When we think about a cryptocurrency, the first name that comes to our mind is Bitcoin. But that’s not the only one in the market today. Several other alternative cryptocurrencies (known as altcoins) were developed following its remarkable success.
There are over 18,000 cryptocurrencies globally, and new altcoin projects are launched daily. Thanks to the latest advancements in blockchain technology, you can get started with your cryptocurrency right away.
However, the process itself requires advanced technical knowledge, money, resources, and, most importantly, time. The success of your crypto project depends on the level of your dedication and commitment. It might be overwhelming when you have no idea of the time it will take. As a result, it is easy to give up on the project.
In this context, you might be wondering how long it takes to create a cryptocurrency; you have come to the right place on the internet. By the end of this article, you will know everything about creating a cryptocurrency and the time it requires.
Let’s dig in!
How to Create Cryptocurrency?
As mentioned earlier, cryptocurrency is based on blockchain technology that is not controlled by any single entity. You need to create a new blockchain and offer coins and tokens. Voilà!
Sounds easy, right!? Let’s look at a few popular options that you can choose from.
1. Creating Your Blockchain
This is where you start from scratch to create an entirely new blockchain and cryptocurrency. If you want to create something new and innovative instead of replicating the existing works, building your blockchain and native cryptocurrency is the way.
It sounds difficult because writing your code requires a great deal of technical knowledge and skills. You need to have an inside-out understanding of blockchain technology to start your crypto project.
But at the same time, it gives you greater freedom in terms of its design and operation. You can even use your native coins to operate seamlessly in other blockchain networks.
If you still want to proceed with your blockchain and create a cryptocurrency, consider the following points.
Defining a Consensus Mechanism
First, you have to decide which consensus mechanism you want to use for your crypto project. This mechanism defines your blockchain’s operating protocol that helps to guarantee the synchronization of all nodes on the network to verify the transactions.
Proof of work (PoW) and proof of stake (PoS) are the two most commonly used consensus algorithms in the cryptocurrency world. Besides them, there are other mechanisms like delegated PoS, proof of capacity (PoC), proof of elapsed time (PoET), proof of activity (PoA), proof of identity (PoI), and proof of burn (PoB), and so forth.
Building a Blockchain Architecture
The blockchain architecture allows you to ensure data security, trust, and digital information transparency by maintaining the distributed ledger. Here, you have to decide whether you want to keep your new blockchain public, private, permissionless, or federated.
Auditing the Code
Even though you might have written the best code for your new blockchain, you will eventually run into some bugs. Those bugs make your system vulnerable to security threats, which is a serious concern in this digital age.
Therefore, you have to run your project through a security audit before releasing it to the public. You can hire expert blockchain auditors who will review your code to identify bugs or vulnerabilities and fix them.
Legal Compliance
It’s worth consulting with a legal expert before releasing your cryptocurrency in the market. You have to make sure that your project does not conflict with any laws and regulations. This is to prevent potential fraudulent activities related to cryptocurrency and protect the investors.
2. Modifying the Existing Blockchain
If you don’t want to bother starting from scratch, you can be smart and use the existing blockchain source code and tweak it around to create your cryptocurrency with new features. But this option also requires you to have good technical knowledge because you will be working on lots of codes.
Most developers prefer this option because blockchain codes are usually open-source that can be viewed and downloaded for further use. Try going through GitHub to find some.
You will still need to consider auditing your blockchain code and ensure the project’s legal compliance before launching your new cryptocurrency.
3. Using An Existing Blockchain To Create A New Cryptocurrency
If you totally want to avoid working with the codes but still want to create a new cryptocurrency, there is always a better way. You can use any existing blockchain platform like Ethereum that hosts different types of cryptocurrencies.
The new digital money created by using the existing platform becomes a token that is not native to its host. You will need some technical knowledge for this as well. Take note of the following steps on creating a new token using this method.
Selecting a Host
Start by choosing the blockchain platform that will host your new cryptocurrency or token. Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain are popular platforms in this regard.
Creating a Token
Once you have your host, you can customize your currency according to your objective. The process depends on the degree of customization. It might take a while if you want to redo the tokens completely, or you can simply create a new one by using free online tools, like WalletBuilders, that take only a few clicks.
Releasing Your New Cryptocurrency
If you use a trusted blockchain platform, there is no need to go through code auditing and legal counselling before minting your new cryptocurrency.
Please note that tokens are not the same as coins. They are both cryptocurrencies, but coins are based on their native blockchain, which takes a significant amount of time, effort, and resources to develop.
On the contrary, tokens operate on the existing blockchain architecture, thus, speeding up the process while reducing the cost of development. You can even use tokens for smart contracts to represent everything in cyberspace and the physical world.
4. Hiring An Expert Blockchain Developer
The simplest option is to hire an expert blockchain developer to work for you. If you don’t have enough technical knowledge to write the codes on your own, let the specialist take care of everything.
Several blockchain development companies, popularly known as blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS), can help you from the initial design to the final launch of your blockchain network and cryptocurrency.
The BaaS Companies may use their blockchain architecture or customize one for you. Blockstream, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services are some of the most popular companies offering BaaS.
How Long Does It Take To Create A Cryptocurrency?
Here’s the million-dollar question we have been trying to answer since the beginning of this article. The time required for creating a new cryptocurrency depends on how you want to do it. Based on the options discussed above, you can make your cryptocurrency within less than an hour, or it may also take a couple of months.
If you want to use existing blockchain platforms like Ethereum or Binance, you will be done within 15 minutes. It might take a little longer if you want to customize your cryptocurrency token some more.
But if you want something original for yourself, you need to work a little hard. You have to build your blockchain network from scratch for your coin. As a result, creating mineable coins is a lengthier process than minting tokens.
Besides the options discussed earlier, the time required for your crypto project depends on your preferred algorithm, expertise, and the additional application you wish to incorporate.
At a minimum, it takes almost a month to develop a cryptocurrency with features like Web Wallet, Mining Pool, Explorer, and Coin based on Scrypt and SHA256 algorithms. For coins with an advanced platform like Ethereum, you have to run and test everything you can think of, which requires both time and effort.
What’s Next?
Creating a new cryptocurrency is just the first half of the job. The other more important half is to ensure its survival. There are already so many cryptocurrencies in the world. Unless you develop a good marketing strategy to promote your crypto product, it will eventually get buried in the competition.
Gain the momentum for your cryptocurrency with Initial Coin Offerings or Security Token Offerings (ICO/STO). Set a reasonable price for your currency. The idea is to attract new users and potential investors.
Join the GitHub community and make your source code available. This helps your cryptocurrency gain the trust and confidence of users, which is very rare in today’s world.
Make the best use of social media to promote your cryptocurrency. Expand its coverage by establishing mutual relationships with business enterprises to use your cryptocurrency as means of payment. Build a strong and active support base and community. That’s where Bitcoin and Ethereum started.
