Ethereum in practice part 1: how to build your own cryptocurrency without touching a line of code

Building Your Own Cryptocurrency Without Touching a Line of Code

As the Ethereum ecosystem continues to evolve, it's becoming increasingly accessible to users who don't have a background in coding. In this series, we'll explore the tools and techniques that allow anyone to build and interact with the Ethereum blockchain without needing to write a single line of code.

Getting Started with the Ethereum Wallet

The first step in building your own cryptocurrency is to download and set up the Ethereum Wallet. This multi-platform app allows you to send and receive ether and Ethereum-based currencies, create and execute contracts, and more. To get started, create an Ethereum account by providing a strong password. You'll need to put in some ether to do anything, but don't worry – most contracts will cost less than a tenth of a US penny.

Mining on the Testnet

If you're just testing the waters, we recommend switching to the testnet. Go to the menu, select "Develop" > "Network" > "Testnet (Morden)," and then on "Develop" > "Start Mining." After a few minutes, you'll probably have enough ether to test anything, so you can turn it off and save your computer resources. The wallet only allows basic mining on the testnet, but if you want to try your luck on the real net, you'll need a more advanced tool.

Using the AlethOne Miner

The AlethOne miner is a straightforward tool with two buttons: press one to start mining in your GPU and press the other to deposit your rewards in a wallet. Download it from the Turbo Suite, a set of power tools created by the C++ team to develop Ethereum applications. If you want to create smart contracts on the live network and can't mine, you'll need some ethers. You can have a friend send them to you or exchange them for bitcoins on a cryptoexchange.

Creating a Token

The first contract we're going to create is a token. Tokens in the Ethereum ecosystem can represent any fungible tradable good: coins, loyalty points, gold certificates, IOUs, in-game items, etc. Since all tokens implement some basic features in a standard way, this also means that your token will be instantly compatible with the Ethereum wallet and any other client or contract that uses the same standards.

Deploying a Token Contract

To deploy a token contract, go to the contracts page and click "Deploy New Contract." Get the token code from the provided link and paste it into the "Solidity source field." If the code compiles without any errors, you should see a "pick a contract" dropdown on the left. Get it and select the "MyToken" contract. On the right column, you'll see all the parameters you need to personalize your own token. You can tweak them as you please, but for the purpose of this tutorial, we recommend you pick these parameters: 10,000 as the supply, any name you want, "%" for a symbol, and 2 decimal places.

Sending Tokens to Friends

Once you've deployed your token contract, you can send some to your friends. Select "Send" and then choose which currency you want to send (ether or your newly created share). Paste your friend's address on the "to" field and press "Send." If you send it to a friend, they won't see anything in their wallet yet. This is because the wallet only tracks tokens it knows about, and you have to add these manually.

Adding a Token to Watch

To add a token to watch, go to the contracts page and click "Watch Token." A popup will appear, and you only need to paste the contract address. The token name, symbol, and decimal number should be automatically filled, but if it's not, you can put anything you want (it will only affect how it displays on your wallet). Once you do this, you'll automatically be shown any balance you have of that token and you'll be able to send it to anyone else.

Conclusion

In this article, we've shown you how to build your own cryptocurrency without touching a line of code. We've covered the basics of the Ethereum Wallet, mining on the testnet, using the AlethOne miner, creating a token contract, deploying a token contract, sending tokens to friends, and adding a token to watch. With these tools and techniques, you can start building and interacting with the Ethereum blockchain in no time.

Forward-Looking Thoughts

As the Ethereum ecosystem continues to evolve, we can expect to see more and more tools and techniques become available that allow users to build and interact with the blockchain without needing to write a single line of code. This will make it easier for people to participate in the blockchain and will help to drive innovation and growth in the space. We can expect to see more and more applications of blockchain technology in various industries, from finance to healthcare to supply chain management. The possibilities are endless, and we're excited to see what the future holds.

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Source: https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2015/12/03/how-to-build-your-own-cryptocurrency