing the highest $ per line of code. 

AR/VR

Looking at future tech and innovation, we must notice AR/VR as an essential means of bringing about the new realm. 

Last year’s health crisis has been a major outer force pushing tech transformation along the “all-remote” paradigm. This resulted in a genuine AR boom as its global market size exceeded $15 billion, according to marketsandmarkets.com data. 

Covid-related limitations have made consumer-centric industries look for virtual opportunities in communication, leisure, shopping, traveling, etc. – revising the traditional ways of conducting daily activities. 

That said, we’re seeing many less casual VR initiatives in the healthcare sector. Here, using augmented reality has already shown great results in staff training, surgery, general treatment, pediatrics, and many more niches. 

DevOps

Optimizing the development processes ensures successful implementation of nearly all of the other technologies on the list. Therefore, DevOps is going to continue to be highly relevant in 2021.  

In this regard, there is increased attention towards Infrastructure Automation, Application Release Orchestration, Application Performance Monitoring, and Cloud Management Platforms, along with a major focus on agility and adaptation to irregular objectives.   

Python

Last but not least on our chart, is today’s most in-demand coding language on the market – Python. 

The official AI/ML software backbone and probably the best choice for any data-related applications, it is definitely an essential skill to have in the arsenal in 2021.   

Now, it is true that JavaScript is almost as popular a coding language as Python, and is worth mentioning too. Nevertheless, the ratio of Python-based projects to the amount of talent available makes it a definite leader in the niche. 

There you have it – the 10 top tech skills in demand in 2021, according to MintyMint. 

Hope you enjoyed the article. Feel free to contact our team for any questions regarding software development or current tech trends. And most importantly – stay tuned in for new updates!  

Blockchain has been a hot topic in recent years, and while the hype is somewhat decreasing, the technology is actually conquering not only the financial industry, but also the markets of education, trade, business, and many more. 

What exactly is Blockchain? What is its future? And why is it important for the ever-growing infosphere? 

Let’s have a closer look at the technology to find it all out! 

What is blockchain technology and how does it work?

At the core of it, Blockchain is a shared database. Wikipedia defines Blockchain as a “distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties in a verifiable and permanent way”. In simple terms, the system represents a chain of data blocks, each containing encrypted information about the other blocks to ensure coherency. 

Okay, maybe “simple terms” don’t quite apply here.

To better understand the notion, it is helpful to look at its application using a real-world example. Something like a kids’ game…

The main idea behind blockchain

Perhaps some will recognize this game from way back.

It’s simple – participants repeat a given message to one another in a whisper, going from first to last one in a row. Now, you know how people and especially kids are… They get distracted, muffle words, play around, and so on. So usually you get a distorted message after a round or two into the game, and that’s the whole fun.

Now, replace participants with people on the Internet who have slightly more important information to share. Something like bank account data, or business contract details, or a money exchange operation – something that has to be 100% accurate. Just like in the game, someone may accidentally or deliberately interfere with the transfer of information and cause damage.

This is exactly where blockchain comes in handy. It serves as a cheat sheet for the participants, so they can check with the “true” information whenever a message is transferred. Like that, they will never fool or get fooled during the game.   

Of course, the process is much more complex than a paper prompt with real data operations, but the idea behind it is quite the same. 

History of blockchain technology

While the idea of a distributed database appeared back in the 90s, the technology only took shape as late as 2008, when Satoshi Nakamoto developed a transaction ledger for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. 

Bitcoin soon blew up and became a global thing, giving way to other cryptocurrencies as well. But the blockchain technology proceeded to expand beyond the notion of e-currencies – becoming the people’s choice wherever multiple parties share sensitive information. 

How does blockchain work technically

In a blockchain system, data is stored in blocks attributed to participants of the chain (nodes).

The effectiveness of such a database model relies on three pillars of security. 

Those are: 

1. Hashing 

Each block in a blockchain consists of three essential components:  

• The block’s data – the information a block carries. 
• The block’s hash – essentially a recorded version of the block’s data encrypted into a unique code number. 
• The previous block’s hash – a hash number of the previous block.

So, this is how blockchain works:

In a traditional data system, where information is stored in one place, it’s relatively easy to temper by accessing its single point of failure.

In a chain of blocks, on the other hand, information is equally divided among the participants, so tempering with it would require hacking most, if not all the nodes.

This is called the consensus protocol – a collective verification of the chain’s elements, and it is ensured by the hash and the previous block’s hash numbers within every block (see picture below).

In practice, whenever block A is changed it receives a new hash value, which then has to be “approved” by changing block B’s previous block’s hash value accordingly, which will effectively change its own hash value. It then has to be approved by Block C’s previous block hash… and so on.

Like that, the initial operation will only be authorized when all participants acknowledge it and adjust their records accordingly. Otherwise, any change within the chain invalidates it due to not matching hash value sequences.

It’s like playing a game where everyone keeps a scorecard to check the true results.

So, in order to successfully modify a block in a blockchain, all nodes have to confirm the new hash number of that block, effectively creating a “new” chain. More so, in order to temper with a single block, one would have to alter over 50% of them all.

However…     

2. Proof of work

Surprisingly enough, modern computers are technically capable to do that, which is why Blockchain technology utilizes so-called proof of work. 

Proof of work is a mechanism that slows down the creation of new blocks. It is a calculation that needs to be executed before a new block is established or edited. For cryptocurrencies, it usually takes up to 10 minutes to fulfill. Paired with hashing, this makes tampering with blocks within a blockchain virtually impossible. 

More so, there is another way the technology achieves its Troyan-like wall of security.   

3. Data distribution 

In a blockchain-based database, each node represents a link of the chain without which the entirety of it falls apart – just like an actual chain. Each node stores a copy of the blockchain, protected by a combination of public and private cryptography keys. 

Like that, instead of being held centrally, Blockchain data is stored across the network. So, it has neither centralized vulnerabilities nor central points of failure. Since there are no “main” copies of the blockchain with all users granted equal “trust” within the network – there is nothing hackers can actually target to compromise the system. It’s like fighting a myriad of shadows that cast one another. 

All of this makes a blockchain virtually incorruptible. 

Types of Blockchain

As with any technology out there, there are several types of blockchain each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Those are: 

– Public blockchain

A public blockchain is completely free to access. This means that anyone with an Internet connection can join in and become a validator to execute the consensus protocol. 

This does not mean that participants have access to each other’s block data, which is well protected by private crypto keys. This just means that multiple people ensure a proper hash sequence to grant the chain’s coherence. 

– Private blockchain

Private blockchains (also called peer-to-peer databases) are held on secluded bases and require permission to be accessed. Therefore, you need an invitation from the admin to join in and participate. 

While widely applied, private blockchains are generally less secure and are not as “invincible” as public ones. This is because there are admins with advanced rights over the chain, which means a potential centralized point of vulnerability. Nevertheless, private blockchains are a quite popular solution these days. 

– Hybrid blockchain

Hybrid blockchains represent a particular combination of public and private chains, depending on which of the methods applies to which parts of the system architecture. 

A hybrid approach provides the owners of a chain with some sort of control over the network while maintaining the security level close to that provided by a fully public blockchain. 

– Sidechain

A sidechain is essentially a “backup” version of a blockchain that runs in parallel on the main system and stores the same data while remaining independent by using an individual consensus protocol.

This is virtually another level of security on top of the already secure blockchain system.  

Blockchain real-life use cases

Now that you have a general understanding of what Blockchain is and how it operates, let’s look into where the technology can actually be applied. 

Cryptocurrency exchange

One of the primary examples of blockchain application in real life is cryptocurrency – a digital currency that uses cryptography to secure online transactions.

Cryptocurrency can be used to buy and sell goods just like US dollars or Euro and are rather reliable, although extremely volatile due to no price regulations.

Some of the most used cryptocurrencies are Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrencies have been the pioneer when it comes to blockchain-based monetary operations, paving the way for other financial systems to follow. That said, cryptocurrencies represent only a part of the blockchain’s potential in the niche.  

Dapps and smart contracts

Smart contracts are another point of blockchain’s application. 

Chris DeRose describes smart contracts as “self-automated computer programs that can carry out the terms of any contract. Financial security held in escrow by a network that is routed to recipients based on future events, and computer code.”  

Businesses can use smart contracts to go around regulations and lower the costs of financial operations while maintaining rigid security. This may be useful wherever multiple parties fulfill legal operations, including document turnover, trade, B2C and B2B services, goods supply, commodities renting, social networking… you name it. 

NFT marketplaces

Another type of phenomenon relying on the blockchain is NFT (non-fungible token) – a digital asset that represents ownership of physical or digital items. It can be art, music, real estate, or a fantasy football card altogether.

NFT’s blockchain nature makes it unique, reliable, and virtually irreplicable, ensuring the authenticity of ownership rights.

Other niches

 Other areas of blockchain application include:

• Bank-less money transfers
• Medical recordkeeping
• Royalties tracking
• Digital identity security
• Anti-money laundering tracking system
• Supply chain and logistics monitoring
• Digital voting

The future of blockchain technology

While the technology is still developing and is not as dominant as one would wish for, BlockChain definitely has a huge potential to grow. 

The combination of simplicity, security, and universal applicability of blockchain makes it a true gem for tasks and projects across all major industries and niches of our digital activity. 

Starting from cryptocurrencies, Blockchain is slowly but surely conquering the preference of businesses around the world. And although a relatively young technology, it seems to be staying around for a long time, if not forever.    

Have questions about Blockchain and whether your business needs it? Leave us a note and we’ll reach back to you!