How to Create a Cryptocurrency App? Guide on Cryptocurrency App Development

The popularity of cryptocurrencies reaches new heights each year. In fact, they continue to show booming growth on a monthly basis. Such a fast-paced market offers a huge number of opportunities for those that are ready to enter the space with new crypto products. One of the best ways to join is by creating a cryptocurrency mobile application in peak season.

The increasing volume of cryptocurrency trading has a direct impact on the demand for apps in this niche. At this point, creating high-end software is a much more promising and lucrative activity than crypto mining.

In this article, you will learn how to develop a cryptocurrency app, popular types, aspects of design and special features to pay attention to, the cost of the development process, and how to avoid mistakes and choose the right software developer.

Main Types of Cryptocurrency Apps

The first step in every project is the planning stage. Before you start developing a cryptocurrency mobile app, it’s important to figure out what type of app it will be. It can be a cryptocurrency wallet, statistics aggregation platform, cryptocurrency exchange, cryptocurrency trading application or e-commerce application.

Cryptocurrency Wallet

A cryptocurrency wallet is a special software that is used to store, send and receive different types of digital currencies. It tracks two types of keys that are necessary to sign digital transactions with cryptocurrency for distributed ledgers. Public keys identify the user’s account on the Internet, while private keys prove that the wallet holder is the legitimate owner and has the right to both execute and receive payments. These keys are the only means of identification that make them an essential part of any cryptocurrency ecosystem. Aspects like security and anonymity, supported coins, and smooth user experience define the quality of the wallet. The cost of developing a cryptocurrency wallet starts approximately at $90,000.

Statistics Aggregation Platform

The main purpose of any statistics aggregation platform is to collect data. Subsequently, the success of such platforms depends entirely on the quality of the data collected. Still, there are other important features that should be handled. UI and UX designs define the convenience of user interactions when they analyze big data sets. At the same time, the availability of analytical tools, number of filters, integration with other services, a news feed, and other instruments that traders use in their everyday activities should also be prioritized. The cost of creating a cryptocurrency application for data aggregation is about $100,000.

Cryptocurrency Exchange

A cryptocurrency exchange is a platform where traders can buy, sell and swap cryptocurrencies. They can be centralized (CEX), decentralized (DEX), and hybrid (HEX):

• CEX is the most common type of exchange. They are governed by a central entity that manages all the wallets and controls transactions between parties.
• DEX doesn’t have a central body that is in control of all operations. Instead, users have full control of their funds, deals are automated and implemented through direct peer-to-peer transactions on a secure platform without any intermediaries.
• HEX implements the strengths of the other two exchange types. It has the usability and liquidity of CEX and the anonymity and security of DEX.

The cost of developing this type of app begins at $100,000.

Cryptocurrency Trading Application

Cryptocurrency trading applications can fulfill different functions and operate as exchanges or peer-to-peer trading platforms. But before making this cryptocurrency app, you should know that the development will be long and expensive as the app itself is the interface that has to be built on a corresponding backend. Traders usually need many specific features like a large number of trading pairs, the safety and reliability of transactions, etc. Development costs of trading applications vary widely and depend on the level of personalization.

Ecommerce Application

Many online stores want to be up-to-date and accept cryptocurrency payments. Unfortunately, there is no sustainable algorithm yet that will offer this opportunity to the mass market. As a result, most transactions are processed manually. Still, there are a few processes that can be automated: QR code generation for faster transactions and pricing optimization since cryptocurrencies are very volatile. The average cost of development for an ecommerce app with basic features is about $10,000.

Steps for Creating a Cryptocurrency Application

The development process of any cryptocurrency application can be divided into the following steps.

Outlining the Goals for the Application

Identifying the main goal of the cryptocurrency app development is what kickstarts the project. At this stage, you have to understand what the target audience needs and think about possible solutions to user problems that might occur and how the app will solve them. Risk assessment and due diligence will determine whether the app will have a high ROI. Start asking questions and looking for answers to choose the most suitable blockchain solution.

Choosing the Platform and Consensus Mechanism

Blockchain platforms allow you to build cryptocurrency apps without having to write the code from the very beginning. The most widely used platforms are Ethereum, Quorum, Solana, and Polkadot.

Here are a few questions for your careful consideration that will help you make the right choice of the platform:

• License: Is it free, paid, or a subscription-based model?
• Popularity: Is the platform popular?
• Community: Is it big enough?
• Activity: How does the platform development look like?
• Type of the network: Is it private or public, online or offline?
• Accessibility: Is it easy to use?

A consensus mechanism is the key element of a blockchain network. Choosing the right mechanism makes it easier to ensure the security of the whole system, which is decentralized and demands transaction confirmation by the users.

Forming the Development Team

The development team consists of people who will create the cryptocurrency app. Its composition depends on the scale and complexity of the project, although the following positions are a must:

• A project manager is the team leader who is responsible for managing the whole development process.
• iOS and Android app developers have to develop two versions of the app for the two most popular mobile operating systems. They are responsible for the technical aspect of the project.
• A backend developer manages the operational logic of the app.
• A quality assurance engineer monitors every stage of the development process and makes sure the design and software meet the client’s requirements.
• UI and UX designers must offer the best user interface (UI) and experience (UX) possible through creating a user-friendly app design.

Developing an MVP

A minimum viable product (MVP) is the version of a blockchain app with simple functionality that will be assessed through alpha and beta testing. MVP is used to understand the value of the future product for users and get their feedback. The MVP release also helps to test the market and its readiness to accept the “raw” application. An MVP offers just enough functionality to give users an opportunity to experience how the product will operate.

Analyzing the Feedback

As we have already stated, an MVP is necessary to attract the users’ feedback. Now is the time to analyze it. Feedback helps developers identify serious problems and offer effective solutions for them in time. The results from this stage become the basis for the further development of a full-fledged application.

UX/UI Design Development

The importance of this stage should not be underestimated – UI and UX designs of existing cryptocurrency apps are usually not of the highest quality. The main reason is that most of the capital is usually invested in cryptography, backend development, and technical aspects. Frontend is often largely neglected, which makes the long-term usability of the app tricky. Ultimately, the app’s popularity among the users is determined by UI and UX. An attractive graphical interface needs to create an emotional bond with the users. Ideally, they should instantly understand how different features of the app work without reading any manuals.

Scaling Up to the Full-Fledged Application

Moving on to the full-fledged application is the final stage of creating a cryptocurrency app. When all the crashes are identified, memory, storage, and performance issues are solved, and all the bugs are fixed, the app can become fully functional and be released to the market.

Main Features to Consider When Making a Cryptocurrency App

A good software product is assessed by its functionality. So, here is the list of essential features that a good cryptocurrency app should include.

Secure Authentication

While being simple, authentication should be strong enough to minimize the possibility of fraud.

API Client

Application Programming Interface (API) is necessary to make the interaction of two unrelated software systems with each other possible through describing the rules of such interaction. API communication requires no manual input and is meant to be a highway for automated data exchange between applications. Having an API is a must if you want to allow third-party integrations with your software.

Currency Exchanging

This feature is necessary to give the users an opportunity to trade cryptocurrency for other assets like digital currency or fiat money.

Transferring/Receiving

Any trading platform is designed as a marketplace where people can transfer and receive cryptocurrency, which is why this feature should be implemented in a way that is easy for any regular user.

Transactional History

Transactional history is necessary to track the performance: exchange rates, coins traded, operation time, etc.

QR Codes

The use of QR codes is necessary to improve the UX of the cryptocurrency app. QR scanners can automate the manual input of public keys and addresses. As a result, coin transfers become more convenient.

Push Notifications

Push notifications are necessary to inform traders of important events.

Cost of Cryptocurrency App Development

The total cost of cryptocurrency app development can hardly be considered affordable. Still, prices fit in a wide range since different clients want different types of apps and have different budgets and different lists of features that must be implemented. Other factors, like the expertise of the development team, necessary security algorithms, approach to UI/UX realization, also matter.

The average market price for the development depends on the microregion and usually starts at $12,000 for a ready white-label exchange in North America (€10,000 for Europe) and $110,000 for a crypto exchange from scratch (€90,000 accordingly). And, of course, there is no upper limit.

Consider Tino Agency Your Trusted Partner

As an app developer located in Houston, we help our clients with a full spectrum of mobile app development services. We deliver high-quality digital solutions with full-stack development and third-party collaborations.

We offer development for both Android and iOS, cross-platform development, the rapid development of mobile apps and additional user flows, full-circle development from strategy to launch, and building architecture for enterprise-level applications. We will help you achieve the most ambitious business goals.

If you ask yourself how to make your own cryptocurrency app and would like to conduct a cost assessment for development, or if you have any idea and would like to discuss it with our experts, reach out through our contact form for a detailed consultation.

You can also check our case portfolio to have a close look at our past projects.

Final Thoughts

In recent years, the popularity of cryptocurrency exchanges has grown tremendously, and this tendency is expected to gain even more pace in the near future. As more and more people enter the space, the number of cryptocurrency apps will increase, too. This all provides great opportunities both for trading beginners and professionals.

Having a well-functioning cryptocurrency app with all the necessary features that runs smoothly on any device and offers top UI and UX can generate a decent return in a relatively short time frame.

If you don’t know how to create a cryptocurrency app, but you’re ready to start, we at Tino Agency are ready to discuss! Since every app is unique, our development team will offer a variety of options to satisfy your needs.

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