Introducing Ethereum and Solidity: Foundations of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Programming for Beginners

Introducing Ethereum and Solidity — Book Review Guide + FAQ (Everything You Need to Know)

Can one book really take you from zero to writing your first smart contract in 2025? If that’s the question in your head, you’re in the right place.

I get asked this constantly: where to start, what to read, and how to avoid wasting hours on outdated tutorials. This review focuses on “Introducing Ethereum and Solidity: Foundations of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Programming for Beginners” by Chris Dannen—what still holds up, what doesn’t, and how to actually use it alongside modern tools in 2025.

Short answer: It’s a strong foundation-builder. But you’ll want a modern toolchain and updated best practices on hand.

The real problems beginners run into

New developers keep hitting the same walls. If any of these sound familiar, you’re not alone:

• Ethereum vs Ether confusion: Is ETH the platform or the currency? Why do I need it to run code?
• Jargon overload: Gas, EVM, ABI, opcodes—everyone throws these around like you should already know them.
• Outdated tutorials: Ethereum switched to Proof of Stake after The Merge, Ropsten/Rinkeby are gone, and some book chapters still talk mining and old clients.
• Tooling changes fast: One year it’s Truffle, next it’s Hardhat or Foundry. Wallet flows change, compilers get stricter, and security patterns evolve.
• Version landmines: Solidity 0.4/0.5-era examples break on 0.8+. Things like SafeMath are now mostly built-in via checked arithmetic.
• Security anxiety: Reentrancy, access control, unchecked external calls—everyone says “be safe,” few explain how without burying you in theory.

There’s a reason this feels messy: the ecosystem moves. The Electric Capital Developer Report consistently shows Ethereum as the largest developer community, which is awesome for learning—but it also means tools and patterns improve quickly. That’s great for today, not so great for following a 2017 setup step-by-step.

What you’ll get from this guide

• No-fluff review of the book: what’s gold, what’s dated.
• Chapter-by-chapter snapshot so you know where to focus.
• What’s still useful in 2025 (EVM mental models, gas, accounts) and what to ignore (mining workflows, deprecated tooling).
• A modern learning path pairing the book with today’s stack: Remix, Hardhat, Foundry, OpenZeppelin.
• A practical FAQ tuned to what beginners actually search for before buying.

Goal: help you understand Ethereum clearly and ship a real testnet contract without getting stuck on outdated steps.

Who this is for

• Complete beginners curious about Ethereum and smart contracts.
• Web2 developers who want a fast on-ramp to Solidity.
• Crypto users who want to see how tokens and DApps actually work under the hood.

How to use this review

• Skim smart: Pay special attention to what’s outdated vs. still useful before you buy the book.
• Follow the plan: Use the “how I’d use this today” approach to pair the book with Remix, Hardhat, and Foundry instead of old tools.
• Keep the FAQ handy: It answers the most common beginner questions without sending you down rabbit holes.

Ready for the next step? If you want Ethereum, Ether, and Solidity explained in plain English—no jargon, just what matters—you’ll love what’s coming up next. Want the one-minute versions and the “aha!” moments?

Ethereum and Solidity in plain English (and why they matter)

Think of Ethereum as a global computer you can’t unplug. You pay it in Ether (ETH) to run tiny programs called smart contracts. Those programs are written in Solidity, a language that feels familiar if you’ve touched JavaScript or C++.

That’s the trio that unlocks crypto apps:

• Ethereum = the worldwide network that runs code (the “computer”)
• Ether (ETH) = the money that pays for running that code
• Solidity = the language used to write the code

“The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed.” — William Gibson

Once this clicks, the rest stops feeling like magic and starts feeling like software, with constraints that make sense.

Ethereum in one minute

• A decentralized network runs smart contracts on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
• ETH pays for transactions and computation; every operation has a cost.
• Since “The Merge,” Ethereum uses Proof of Stake. Validators stake ETH to secure the network; no mining rigs, massively lower energy use (estimates suggest ~99.95% reduction).

Two extras that matter in 2025:

• EIP-1559 introduced a base fee that’s burned + a tip to validators, making fees more predictable (overview).
• L2 networks (like Arbitrum, Optimism, Base) batch transactions and post data to Ethereum. After EIP-4844 “proto-danksharding,” L2 fees dropped significantly for most users.

Solidity in one minute

• Contract-oriented language with familiar syntax; you write contracts, compile to bytecode, and deploy.
• It runs on the EVM across many chains, not just Ethereum (L2s and EVM-compatible L1s).
• Versions evolve fast. Modern Solidity (0.8+) gives you built-in overflow checks, custom errors, improved receive/fallback behaviors, and better typing. Staying current matters.

Real talk: the syntax is the easy part. The mindset is different. You pay for storage. You can’t “undo” a bad deploy. Everyone can read your state. That pressure makes you write tighter, safer code.

Gas, tokens, and DApps explained simply

• Gas is the metered cost of running code. Reading state is cheap; writing to storage is expensive. A simple example: updating a stored number costs noticeably more gas than just returning it from memory.
• Fees fluctuate with demand. EIP-1559 burns the base fee, which helps stabilize pricing, but busy blocks still cost more. L2s help a lot for day-to-day use.
• Tokens are just contracts:

  • ERC-20 (fungible) for things like USDC or in-app credits. Supports balances, transfers, and allowances.
  • ERC-721 (NFTs) for unique items like tickets, art, or game assets.

  You don’t reinvent these—use audited building blocks (see OpenZeppelin).

• DApps are apps with a smart contract backend. You “log in” with a wallet like MetaMask and approve actions. Tap “Swap” on a DEX? Your wallet shows a transaction, you pay gas, the contract updates state, and an event hits the block explorer. No centralized server decides your fate.

Concrete examples you can picture:

• A community token: An ERC-20 used for membership perks. You mint to early supporters, and the smart contract enforces supply rules forever.
• Event tickets as NFTs: Each ticket is an ERC-721. Scanners verify on-chain ownership. No PDF fraud, no gatekeeping.
• On-chain game items: A sword with stats baked into contract storage. Trade it on any marketplace that speaks the standard.

I like to frame gas like this: if a traditional backend is a monthly server bill, Ethereum is a pay-per-instruction meter. That constraint forces clarity. You engineer for fewer writes, predictable flows, and trust-minimized logic. The reward? Apps that can’t be arbitrarily shut down or altered behind users’ backs.

Common beginner questions this section answers

• What is Ethereum? A network that runs code and stores state publicly.
• Is ETH a coin or technology? Both. ETH is the coin; Ethereum is the platform.
• What is Solidity used for? Writing smart contracts that live on Ethereum and EVM chains.
• What’s gas and why do I pay it? It’s the fee for computation and storage so the network isn’t abused.
• What are tokens and NFTs? Standardized smart contracts that represent fungible and unique digital assets.

If this finally makes Ethereum feel understandable instead of mystical, you’re right where you should be. Curious which parts of the book nail these ideas and which parts show their age? Keep reading—next up, I break down what’s inside, what’s changed, and who will get the most value right now.

About the book: what’s inside, what’s changed, and who it’s for

I picked up “Introducing Ethereum and Solidity: Foundations of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Programming for Beginners” by Chris Dannen to answer one question: can a single book still give beginners the mental model they need to actually understand Ethereum in 2025? Short answer: yes for concepts, no for tooling. It’s the kind of book that clicks things into place, then needs a modern companion when you start coding.

“Trusted third parties are security holes.” — Nick Szabo

That idea is the heartbeat of Ethereum. This book teaches you why that matters, what the EVM is actually doing under the hood, and how smart contracts turn incentives into software.

What’s inside (chapter-level snapshot)

The book is structured to move you from concepts to simple code without scaring you off. Here’s what you actually get, minus the fluff:

• Foundations: Blockchain basics, public/private keys, accounts vs. addresses, how transactions propagate, and why blockchains care about ordering and finality.
• Ethereum model: The EVM, opcodes in spirit (not overwhelming), gas as computation pricing, and how state storage (mappings, balances) persists between calls.
• Coding: Intro Solidity patterns—state variables, functions, modifiers, events—enough to understand what a token or a registry contract is doing.
• Early tooling: How people used to deploy and interact (think old clients and wallets) plus basic flows for sending ETH and calling contracts.
• Use cases: Tokens, registries, and simple DApp interactions that show value flows: who pays gas, who owns state, who can call what, and when.

Real talk: if you’ve ever stared at an ERC‑20 and wondered why events exist or how allowances differ from balances, this book lays that groundwork well. You’ll come away understanding why standards matter (interoperability, wallets, explorers) and what “immutability” means for product design.

What’s outdated vs still useful (read this before you buy)

Still useful in 2025

• EVM mental model: Contracts run in a sandbox; state changes cost gas; storage vs. memory; transactions vs. calls. These ideas don’t go out of date.
• Tokens as standards: Why ERC‑20/ERC‑721 exist and how interfaces let wallets/exchanges work with your contracts automatically.
• “Code is law” tradeoffs: Upgradability vs. immutability, permissioning, and the social layer—this context helps you make sane product decisions.

Outdated in 2025 (translate as you read)

• Consensus: Any mining/Proof‑of‑Work pointers are history. Ethereum runs Proof of Stake since The Merge (Sept 2022). Ignore GPU/CPU mining sections.
• Tooling & testnets: References to Mist, old geth flows, or dead testnets like Ropsten/Rinkeby/Kovan. Today it’s MetaMask, Hardhat or Foundry, and testnets like Sepolia and Holesky. Verify on Etherscan.
• Solidity syntax & safety: Early examples predate Solidity 0.8+. Arithmetic now overflows safely by default (so SafeMath is usually unnecessary). Expect newer features like custom errors, explicit receive/fallback patterns, immutable variables, and unchecked blocks for gas optimization.
• Security patterns: You’ll need modern best practices: checks-effects-interactions, reentrancy guards, access control via OpenZeppelin, and thorough testing with property-based tests/fuzzing.

What I substitute today (actionable fixes)

• Swap any mining/wallet setup with a MetaMask account and an RPC from Alchemy or Infura.
• Replace code samples using pragma solidity ^0.4.x or 0.5.x with ^0.8.x. Use Solidity docs to translate syntax and error handling.
• Use Remix for instant experiments; move to Hardhat or Foundry for real testing, scripts, and mainnet forking.
• Lean on OpenZeppelin Contracts for ERC‑20/ERC‑721/ERC‑1155 and access control primitives instead of hand-rolling.
• Point any “Ropsten/Rinkeby” steps to Sepolia or Holesky, and verify deployments on Etherscan.

Why this matters: according to the latest Electric Capital Developer Report, the EVM ecosystem remains the center of gravity for crypto developers. That means the fundamentals in this book keep paying rent—if you pair them with a modern toolchain.

Difficulty and time to benefit

• Who it fits: Total beginners and Web2 engineers who want the “aha” moments without swimming through whitepapers. If you can read JS/C++-style syntax, you’ll follow the code.
• Time to payoff: One or two evenings to lock in the mental model (EVM, gas, storage, state changes). You’ll grasp “why” things work fast; the “how” requires fresh tutorials and tooling.
• Hands-on gap: The examples won’t match today’s CLI or compiler right out of the box. Expect to translate syntax and update imports. That’s normal in Ethereum land.
• Outcome: You won’t be audit-ready, but you’ll finally understand what an ERC Standard does, why transactions cost money, and how DApps talk to contracts. That foundation makes every modern tutorial feel easier.

If you’re wondering whether this primer is enough on its own—or if the dated parts get in the way—I’ll give you the no-spin pros and cons next, plus exactly who should buy it in 2025 and who should skip. Want the straight answer before you spend money?

Is this book right for you? Pros, cons, and my verdict

Here’s the honest take: this book is a great “turn the lights on” moment for Ethereum and Solidity, but it’s not your final stop. Think of it like learning the rules of chess from a classic guide—you’ll understand the board, the pieces, and why strategy matters, but you still need modern openings and practice to win games today.

“Foundations age well; tooling ages fast.”

What I like (Pros)

• It makes the core ideas click. The EVM, gas, state, accounts—explained in language that won’t scare beginners away. If you’ve ever mixed up Ethereum (network) and Ether (currency), this clears that up in minutes.
• Solid context for tokens and real product flows. You’ll see how ERC-20/721-style assets fit into apps and business models. Even if some syntax is old, the mental model remains gold.
• It breaks the “this is magic” feeling. After a chapter or two, smart contracts stop being mysterious. That early confidence is priceless when you open Remix for the first time.
• It teaches principles you’ll keep using. Immutability, deterministic execution, and why standards matter—these outlive every tool change.

Quick real-world example: If you’ve only seen NFTs from the marketplace side, the book’s token explanations help you understand why “approval” and “transferFrom” exist and how marketplaces actually move assets under the hood. That’s the kind of clarity that keeps you from shipping broken logic later.

What to watch out for (Cons)

• The toolchain is dated. Expect references to dead testnets and old clients. If you try to copy exact steps, you’ll hit walls. Ropsten/Rinkeby? Gone. Use Sepolia or Holesky.
• Solidity has evolved a lot. Overflow checks are built-in since 0.8.x, receive/fallback patterns changed, and custom errors/better types are the norm. Old code samples may not compile without edits.
• Not production-focused. You won’t get deep testing strategies, security checklists, or gas-optimized patterns. It’s a conceptual springboard, not an audit playbook.

Concrete pain you might hit: a legacy example using SafeMath or pre-0.6 constructors will fail in current compilers. You’ll need to update signatures, visibility, and payable patterns. That’s normal—just don’t expect a straight copy-paste.

Who gets the most value

• Beginners who want clarity fast. If the words “gas,” “state,” and “EVM” feel like alphabet soup, this calms the chaos.
• Web2 devs crossing over. You’ll grasp the differences quickly—immutability, costs per line of code, and why state transitions are precious.
• Non-dev crypto folks. Product managers, analysts, community leads—anyone who needs to understand how tokens and DApps actually function.

Why this matters: The EVM ecosystem is still massive across Ethereum and L2s, and it’s not slowing down. If you can think clearly about smart contract systems, you’re already ahead. (For context on ecosystem size, see the ongoing data at Electric Capital’s Developer Report.)

My quick verdict

I recommend it—as a foundation. Read it to build your mental model, then switch straight to a modern stack for hands-on work. That’s also how people learn best: not just reading, but building. Research on active learning (for example, the meta-analysis in PNAS) consistently shows better outcomes than lecture-only approaches—translate that here as “pair concepts with live practice.” If you do both, you’ll move fast without getting lost.

TL;DR: Great primer, not a one-stop shop in 2025. Use it to understand the map—then grab modern tools to walk the terrain.

Want a simple, no-excuses plan that takes you from your first “Hello World” to a verified contract on a live testnet—without installing a single heavy tool at first? Keep going; I’m about to hand you the playbook.

How I’d use this book today: a practical, modern learning path

If you want to actually ship something (not just read), here’s the plan I wish someone handed me on day one. It pairs the book’s clear foundations with the tools we actually use in 2025, so you get momentum fast and avoid dead ends.

“Build small, ship fast, learn loud.” The first time you see your own contract on a block explorer, everything clicks.

Setup in under an hour

• Install MetaMask (browser extension). Create a fresh wallet just for testing. Never share your seed phrase. Ever.
• Enable test networks in MetaMask settings. Add Sepolia (general-purpose) and Holesky (infra/staking). If they’re missing, use Chainlist to add them with one click.
• Get test ETH from reputable faucets: Alchemy Sepolia, Infura. Beware fake faucet sites that ask for your seed phrase.
• Open Remix: remix.ethereum.org. No installs. In the Solidity compiler, choose the latest 0.8.x version. You’re ready to write and deploy a contract in minutes.

Quick sanity check: you should now have MetaMask with test ETH and Remix open. That’s enough to compile, deploy, and interact with a basic contract today.

A 2–3 week starter plan

Week 1 — Ship something tiny (Remix + testnet)

• Create Counter.sol with three functions: increment(), decrement(), and a view getter. Add an event to log changes.
• Compile in Remix, deploy to Sepolia via the MetaMask-injected provider, and watch your transaction in Etherscan.
• Call both view (free) and state-changing (paid) functions. Notice the gas difference. Make a note of the gas used for each action.
• Read your event logs in Etherscan. Understanding events early saves hours later when debugging real products.

Week 2 — Real assets, safely (OpenZeppelin + Remix)

• Open OpenZeppelin Contracts Wizard and generate a minimal ERC-20 with Mintable, and a minimal ERC-721 (NFT) with Ownable.
• Paste each into Remix, deploy, and mint to your own address. Send tokens between two test accounts in MetaMask. Watch transfers and approvals on Etherscan.
• Add one security constraint: a require() that prevents minting beyond a cap (ERC‑20) or restricts minting to the owner (ERC‑721). Re-deploy. Verify it behaves as expected.
• Backed by practice: OpenZeppelin is battle-tested across thousands of deployments; you’re standing on audited shoulders rather than reinventing wheels.

Week 3 — Become “real dev dangerous” (Hardhat or Foundry)

• Pick one: Hardhat (hardhat.org) or Foundry (book.getfoundry.sh). Both are great. Foundry is lightning fast for testing; Hardhat has a rich plugin ecosystem.
• Initialize a project, install OpenZeppelin Contracts, and write automated tests. Include at least: success paths, reverts, and event assertions.
• Run a local chain (Hardhat node or Foundry’s anvil), then fork mainnet and test against real-world state. This is where things feel “production.”
• Deploy your ERC‑20 or ERC‑721 to Sepolia via scripts, then verify on Etherscan (you’ll need an API key).
• Build a tiny web page that calls your contract using ethers.js or viem. One button to mint, one to transfer. Connect with MetaMask.
• Add basic safety checks using Slither and a gas report (Hardhat Gas Reporter or Foundry’s built-ins). Catching low-hanging vulnerabilities early is a huge win.

Why this order works: surveys like the Stack Overflow Developer Survey consistently show hands-on projects drive learning. And the EVM stack remains a top draw for builders according to the Electric Capital Developer Report, so these skills transfer across Ethereum and L2s.

Modern tools you’ll actually use

• Remix — fastest path to deploy and experiment in the browser: remix.ethereum.org
• Hardhat — flexible scripts, rich plugins, great error messages: hardhat.org
• Foundry — blazingly fast testing, fuzzing, forking: book.getfoundry.sh
• OpenZeppelin Contracts — audited building blocks you can trust: docs.openzeppelin.com/contracts (plus the Contracts Wizard)
• ethers.js or viem — clean APIs to talk to contracts from your front end
• Sepolia/Holesky — active testnets; add via Chainlist and faucet via Alchemy/Infura
• Etherscan — verify contracts and explore events: etherscan.io
• Slither — static analysis that flags common bugs early: github.com/crytic/slither

What to skip or translate from the book

• Skip mining instructions — Ethereum is Proof of Stake now. Any mining chapter is historical context only.
• Use a modern wallet + RPC — replace old clients with MetaMask + a provider (Alchemy/Infura) or a local node (anvil/Hardhat).
• Target Solidity 0.8.x — arithmetic checks are built-in; no SafeMath required. Prefer custom errors to save gas, use immutable and constant where possible, and be explicit with receive()/fallback().
• Don’t roll your own tokens — start with OpenZeppelin ERC‑20/721. If you need upgradability, use their Transparent or UUPS proxies (not DIY).
• Test everything — unit tests, edge cases, reverts, events, fuzzing if possible. A failing test in week 3 beats an expensive mistake in month 6.
• Security basics — follow Checks‑Effects‑Interactions, avoid untrusted external calls in the middle of logic, and treat private as a hint (not real secrecy on-chain).
• Ops hygiene — keep secrets in .env, add .gitignore, use separate wallets for dev and main, and never paste a seed phrase into a website.

By the end of this path, you’ll have a verified token/NFT on a public testnet, tests that prove it works, a one-page UI that interacts with it, and a healthy respect for gas, events, and security. That’s the kind of momentum that turns curiosity into skill.

Still wondering how hard Solidity really is, whether you need programming experience first, or why gas fees spike at the worst times? Keep going—I’m about to answer the questions beginners ask every single day, with zero fluff.

FAQ: Straight answers to questions beginners actually ask

Is Solidity hard to learn?

I’d call it “approachable with guardrails.” The syntax feels familiar if you’ve touched JavaScript or C-style languages, but the mindset is different. You’re programming with immutability, gas limits, and a public state machine that anyone can poke. The tricky parts are understanding storage vs memory, reentrancy, overflow/underflow (modern compilers help), and how payable functions handle ETH.

Good news: the EVM ecosystem is huge, so examples and libraries are everywhere. The latest Electric Capital Developer Report notes EVM chains still host the largest share of active Web3 developers, which helps you learn faster with community patterns and answers. See: Electric Capital Developer Report.

Pro tip: Treat every line like it could move money. Keep contracts tiny, compose with libraries, and ship in stages.

Do I need to know programming first?

It helps a lot. If you can write and test small functions in any language, you’ll progress faster. If you’re totally new, start with variables, functions, types, and unit tests in a language you’re comfortable with, then hop into Solidity using templates in Remix. You’ll get wins without wrestling with tooling.

How do smart contracts make money?

• Protocol fees: Automated Market Makers charge swap fees (e.g., 0.3% pools in earlier Uniswap models). Some or all fees go to LPs; protocols may take a cut depending on governance. Docs: Uniswap.
• Stability/interest fees: Lending/stablecoin systems charge interest or stability fees (e.g., Maker-style designs).
• Usage fees and mints: Marketplaces or mints can charge a small cut per action. Keep it transparent and easy to simulate.
• Tokens: Teams often bootstrap with a token that captures protocol value via utility or governance—be thoughtful and compliant.

Sketch the economics on paper, simulate flows, and make fees adjustable via governance once you have usage data.

What is gas and why is it expensive sometimes?

Gas is the metered cost to run EVM instructions. Every operation has a price. Your total fee is roughly gasUsed × (base fee + tip). After EIP‑1559, the base fee adjusts per block depending on demand, and you add a tip to get priority. When the network is busy (popular mints, airdrops, news events), fees spike.

• Watch live fees: Etherscan Gas Tracker
• Learn the mechanics: ethereum.org: Gas & fees

Cut costs fast: minimize storage writes, pack structs, cache storage reads in memory, use unchecked where safe, and prefer L2s for users.

Is Ethereum a coin or a platform?

Both. Ethereum is the platform (a global, permissionless compute layer). Ether (ETH) is the asset you spend to run transactions on that platform.

What can I build with Solidity?

• Tokens & NFTs: ERC‑20 for fungible tokens, ERC‑721/1155 for NFTs with perks or access.
• Marketplaces: List/sell/bid flows with fees and royalties logic (where supported by the marketplace).
• DAOs: On-chain proposals, quorum, and execution for treasury or parameter changes.
• Games: On-chain rules or asset ownership with off-chain graphics.
• DeFi: Swaps, lending, vaults, DCA strategies, perps, options, and more.
• Identity & access: Soulbound badges, allowlists, token-gated features.

Is Solidity still in demand?

Yes. EVM chains and L2s remain the largest developer ecosystems. That breadth keeps Solidity relevant for the long haul. Hiring trends follow usage: more users and TVL mean more need for engineers who can write secure, testable contracts.

How long until I can build something real?

• Week 1: Deploy a “Hello World” or counter in Remix. Get comfortable with reads/writes and events.
• Week 2: Launch an ERC‑20 and an ERC‑721 using OpenZeppelin templates, transfer tokens, read logs on a block explorer.
• Week 3–4: Move to Hardhat or Foundry, write unit tests, simulate attacks, deploy to a testnet, and verify on Etherscan.
• 2–3 months: Small production app with test coverage, basic audits (internal + tools), and safe upgrade or migration plan.

Is this book enough on its own?

As a foundation, yes; as a complete 2025 playbook, no. Pair it with modern tooling, current standards, and up-to-date docs. Think: read for mental models, build with today’s stack.

Do I need special hardware or a node?

No. Start with Remix and a browser wallet. For RPC access, use providers like Infura or Alchemy. Later, running your own node (even a light or archive node) gives you reliability and better privacy, but it’s optional for learning.

How do I keep my contracts safe?

• Use audited libraries: OpenZeppelin Contracts for tokens, access control, safe math, and guards.
• Follow proven patterns: checks-effects-interactions, pull payments, access control via Ownable or AccessControl, ReentrancyGuard for state-changing functions receiving ETH.
• Test like crazy: unit + integration tests, fuzzing with Foundry, and property-based testing. Tools: Slither, Echidna.
• Know common failures: reentrancy (see The DAO 2016), incorrect initialization (bridges), oracle manipulation, price rounding, unsafe delegatecall. Browse incidents: Rekt Leaderboard, patterns: SWC Registry.
• Ship safely: timelocks for admin actions, 2-step ownership transfers, pausable circuits, and minimal upgrade surface (or no upgrades for critical vaults).

Reality check: A single external call can brick a vault or drain funds. Assume nothing. Test everything. Get peer review before mainnet.

Bonus: How do I keep gas low without wrecking security?

• Prefer calldata for read-only external args and avoid unnecessary storage writes.
• Cache storage reads into memory, pack state tightly, and consider unchecked math only when you’re 100% sure.
• Batch operations when possible and push heavy logic off-chain with on-chain verification.
• When user costs matter, deploy on an L2 and bridge core assets.

Still with me? Ready for a dead-simple “first build” checklist and the exact link to grab the book so you can start today? That’s next—let’s make your first deployment something you’ll actually be proud to share.

Before you go: where to get the book, what to build first, and what I’d do next

Where to get it and what to expect

Introducing Ethereum and Solidity (Apress)

Expect clear fundamentals and dated tooling. Use it to understand how Ethereum, gas, accounts, and contracts fit together. Then switch to modern tools for the hands-on parts.

A simple first build to lock in the learning

Hands-on beats passive reading. Learning science consistently shows that active practice and retrieval lead to much better retention than reading alone (see Make It Stick). So here’s a fast, confidence-building mini-project you can finish in under an hour.

• Get set up

  • Install MetaMask and add the Sepolia test network.
  • Grab a small amount of test ETH from a reputable faucet (Alchemy, Infura, or sepoliafaucet.com).
  • Open Remix in your browser.

• Generate a minimal ERC‑20

  • Go to the OpenZeppelin Wizard, pick ERC‑20, name your token (e.g., “StarterToken”), choose a symbol (e.g., “STRT”), keep 18 decimals, and tick Mintable + Ownable.
  • Copy the generated Solidity code into a new file in Remix (e.g., StarterToken.sol). Make sure the compiler version in Remix matches the pragma suggested by the Wizard.

• Compile and deploy

  • Compile in Remix. In the Deploy tab, select Injected Provider – MetaMask and the Sepolia network.
  • Click Deploy. Approve in MetaMask. Wait for one confirmation.

• Mint and transfer

  • Create a second test account in MetaMask and copy its address.
  • In Remix, call mint(address to, uint256 amount). For 100 tokens with 18 decimals, use 100 * 10^18 (e.g., 100000000000000000000).
  • Send a few tokens to the second account with transfer and watch the balance update in MetaMask (add your token’s contract address as a custom token to see it).

• Verify and read events

  • Open your contract on Sepolia Etherscan. Use Contract → Verify and Publish. If you used the Wizard without edits, verification should be straightforward.
  • Check the Events tab. You’ll see Transfer logs for mint and transfer. That’s your on-chain audit trail.

Pro tip: If verification feels fiddly, try the Remix “Sourcify” plugin for automatic source publication. It’s great for quick prototypes.

What you just learned: deploying with a web wallet, minting with an owner-only function, how decimals work, how ERC‑20 events document activity, and how explorers make contracts transparent. It’s a tiny win that builds real confidence.

Optional: what to read next

• Solidity Docs — up-to-date syntax, features, and gotchas.
• OpenZeppelin Contracts — secure building blocks and clear guides.
• Hardhat or Foundry — testing, scripts, and mainnet forking.
• Ethereum.org Developers — current best practices and tutorials.

If you want a next step beyond the token: write a simple “allowlist mint” for NFTs, or spin up a tiny HTML page that calls your contract via viem or ethers.js. You’ll learn ABI usage, wallet connection, and error handling—the real glue between frontends and contracts.

Final thoughts

If you want a friendly, concept-first introduction, this book still pulls its weight. Pair it with the quick build above and modern docs, and you’ll move from “I think I get it” to “I shipped something on a testnet” fast. I’m publishing this on Cryptolinks News for beginners who want a clean, current path—bookmark it, and when you ship your first contract, tell me how it went.