Ethereum Assets

In this chapter, you will be introduced to different Ethereum protocol implementations so that you can better understand how the blockchain can be integrated in many different ways. After learning about protocol implementations, we will continue with INFURA, wallets, and decentralized autonomous organizations—also known as DAOs—so that you will learn how to create business networks that live on the blockchain without being limited by centralized governments. We will discuss several block explorers to learn how to examine your transactions so that you can analyze what happens when you upload smart contracts on the blockchain. Finally, you'll learn about some of the important issues regarding blockchain implementation to help you solve common problems that you will most likely face at one point or another.

In this chapter, we'll cover the...

Ethereum protocol implementations

Ethereum is an open source system that can be implemented in different languages to provide people with the option to interact using their preferred tool. Some of those full-node implementations are Geth and Parity. We will explore how they differ and what the best scenario to use them is in this section.

Protocol implementations

As you read in the preceding paragraph, the Ethereum implementations that we will cover are Geth, Parity, Mist, and Embark. Why these four only? It's because they are the most popular implementations, which give you the power to fully execute all the capabilities of the blockchain. Things like mining, making transactions, downloading the entire blockchain, interacting...

INFURA essentials

INFURA is a popular technology for connecting to the blockchain without having to download the several hundred gigabytes that it contains, because it freely provides you with full nodes.

Understanding INFURA

INFURA helps millions of users get connected to the blockchain by providing them with ready-to-use Ethereum instances. It's one of the biggest projects that aims to revolutionize Ethereum's adoption, since everybody is able to connect to Ethereum immediately to process transactions and interact with the blockchain.

It powers popular applications such as MetaMask to make transactions from your browser. That's one of the reasons ICOs became so popular—because people found a simple...

Decentralized autonomous organizations

Decentralized autonomous organizations, also known as DAOs, are some of the best use cases of the blockchain since they're the perfect link between trust and old systems that should be updated for modern times.

Explaining DAOs

A DAO aims to be the main place where businesses make decisions. They are the decentralized version of traditional companies that reach decisions by discussing with stakeholders and key components of each DAO. Simply, they use the trustless nature of the Ethereum blockchain to form a legal company with all of its possibilities.

They rely on smart contracts to provide hardcoded functionalities where users can make decisions and reach agreements with multi-signature...

Miscellanea and concerns

Ethereum is a complex system of tools working together to achieve a grant solution that helps thousands of users make decentralized transactions where they don't have to trust external entities with their private data and abusive rules. That's why it's completely normal to have questions regarding the way those internal sections communicate with one another. Here, we'll provide you with answers to some of the most common questions any user faces during development and use of the blockchain so that you can tie this new knowledge together with a strong foundation.

Understanding Ethereum improvement proposals

Ethereum is a breathing technology that is continuously improving with new...

Creating your own private Ethereum network

At some point or another as a blockchain developer, you'll have to create an Ethereum blockchain with custom properties. This is now more relevant considering that side-chains are starting to emerge with the famous scaling technology plasma.

Setting up a private blockchain on Mac

So, how do we create a custom Ethereum blockchain? These are the instructions for Mac. I've tried them and they should work for you:

1. First, install the Ethereum packet with homebrew by executing the following command:

brew install Ethereum

It will take some time to process, especially if it's your first time executing brew. In my case, it said Updating Homebrew… and after some time...

Choosing a wallet for Ethereum

Ethereum wallets are as diverse as you can imagine. From software wallets, to hardware and even paper wallets, the choice of selecting the best wallet for your needs is increasingly difficult if you don't understand the differences. That's why in this section we'll explore the options when it comes to wallets so that you choose the best one for every project.

Understanding the concept of an Ethereum wallet

It seems intuitive – a wallet is a place where you store your crypto funds – but in reality, wallets are much more complex than they appear. Wallets connect to the Ethereum blockchain to find your latest balance, which is accessible via smart contracts, dApps, or...

Using Etherscan for transactions

Etherscan, just like all block explorers, provides vast amounts of valuable information during your smart contract development journey whenever you need to understand how smart contracts operate on a deeper level. Knowing how to use a block explorer such as Etherscan is a precious skill that's required for any kind of Ethereum developer to be able to debug and understand real-world events in the form of blockchain transactions.

Understanding block explorers

Block explorers are a specific type of application that interacts with the blockchain by searching for specific information that may be relevant to the user. They are the bots of the blockchain that help you understand what is going...

Creating accounts

Accounts are the main components of every Ethereum application. If you want to participate in the network, you need an Ethereum account with your private key and address. There are many ways in which you can create Ethereum accounts, which is why it's good for you to be familiar with the different tools so that you can become proficient in the process of creating accounts: you'll need accounts for all the projects that you'll build.

Creating accounts with MetaMask

MetaMask, as you already know, is one of the most popular Ethereum wallets. It allows you to create unlimited accounts for different Ethereum chains without restrictions, using the same seed word. Here's how to use it for creating...

Summary

In this chapter, you learned how to create Ethereum accounts for different wallets, some of them private, others hosted in exchanges to facilitate the process of acquiring new cryptocurrencies. You've learned the differences between them and how they can be used. You now know that MetaMask is great for interacting with dApps and storing your funds safely, whereas Coinbase is great for trading and exchanging crypto immediately using fiat currencies, among many others.

In the next chapter, you'll learn more about dApps and how to use them at full speed with advanced tips that you can implement right away for creating stronger applications that will scale in the future.