Book excerpt: Become an Ethereum Blockchain developer using a blend of concepts and hands-on implementations Key Features Understand the Ethereum Ecosystem and its differences from its rich cousin Bitcoin Explore the Solidity programming language and smart contract optimizations Get a developer’s perspective of Blockchain-as-a-technology with exposure to common challenges faced while building decentralized applications Book Description Ethereum is a public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform featuring smart contract functionality. This book is your one-stop guide to blockchain and Ethereum smart contract development. We start by introducing you to the basics of blockchain. You'll learn about hash functions, Merkle trees, forking, mining, and much more. Then you'll learn about Ethereum and smart contracts, and we'll cover Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) in detail. Next, you'll get acquainted with DApps and DAOs and see how they work. We'll also delve into the mechanisms of advanced smart contracts, taking a practical approach. You'll also learn how to develop your own cryptocurrency from scratch in order to understand the business behind ICO. Further on, you'll get to know the key concepts of the Solidity programming language, enabling you to build decentralized blockchain-based applications. We'll also look at enterprise use cases, where you'll build a decentralized microblogging site. At the end of this book, we discuss blockchain-as-a-service, the dark web marketplace, and various advanced topics so you can get well versed with the blockchain principles and ecosystem. What you will learn Know how to build your own smart contracts and cryptocurrencies Understand the Solidity language Find out about data types, control structure, functions, inheritance, mathematical operations, and much more See the various types of forks and discover how they are related to Ethereum Get to know the various concepts of web3.js and its APIs so you can build client-side apps Build a DAO from scratch and acquire basic knowledge of DApps on Ethercast Be guided through the project so you can optimize EVM for smart contracts Build your own decentralized applications (DApps) by taking a practical approach Who this book is for If you want to know the ins and outs of the Ethereum network and build your own decentralized applications, then this book is what you need! This book is for anyone who is interested in blockchain and wants to become an Ethereum developer. It’s ideal for existing Ethereum developers who want to develop Ethereum using smart contracts. Basic knowledge of cryptography is expected but is not mandatory.