Smart contract technology seeks to redefine the way transactions and agreements are being carried out in the digital space, and with technology comes a hierarchy. Find out the platforms leading the lines in smart contracts development and use.
The essence of technology is to solve problems. Arduous tasks that may be sometimes too complex or risky for a human to carry out, technology is designed to eliminate those problems.
The smart contract is one of those technologies. It is a structure put in place that ensures privacy and certifies agreements all the while eliminating the risk of fraud between both parties without secondary influence.
These applications prove very resourceful on the blockchain, they simplify the trade between both parties and reduce the cost required for traditional contracts.
These programs come with differences in efficiency and use as they are made by various companies.
What is a smart contract?
A smart contract is a digital version of a written contract but better. They are blockchain programs that run when certain conditions are met. These applications help retain the anonymity of both parties in an agreement and certify the credibility of the contract all without the need of a middleman.
These contracts let parties know immediately what the outcome of the contract is and proceeds to execute further actions when all conditions have been met.
Origin of Smart contracts
The idea of the smart contract was proposed by U.S citizen Nick Szabo in the 1990s, a forerunner of modern science. He defined it as a “set of promises” these promises come with prerequisites that need to be fulfilled before an activity takes place.
How does a smart contract work?
Smart contracts are mostly used in Crypto transactions They are built on software like solidify and then imprinted on the blockchain. The rules that govern smart contracts go by If…when..then statements.
These statements set predetermined requirements that once met will validate a certain action i.e validation of a transaction.
The requirements and stipulations for validating an action can be altered as much as possible to suit both parties’ needs but once the certain action is carried out it cannot be reversed and can only be viewed by those given permission.
Uses of smart contracts
A few areas where smart contracts could be applied are:
- International trade
- NFT and Gaming
- Real Estate
International trade
Transactions that would usually take days or weeks to be carried out would happen much quicker and effectively using a smart contract. Trading becomes simplified and not as hard as it would when using regular transaction methods.
NFT and Gaming
Smart contracts have been revolutionary in the gaming sector where NFT and gaming work hand to hand as in gaming blockchain runs with non-fungible tokens, In the past gamers were required to make use of fiat money to purchase in-game assets, this resulted in a one-directional flow of money for value.
Smart contracts help the gaming industry to achieve more, making use of the technology users can safely save their purchases, share them with other gamers or transfer those assets to another game that supports that function.
Real Estate
Smart contracts are gradually gaining headway in this sector, and their progress is greatly welcomed by many, The use of smart contracts in real estate seeks to tokenize real estate, which would mean efficient and safe processing of transactions, reduce or remove the cost for fees like broker fees, title transfers and so on.
Smart contracts’ greatest resourcefulness would be eliminating the need for an intermediate in real estate operations.
What are smart contract platforms?
Smart contract platforms can be considered the house of smart contracts.
These platforms offer services that allow developers to program, test, host, and deploy smart contracts. They set the base for building smart contracts on the blockchain, and smart contract platforms verify and set these contracts to work.
They also monitor and execute changes to the smart contract based on the input received. Once conditions are met they give the go-ahead to the contract to carry out the resulting output from the set of rules in place.
These platforms are designed with tools that assist developers in creating smart contracts and help monitor and regulate the flow of input and output of the contract.
Features of a smart contract platform
There are a few basic characteristics every smart contract platform should have:
- Absence of intermediaries
- Global accessibility
- Supports crypto applications
- Smart contract supervision
- Near real-time execution
Absence of intermediaries: With a smart contract platform, there should be no need for a middleman to control or verify an agreement between two parties, this is why smart contracts are highly effective as they waste little to no time in certifying and recording various activities.
Global accessibility: Users from all around the world should be able to make use of these platforms smoothly without delay.
Support crypto applications: Being the basis for the majority of its uses, most (if not all) platforms should be able to work hand in hand with crypto programs to take and manipulate data from the transactions of those applications.
Smart contract supervision: A smart contract platform must be able to keep its digital programs in check by monitoring activities to ensure there is no error in transit.
Near real-time execution: The speed at which smart contracts should operate should be close to real-time, this ensures the elimination of delay in operation.
Best smart contract platforms ranked
Here is a list of the best smart contract platforms for 2022, these are the platforms that are rated for their amazing user interface, ease of use, and carrying out their functions effectively. They are:
- Ethereum
- Hyperledger Fabric
- Tezos
- Stellar
- EOS
1. Ethereum
There is no debate that Ethereum tops the list, the company that developed the famous token has its own smart contract platform that’s easily the best around.
Offering a free setup (payments are made on transactions) that runs using their token standard, the Ethereum smart contract gives developers easy-to-understand instructions on how to make smart contracts in their Solidify programming language, and materials to assist developers are found easily accessible over the internet due to it being the leading smart contract brand, though problems like congested networks or hackers plague the Ethereum it still remains the best platform to use for many developers.
2. Hyperledger Fabric
The Linux Foundation started its smart contract platform a bit later in the same year as Ethereum and only comes second as a contender. It possesses a unique feature that makes the participants’ identities known and requires verification, this is very useful when dealing with particularly sensitive data.
The platform allows the creation of secret channels, to filter who sees what and allows developers to code in various languages. One might call its only disadvantages the absence of a token system and complicated architecture.
3. Tezos
Tezos is one of the newer models of platforms that seek to overthrow older models.
The platform is designed to remove the problem of protocol splits, which allows for easy alteration of protocols once approval has been given, the platform works on the less energy-intensive proof of stake and boasts security simplicity but is liable to the hacking of contracts.
4. Stellar
Albeit one of the earliest platforms, it is one of the most ideal smart contracts to use when dealing with international transactions, it is very useful in creating and automating simple web3 applications but falls short with complicated ones, it is a cheaper alternative to Ethereum and relatively simple to use.
5. EOS
EOS boasts efficiency in carrying out large amounts of transactions with extremely low transaction fees. Created on C++, EOS can execute an astonishing amount of transactions within seconds using a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) format and a simple-to-use style, where the problem with EOS lies in the problem of its centralization from where it draws its fast processing speed from, this gives its company power over data flowing through their networks.
Conclusion
Smart contracts embody the notion of a secure and trustworthy transaction without foul play that rarely requires any third party to approve this agreement. With quick responsiveness and reliability, these top apps ensure their users and developers can rest easy when going about their activities in the digital space.