Blockchains are no longer only about cryptocurrencies. Open source blockchain programming platforms offer security and privacy in the development of decentralised applications. Here’s a list of such platforms to choose from.

Blockchain technology is bolstering security, minimising fraud and streamlining processes in various domains including wireless communications, smart cities, smart vehicular networks, finance, healthcare, supply chain, cybersecurity, and government services. The global blockchain market is growing rapidly and is expected to exceed US$ 94 billion by 2027 as per a report from MarketsandMarkets, due to increasing interest in secure, transparent and decentralised services.

Top finance companies like JPMorgan, Visa and PayPal are spending a huge sum on blockchain based payment systems to speed up processing. Government agencies in China, the United States and the European Union are exploring if blockchain can help with digital identity management, tax compliance and secure voting systems. Decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and enterprise blockchain applications are all part of this ecosystem. Tech giants like IBM, Microsoft and Oracle are offering blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) so that companies can deploy blockchain solutions with negligible investment in infrastructure.

Blockchain technology is also being adopted in cybersecurity, allowing organisations to maintain records of transactions, share data securely, and detect fraud to defend themselves from the growing threat of cyber-attacks. The next few decades will see blockchain technology reshaping global digital ecosystems, offering a multitude of secure, transparent and decentralised solutions across many industries.

Blockchain-based decentralised applications (DApps) and their use cases

Blockchain is used in the deployment of DApps to ensure security and privacy. DApp based software applications are designed for execution on distributed peer-to-peer networks rather than being hosted on a centralised server. DApps differ from conventional applications in the sense that they are self-executable, censorship-resistant and utilise smart contracts to carry out pre-defined operations between parties without intermediaries. This technology makes use of blockchain protocols for storing data in a decentralised manner for secured transactions. DApps offer greater transparency, security and user control, making them a vital component of the developing Web3 ecosystem.

Decentralised finance (DeFi)

One of the most popular use cases of DApps is in the realm of decentralised finance (DeFi) as it allows users to utilise peer-to-peer financial services without requiring banks or financial institutions. Uniswap, Aave and MakerDAO are some examples of such platforms that enable trading, lending and borrowing of digital assets without intermediaries like centralised exchanges or traditional banking systems.

These applications run on smart contracts that automate transactions, lowering operational costs and providing a global financial reach to the unbanked population. All transactions are recorded on the blockchain and are thus tamper-proof and auditable, providing transparency.

Supply chain management

Decentralised applications are revolutionising supply chain management by enhancing transparency, traceability and efficiency. Blockchain is already used by companies such as IBM Food Trust and VeChain to monitor the supply chain movement from the manufacturer to the consumer. Using a decentralised ledger to log every step of the supply chain helps businesses prevent fraud, counterfeiting and inefficiencies. In the food industry, for example, blockchain-based supply chain DApps enable consumers to verify the authenticity and source of products, ensuring food safety and ethical sourcing. In pharmaceuticals as well, blockchain is being used to help tackle the challenge of counterfeit drugs as it helps to validate the genuineness of medicines before they are delivered to patients.

Entertainment sector, gaming and NFTs

Blockchain based gaming and NFTs have ushered a seismic renaissance in the gaming industry. DApps are powering video games like Axie Infinity, Decentraland and The Sandbox, allowing players to freely own in-game assets, trade collectibles and monetise their gaming experiences. In contrast to traditional games where virtual items are controlled by centralised companies, blockchain gaming allows players to own digital assets in the form of NFTs. These non-fungible tokens are digital collectible assets tied to a single universe in virtual space where players are able to buy, sell and transfer them between platforms, creating a decentralised gaming economy.

In addition, NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible allow artists, musicians and other content creators to tokenise their works, which guarantees their authenticity.

Decentralised social media and content platforms

Blockchain DApps are solving issues around data privacy, censorship and revenue distribution in the social media and content creation sphere. Social networks like Mastodon, Steemit and Lens Protocol use Web3 technologies and offer users decentralised alternatives to traditional social networks, where they can interact, share content and, potentially, earn rewards without corporate control of their data.

Classical social platforms rely on monetising user data whereas decentralised social media allows users to control their data and content. Similarly, blockchain-powered content platforms (Audius or LBRY) allow musicians, writers and video creators to directly disseminate their work without needing intermediaries, ensuring each participant earns his or her share.

Healthcare and data security

Healthcare systems also benefit from blockchain-based DApps. Medicalchain and BurstIQ are blockchain health platforms that help patients as well as healthcare providers to securely store and share medical records with each other using cryptographic encryption. Using blockchain for healthcare prevents unauthorised access to sensitive information and reduces administrative inefficiencies. Blockchain is also being leveraged by clinical trials and drug supply chains. DApps can also use smart contracts to automate insurance claims and medical billing.

E-governance and voting systems

DApps are used in decentralised governance and voting systems to help prevent election fraud. Online voting solutions such as Voatz and Horizon State, which are built on blockchain technology, reduce the challenges of traditional voting systems. Because votes are recorded on an immutable blockchain ledger, they cannot be altered or tampered with, making people more trusting of the democratic process.

Blockchain based DApps wield the power to revolutionise how organisations operate. Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) make use of decentralised apps to spur community-led decisions. Members can propose and vote on changes in governance without resorting to centralised authorities.

DApps are likely to become more influential in the future as blockchain technology continues its natural evolution and adoption.

Open source platforms for blockchain development

Here are the key programming platforms for blockchain development, using which a range of secured and decentralised applications can be developed and deployed.

Ethereum

https://ethereum.org

Ethereum is an open source blockchain platform and one of the most widely used for developing decentralised apps and smart contracts. While Solidity is its main programming language, it gives developers the ability to write and deploy smart contracts. The decentralised aspect of Ethereum allows for peer-to-peer transactions and distributed apps, which is beneficial for several use cases, from DeFi to NFTs and supply chain solutions.

Hyperledger

https://www.hyperledger.org/

Hyperledger is a collaborative, open source project hosted by the Linux Foundation that develops enterprise-grade blockchain frameworks. It offers a suite of customisable tools and an exhaustive set of business blockchain frameworks and libraries for organisations that want to use blockchain technology for supply chain development, financial services and IoT solutions.

Popular projects of Hyperledger are:

• Hyperledger Fabric: A permissioned blockchain framework intended for enterprise settings.
• Hyperledger Sawtooth: A flexible blockchain architecture designed for building distributed ledgers.
• Hyperledger Indy: A blockchain-based framework for the management of identity.

Polkadot

https://polkadot.com/

Polkadot is a multichain open source blockchain platform that enables different blockchains to interoperate. It aims to build cross-chain decentralised applications (DApps) and address the scalability problems of conventional blockchains. It connects different parachains (independent blockchains) through a relay chain and enables easy communication between them.

Solana

https://solana.com/

Solana is a high-performance open source blockchain designed for decentralised apps and cryptocurrencies. It employs a proprietary, proof-of-history (PoH) consensus which facilitates the execution of tens of thousands of transactions per second on the network. It is used for high-speed, scalable DApps, especially in gaming and finance.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC)

https://www.binance.com

This open source blockchain platform has been developed by Binance for building decentralised applications and digital assets. BSC provides instant compatibility with Ethereum DApps and offers fast block times and low fees. Its DeFi application is widely used for dYdX.

Cardano

https://cardano.org/

Cardano is an open source blockchain platform that focuses on security, scalability, and sustainability. It uses a proof-of-stake consensus algorithm known as Ouroboros and is built to be immensely energy efficient. Cardano provides decentralised smart contracts and DApps, targeting enterprise and government use cases (especially financial).

TRON

https://tron.network/

TRON is an open source blockchain platform mainly focused on creating decentralised content-sharing platforms. It is recognised for its high scalability and throughput capacity, lending itself to be an ideal building-block for decentralised applications around entertainment, gaming and social media. TRON has an architecture that supports high speeds and low transaction fees, which also makes it very scalable.

Corda

https://r3.com/get-corda/

This open source blockchain platform is designed for enterprise use cases, including finance, healthcare and supply chain. It allows companies to interact directly with each other and do so with privacy, security and regulatory compliance. Corda is a permissioned platform that provides a distributed ledger without a native cryptocurrency, unlike other blockchain platforms.

Chainlink

https://chain.link/

Chainlink is an open source decentralised oracle network that facilitates smart contracts with secure access to real-world data, APIs and payment systems. It is also a key tool for secure access to external data sources, off-chain data and APIs, making it an important platform for the development of decentralised finance (DeFi) applications and DApps requiring real-time data feeds.

NEO

https://neo.org/

This open source blockchain platform helps create a network of decentralised digital assets and smart contracts. NEO also features a unique, multi-language supporting mechanism, with developers able to write their decentralised applications in C#, Python and Java, and place data on top of its blockchain, similar to Ethereum. NEO is designed to support the digitisation of assets and provide automatic contract execution to build a smart economy.

For developers working to build and deploy secure decentralised applications, open source blockchain platforms are critical for security and privacy. These platforms provide comprehensive documentation, community support, and the flexibility to adapt blockchain solutions according to business or technical requirements. From high-performance platforms like Solana and Polkadot to enterprise-grade systems like Hyperledger and Corda, there are platforms for all uses, whether finance, healthcare or content generation. Developers can speed up their blockchain projects by using these open source tools, which at the same time contribute to the larger blockchain ecosystem.