Macauley Peterson

“We’re so early,” as the crypto meme goes, but when it comes to the experience of working as a Web3 developer, that’s not necessarily a good thing.



There are multiple challenges facing blockchain-focused teams looking to attract developer talent, sources tell Blockworks. These range from finding funding in a bearish macro environment, to the novel smart contract programming languages and practical considerations such as infrastructure and workflow tools.



Forcing devs to deal with novel workflow issues is a problem with serious consequences — not merely a drain on productivity, but, with money on the line in decentralized finance, major financial losses result when security missteps occur. Just ask <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bridges">cross-chain bridge users</a>.



San Diego, California-based Cubist, which announced the close of its $7 million seed round today, is focusing on the tools software engineers need for multichain and cross-chain development.



The round was led by Polychain Capital, with participation from venture capital and other investors including dao5, Amplify Partners, Polygon, and Axelar.



The company’s initial focus is on chains supporting the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), CEO and co-founder ​​Riad Wahby told Blockworks, noting Ethereum has the most well established developer tooling, but only for the needs of individual developers, not larger more professional developer teams.



Some in the crypto space use the lack of developer familiarity with <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/glossary#solidity-programming-language-ethereum">Solidity</a>, Ethereum’s smart contract language, “as an excuse,” Wahby said.



“I think there is a slice of the developer ecosystem in Web2 that’s basically like Javascript or nothing…but I don’t think that’s actually the problem,” he said, adding, “I think the actual problem is, all the other tooling that goes along with developing serious applications in Web2 is just totally missing.”



Wahby cited continuous integration testing — automating the merging of code changes from multiple contributors into a single software project — as one example where Web3 falls short.



“That’s still nascent technology, whereas in Web2 that’s just table stakes,” he said.



<h2>There are only so many early adopters</h2>



For Web3 startups, the goal should be attracting developers that are not going to be your fanatics, they’re going to be your customers, according to Dean Tribble, CEO of Agoric, a company facilitating building DeFi dapps in JavaScript.



“It’s fine to get fanatics, but there are just a limited number of them, and the goal is to transition to where we get lots and lots of customers from this platform technology.”



There is certainly the programming language aspect, Tribble said, noting that the number of JavaScript developers in the world sits at 15 million and the language&#8217;s strengths in building frameworks of components — composable software from many different contributors.



“Being able to build on the shoulders of others is critical,” he said.



But a more salient problem right now is the overall market downturn. “People don’t communicate what’s the value [proposition] of it, for people solving their own problems…what’s the actual advantage here?”



Among the obstacles: New jargon, new patterns, the security hazards, the perceived fraudulent behavior — “scummy, scammy behavior,” as Tribble put it.



“FTX’s same-old-same-old brokerage fraud of mixing customer funds with investment — the fraud part didn’t have anything to do with Web3, the technology stack and what opportunity is enabled, and yet from 10,000 feet it all looks like a mess,” he said.



Tribble expects to see applications that rely on other chains bringing their value, but acknowledges the potential downside of application dependency, a form of counterparty risk.



One example is Agoric’s own stable token IST, which can be minted from Ethereum-based stablecoins like DAI, USDC and USDT that are brought over to Cosmos via bridges like Axelar and Gravity.



“But if one of those bridges goes down, that impacts our business and reputation even though we do not have control over those bridges.”&nbsp;


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-48723" width="250" height="250" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg?w=500 500w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg?w=150 150w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg?w=257 257w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg?w=261 261w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg?w=219 219w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wahby.jpeg?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">​​Riad Wahby; Source: Cubist.dev</figcaption></figure></div>


That’s among the problems Wahby’s team at Cubist aims to tackle — to improve the ability for developers to safely build and deploy multichain.&nbsp;



“I love the hacker ethic — of course that’s part of the reason why we love to work in Web3 — but I also want somebody who’s going to give me a [Service Level Agreement],” Wahby said.



Cubist is building tools for interchain developers, using the Axelar Virtual Machine (AVM), a new piece of permissionless infrastructure, Axelar’s content lead Galen Moore told Blockworks.



Axelar has a mission to make building interchain-native applications easy, as co-founder Sergey Gorbunov said at the recent <a href="https://interopsummit.com/">Interop Summit</a> in Denver, where he described how developers spend 70-80% of time dealing with the minutiae of software deployment in a multi-chain stack as opposed to being able to focus on building application logic.



“It&#8217;s possible to make Web3 easier — maybe even easier than traditional web development,” Moore said.



Gorbunov sees the development of Ethereum and Cosmos coalescing in the future.



“In some sense now the Cosmos stack I think is becoming more and more glued together with the EVM stack, and I think, as time goes by, these are going to be indistinguishable ecosystems, I believe,” Gorbunov said.



<h2>But first, solving the money problem</h2>



No matter how interested in Web3 potential developers are, teams have to be able to pay them. Griffin Anderson, CEO of Phi Labs, is seeing foundations reneging on promised grants, and projects funded by token issuance are suffering from the bear market downturn in token prices.



“There’s tons of demand to build apps and projects, but I would say the overwhelming 50 or 60 percent are depending on a financial grant in some capacity,” Anderson told Blockworks.



“It’s not like they don’t know Web 2.0 engineers and don’t want to bring their friends into the space, it’s that they can’t pay their salaries, at the end of the day, in this environment,” he said.



A core contributor to Archway, Anderson is working on devising alternative incentive mechanisms to bring more developers into Web3 by leveraging the underlying strengths of the technology.



The basic concept behind Archway, which is also Cosmos-based, is to programmatically reward developers based on the value and users they bring to the network.



Finding applications that excite developers and play to the strengths of Web3 can help, Tribble said. Testing applications across multiple machines, let alone multiple chains, presents novel problems.



“That’s rarely something engineers have experienced in non-crypto…[but] it is one that Web2 engineers actually find enticing — that’s interesting from an engineering point of view — it’s part of the attraction,” he said.



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Solving Web3’s Developer Problem: Web2 Remains Hesitant

Matthew Warholak

<div id="highlights-block_61ddc7f9edcd5" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Because a majority of NFTs are on the Ethereum blockchain, they’re subject to energy and cost structures used on Ethereum, like proof-of-work. This makes minting NFTs costly and energy-inefficient.</li>
 <li>“Immutable software is not a reality&#8230;software is never truly finished. The future is still unwritten, but your history is immutable.&#8221;</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The future’s here, and it’s pronounced “Web3.” In a world becoming increasingly open-sourced, borderless and immutable, forward-thinking individuals and companies are abandoning centralized, siloed “Web2” protocols for more interoperability on the blockchain. With technology evolving faster than ever, the companies and developers who adapt to this new reality can “future-proof” themselves.



<h2>“Blockchain” and “simplicity” are not mutually exclusive</h2>



The team at <a href="https://casper.network/en/network" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Casper</a> has taken the lead on enterprise-grade Web3 development. Working with blockchain databases and proof-of-stake architectures provides a unique perspective that offers curious newcomers entry to this new era of technological innovation.



Here are some of the team’s top strategies to future-proof your career or your business in 2022.



<h3>1. Get Educated by Professionals</h3>



Want to gamble with your developer career? Pigeon-hole yourself into one ecosystem. You might pick a needle out of a haystack — but you might not. For a more pragmatic approach, consider a Web3 ecosystem. And since the blockchains that survive mass adoption will be interoperable, it only makes sense to join a Web3 ecosystem that can interface with other chains.&nbsp;



According to Casper CTO Medha Parlikar: 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“For developers thinking that blockchain isn’t for them, because they don’t want to do DeFi, or don’t want to run nodes, that’s okay. Casper protocol doesn’t require that. You can build software with blockchain the way you’ve always done it. It’s not out of your grasp. Our protocol is a really easy stepping stone for you to get started… Web3 is the future of tech, and WebAssembly is an emerging standard. Recognizing this is key to future-proofing your career.”</blockquote>



With WebAssembly smart contracts running on the blockchain, learning the simple code format bridges your Web2 background to the Web3 standard, making developers not only attractive and employable, but powerful agents of change in an industry that depends on its ability to innovate. And with expertise in a new code standard that’s only been around for a few years, you can add a unique feather to your developer cap.



There’s a common misconception that keeps some aspiring developers at bay: Blockchain’s immutability inhibits flexibility and limits the scope of development. According to Parlikar, that’s a feature, not a bug: “Immutable software is not a reality&#8230;software is never truly finished. The future is still unwritten, but your history is immutable. That’s what we’re protecting. Tech always needs the ability to pivot, and blockchain can protect your history while allowing flexibility. ”



<h3>2. Implement Enterprise-Grade Web3 Development</h3>



Contrary to media headlines, Web3 isn’t just for twenty-somethings who want to trade memecoins and mint animated NFTs. And it’s not just for developers, but entrepreneurs as well. The reason? Smart contracts.&nbsp;



These self-sufficient programs execute outcomes on the blockchain when predetermined conditions are met. They bring slow, manual/analog business processes online in a decentralized way, and offer business owners the flexibility to adapt their business models, adjust for market trends, and more. This new and exciting tech might seem intimidating to some. Web3, after all, is inverting both tech and financial power structures. But that doesn’t mean you need to nuke your existing business model and start from scratch. The blockchain makes your past immutable while allowing you to build for the future.



Parlikar added, “We see blockchain not as something to tear out and replace, but as a value-add for data in your enterprise that will benefit from the security protocols on blockchains.



Businesses need guarantees that they’ll be able to pivot, because the future is unwritten.”



<h3>3. Go Green</h3>



Two of crypto’s biggest stories of 2021 were the rise of NFTs and the environmental impact of crypto. And while Web3 ecosystems are lightyears ahead of their Web2 predecessors, there’s always room for improvement, starting with NFTs themselves.&nbsp;



Since a majority of NFTs are on the Ethereum blockchain, they’re subject to energy and cost structures used on Ethereum, like Proof of Work (PoW). This makes minting NFTs costly and energy-inefficient. While Ethereum’s network-wide “merge” to a more sustainable Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism is anticipated by 2023, that doesn’t help now.&nbsp;



For a more sustainable, longer-term approach, consider “green NFTs,” NFTs minted on less energy-intensive works with smaller economic footprints. Casper has already implemented a PoS system which is faster, cheaper, and more energy-efficient, and can meet all of your blockchain needs in a way that is consistent with a trend toward a net-zero green future.



<h2>The future is decentralized and green</h2>



Future-proofing your career, enterprise-grade development and a greener tech framework: These are just a few ways to prepare for a new Web3 world, according to Casper.



Over the next few years, it will become clear who’s looking forward, and who’s stuck in the past.



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Learn how to start building on Casper or how they can help your business stay ahead of the times at&nbsp; <a href="https://casper.network/en/network" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Casper Network</a>.