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Blockchain Basics

Blockchain Basics

Beginner

Start where you’re comfortable! Learn how blockchains work, smart contracts, and how to sign your first transaction. Whether you’re new or are a seasoned developer, there’s something here for you.

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500+ users have taken this course.

Course Details

3hrs
20 lessons
1 projects
3+ languages

Last updated on July 16, 2024

Solidity Developer

Blockchain Basics

1. Welcome to Updraft!
Duration: 6min Welcome to the course!
2. Best Practices
Duration: 9min Best practices to follow!
3. Meet The Instructors
Duration: 1min Meet the lead instructors at Cyfrin: Patrick Collins and Ciara Nightingale!
4. zkSync Sponsorship
Duration: 3min Thanks to zkSync for being the lead sponsor of Updraft <3.
5. What is a blockchain?
Duration: 11min Introduction to blockchain technology, its evolution from Bitcoin to Ethereum, and the significance of smart contracts.
6. The purpose of smart contracts
Duration: 14min Exploration of the purpose of smart contracts, their advantages over traditional agreements, and their impact on various industries.
7. Quick Recap
Duration: 6min Let us recap what we have learned so far.
8. Current smart contract landscape
Duration: 7min Overview of the current landscape of smart contracts, their features like decentralization, transparency, and applications in different fields.
9. Setup your wallet - making your first transaction
Duration: 20min Guidance on setting up a Metamask wallet, understanding its interface, and the significance of secret recovery phrases in Ethereum transactions.
10. Introduction to gas
Duration: 10min Introduction to the concept of 'gas' in Ethereum, its role in transactions, and the mechanics of calculating transaction fees.
11. How do blockchains work
Duration: 18min Detailed explanation of the working of blockchains, the importance of hash functions, and the concept of blockchain immutability.
12. Signing transactions
Duration: 10min In-depth look at the process of signing blockchain transactions, the role of private and public keys, and their significance in maintaining security.
13. Gas in depth
Duration: 10min Further exploration into the concept of 'gas' in blockchain transactions, including gas limits, transaction fees, and Ethereum's EIP 1559.
14. Blockchain Overview
Duration: 19min Comprehensive overview of fundamental blockchain concepts including cryptography, node operations, consensus protocols, and scaling solutions.
15. L1s L2s And Rollups
Duration: 9min Everything you need to know about layer 1s, layer 2s, optimistic rollups and zero-knowledge rollups.
16. Centralized Sequencers
Duration: 1min Why centralized sequencers can be problematic.
17. Rollup Stages
Duration: 8min The stages of a rollup as defined by L2 Beat.
18. Making Your First Transaction On zkSync
Duration: 12min Add a chain to MetaMask and learn how to use a bridge on zkSync to bridge funds from Sepolia to zkSync Sepolia.
19. Why zkSync Is Our Recommended Chain
Duration: 4min All the reasons why zkSync is awesome!
20. Congratulations
Duration: 2min Celebratory conclusion of the blockchain basics series, highlighting the journey from theoretical understanding to practical application.

Course Overview

What you'll learn

Blockchain fundamentals
Introduction to smart contract gas
Introduction to wallets
Transaction signatures
Smart contracts
Advanced gas concepts

Course Description

Learn the fundamentals of blockchain, DeFi, and smart contracts, then sign your first transaction. Whether you’re a new or a seasoned developer, there’s something here for you.

This is the popular course that introduced 100,000s of web3 developers to the web3 world. Considered to be the most hands-on and complete introduction to blockchain technologies and smart contracts available. Whether you have never programmed before or are an engineer willing to move to web3 - this course is for you!

With over 3 hours of videos and written content, this course gives you the foundational skills needed to move into more advanced smart contract development and security concepts on Cyfrin Updraft.

Even if you have zero programming experience, this course is the first step to take on your blockchain journey - here’s why:

  • The world’s leading solidity smart contract developers and educators in web3 teach the course.
  • Continuously updated to teach you the latest tools and technologies used at large companies and protocols.
  • The curriculum was developed, and updated over 2 years, with comprehensive student testing, feedback, and reviews.
  • We've onboarded over 200,000 students into blockchain and DeFi, and many have changed their lives by becoming professional web3 developers or joining industry-leading companies.
  • The course is constantly updated to reflect the latest industry standards.

We'll take you step-by-step through engaging video tutorials and teach you everything you need to know to succeed as a Solidity developer.

Learn how to use the Blockchain and interact with smart contracts through real-world examples, set up your wallet, learn what gas is, sign your first transaction, test your smart contracts, create a front-end to connect your wallet, and interact with them.

This course will teach you Blockchain fundamentals in a practical way; every lecture comes with a full coding screencast and written lesson for you to learn the way it fits you best!

In this course you’ll learn different topics, including:

  • Blockchain fundamentals
  • Introduction to gas
  • Introduction to wallets
  • Transaction signatures
  • Smart contracts
  • Advanced gas

By the end of this course, you will be ready to interact with decentralised applications, understand the fundamentals of blockchain, or go into more advanced web3 development courses.

You will get lifetime access to all the lectures, corresponding resources, and repositories!

What are you waiting for? Learn Blockchain fundamentals and start your web3 journey on Cyfrin Updraft!

Who is this course for?

  • Blockchain users
  • Finance professionals
  • Marketers
  • Software engineers
  • Web3 developers

Potential Careers

Security researcher Web3 developer Smart Contract Engineer Smart Contract Auditor Web3 Developer Relations

Solidity Developer

Current

Solidity Developer path

Blockchain Basics

Blockchain Basics

 Beginner

Start where you’re comfortable! Learn how blockchains work, smart contracts, and how to sign your first transaction. Whether you’re new or are a seasoned developer, there’s something here for you.

Continue course

Solidity Developer path

Solidity Smart Contract Development

Solidity Smart Contract Development

 Beginner

Start here if you’re new to writing smart contracts! Learn Solidity smart contract development from industry-leading experts and kickstart your career as a web3 developer.

Start course

Solidity Developer path

Foundry Fundamentals

Foundry Fundamentals

 Intermediate

Learn advanced web3 development concepts like Chainlink Blockchain oracles, smart contracts testing, spinning up local networks, and industry-leading tools like Foundry Forge and Anvil.

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Solidity Developer path

Advanced Foundry

Advanced Foundry

 Intermediate

Learn smart contract development techniques to write, deploy, test, optimize, and interact with your smart contract using industry-standard tools taught by the top smart contracts engineers in web3

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Solidity Developer path

Smart Contract Security

Smart Contract Security

 Advanced

Start your career as a smart contract security researcher! Learn smart contract auditing and the best practices for writing secure and optimized protocols. Explore fuzzing, invariant testing, and formal verification to identify bugs and protect web3 protocols.

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Solidity Developer path

Assembly and Formal Verification

Assembly and Formal Verification

 Advanced

Learn exactly how the solidity compiler and opcodes work. Write contracts using Assembly and Yul, then learn how to write formal verification tests to guarantee your invariants hold.

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Solidity Developer path

Smart Contract DevOps

Smart Contract DevOps

 Advanced

Following web3 DevOps guidelines and keeping an eye on smart contracts after they're live is key to making protocols and their users, safer. This course teaches you the best practices when dealing with web3 wallets and post-deployment security, teaching you how to keep smart contracts under control, even after they've been launched.

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Meet your instructors

Patrick Collins

Patrick Collins

Founder at Cyfrin

Web3 engineer, educator, and Cyfrin co-founder. Patrick's smart contract development and security courses have helped hundreds of thousands of engineers kickstarting their careers into web3.

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Testimonials

Students Reviews

Read what our students have to say about this course.

If there’s one resource that Web3 developers point to, it’s Cyfrin’s ultimate tutorials. They’re standout resources that have empowered countless developers to learn blockchains, learn Solidity, and dive deep into Web3 development.

Chainlink

Chainlink

Chainlink

We can build systems for Ethereum scaling but without education, it’s all for nothing. Updraft is the first step towards adoption for Web3 education. We can now mint security focused developers at scale!

Tony Olendo

Tony Olendo

Lead Devrel Engineer, Polygon

Cyfrin's course was a cornerstone of my journey into Web3, providing me with the fundamentals and hands-on experience that have been pivotal to my journey in the blockchain space.

Raza

Raza

Lead Developer Relations, Scroll

Cyfrin Updraft videos on smart contract development have been instrumental in my blockchain journey, standing out with their clarity and accessibility. Their readiness to support and engage with learners makes me excited for more of their interactive and insightful content in the Web3 space

Francesco Andreoli

Francesco Andreoli

MetaMask

I took Cyfrin course and I’ve been working as a solutions developer at OpenZeppelin for the last few months. It was by far the most comprehensive resource and the one that really teached me the fundamentals and made me want to switch from web2 to web3

Gustavo Gonzalez

Gustavo Gonzalez

Solutions Engineer, OpenZeppelin

The Cyfrin courses were a game-changer for me. They provided a well-structured and comprehensive introduction to web3 and blockchain development. The knowledge I gained allowed me to transition into a full-time role as a blockchain developer. I can't recommend these courses enough!

Albert Hu

Albert Hu

DeForm Founding Engineer

I took Cyfrin’s courses, and I took them seriously. At least one hour every day, documented the progress, didn’t skip any second. Haven’t found a better web3 course since. Now I’m full-time in web3, working as Senior Developer Advocate at Ceramic Network.

Radek

Radek

Senior Developer Advocate, Ceramic

Cyfrin have been an absolute game-changers in my journey into blockchain. Saying their courses were remarkable, would be an understatement. Thanks to their expert guidance, I gained a deep understanding of blockchain to its roots. I'm forever grateful for their role in helping me get started in web3.

Boidushya

Boidushya

WalletConnect

Cyfrin blockchain and Foundry/AI courses were incredible. I've gained valuable knowledge, grown, empowering myself and others. Thank you, Cyfrin!

Idris

Idris

Developer Relations Engineer, Axelar