How to Test Bitcoin Wallet Apps

Test Bitcoin Wallet

Are you wandering around the question of How to Test Bitcoin Wallet Apps? I have got something for you, an article that will clear a major chunk of doubts that you might be encountering in testing bitcoin wallet apps.

There is no doubt that cryptocurrencies will be considered as a major currency in the near future, the boom of cryptocurrencies in the past few have shown how things are getting more bent toward cryptos, and all this started with Bitcoin. The recent boom in price value and the bitcoin market cap has shown how much trust Bitcoin has gained in the last couple of years. You might be well aware of this digital currency’s market cap, which is more than $1 trillion. But now comes the question of security; having a digital currency is one thing but saving them securely is another major pillar on which this crypto community is standing.

I have tested several Crypto wallets that are widely used, and having a secure blockchain environment for testing can be one of the main factors in making things go okay. Similar to other payment methods like PayPal, Stripe, etc., having a secure and trusted Bitcoin wallet can be another way of completing your transactions using blockchain technology using digital assets like Bitcoin.

Well, if you are someone who is looking for more in-depth analysis and study of how things are going as per the cryptography standards, it is recommended to get along with the testing process seriously; the reason why I recommend doing this is because of the security, I mean think about saving all your digital assets in wallets that are not secure to the extent that you might be looking for.

You might have come across hundreds of bitcoin wallets currently working on the bitcoin blockchain; these wallets include both soft and hard wallets. The soft wallets include some popular wallets like coinbase, binance, crypto.com, etc., whereas the hard wallets include Ledger nano. Well, it is worth mentioning that these wallets and crypto exchanges work along with two different aspects: centralized and decentralized; well, I guess I don’t need to get along with that as you might be aware of what both of them are? Well, just in case you are not, in simple words, it could be said that the government somewhat regulates the centralized system. In contrast, a decentralized system is more of a complete control system and pretty much not influenced by the government.

Now you have got an overview of how things will work, its time to look after how you can test your bitcoin wallet to get along with better things in terms of security and everything.

Since we all are well aware of the fact that bitcoin works on the blockchain system and the blockchain works on the mechanism of proof of methods. Therefore, I have distinguished the testing part into two different parts, the one with the test performed on blockchain app and the other which specifically focused on testing bitcoin wallets.

So, at first, let’s get started with Bitcoin Wallet Apps, as they are our primary target in this article.

Types of Test for Bitcoin Wallet Apps:

On the basic structure, bitcoin wallet apps can be tested in three different ways, which include:

  • Testnet: This can be considered as one of the primary tools that can make things get along with the test process of the Bitcoin Wallet App. Well, a blockchain/crypto can work along with two different blockchain environments, the first one being mainnet, whereas the other being the testnet. The mainnet basically works with real bitcoin where all the transactions are done using bitcoins with real value, whereas, testnet is more of a dummy module system that can use bitcoin which are not real, basically the bitcoins which are free from any denomination (i.e., does not have a real value). The testnet was created to get along with any drawbacks that the app might be having. In addition to all this, another alternative that can be used for testing bitcoin on testnet is using faucet sites with bitcoins that are not real; some of the sites that can be used are:
  • https://bitcoinfaucet.uo1.net
  • https://coinfaucet.eu › BTC-testnet

Now, after you are all done with the testnet, let’s have a look at the other things which can be considered for a testing bitcoin wallet.

  • Regression Testing: Regtest can be considered as another way for the time when testnet is not enough for testing. Well, the blocks in the blockchain are mined every 10 minutes, and sometimes you cannot speed up the process or change it. This is where regression testing can turn out to be a great way while having complete control over the environment; in addition to all this, regression testing can generate as much bitcoin as per your need.

The most important part comes, which involves security testing; this involves several steps to look after, which will be discussed later.

  • Security Test: Having strong security can be considered one of the major factors while testing bitcoin wallet apps. If we take a deeper dive into the security aspect, we may come across two different methods of analysis which involve Static methods of analysis and Dynamic methods of analysis. These analysis methods are further classified into various parts, including reverse engineering, manual/automatic source code analysis in the static methods of analysis. In contrast, if we dig a bit deeper into the dynamic methods of analysis, we can explore some other things such as Network traffic monitoring, routine analysis and file activity analysis.

From my POV, it can be said that using manual testing enables you to get along with better security and testing processes. Still, as a piece of friendly advice, I would recommend you look out for other criteria while looking after the Bitcoin Crypto wallets app testing. You may look after three different aspects, which can be called a wallet apps testing checklist:

  • Device Security
  • Server Side Security
  • Mobile Network/Wifi Connection Security

All these different parameters can be further classified into:

Device Security Server Side Security Mobile Network
Jailbreaks Detection Server configuration errors Encrypted signal verification
Device Platform backdoors Loopholes in server code/scripts SSL encrypted connections
Mobile Device Management SQL injection termination Device Proxy settings protection, etc.
Device interface management Insecure storage of sensitive data on mobile devices  

 

After we are all done with all the features and everything, whereas you can also look after some other testing processes that can be performed in a blockchain app, I have added this section in order to make the testing extended towards other aspects as well, which involve other blockchain apps, as other virtual currencies (cryptos) may be working along with the different blockchain.

The different types of tests that can be performed in a blockchain app:

  • Performance Testing: This testing process basically focuses on other aspects, which involve latency, network size, expected transaction size, and getting along with the process of knowing how much it will take for a query to return the output with the specialized authentication protocol.
  • Smart Contract Testing: This can be considered as one of the most important aspects for making things work along with different aspects around various cryptos such as Ethereum, etc. Basically, smart contract testing performs detailed functional testing of business processes and logic.
  • Block/Peer Testing: This testing process involves testing all the individual blocks of the network; as a result can give you an idea about how smooth the whole blockchain will perform.
  • Integration Testing: The integration testing enables you to get along with the testing process and know whether all the components are added/integrated properly or not? Whereas also getting an idea of how all components are performing.

The testing process also involves API Testing, Functional Testing, and Security Testing.

Now looking after the testnet and its Bitcoin Core for Testnet, well, the process isn’t that much complicated for getting started with the setup process for Bitcoin core (testnet); this process basically involves getting started with the Bitcoin core instance with ‘-testnet’ flag which is used to connect to the testnet blockchain rather than getting connected to the main blockchain.

Command Setup for Bitcoin Core for Testnet

The process mentioned below has some of the commands that can get along with the process. To get started with the bitcoin testnet process, all you need to do is use the following commands mentioned below.

cd ~/Documents

 wget https://bitcoin.org/bin/bitcoin-core-0.15.1/bitcoin-0.15.1-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz

tar xfz bitcoin-0.15.1-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz

cd bitcoin-0.15.1/bin

./bitcoin-qt -testnet

As you can see in the last command ./bitcoin-qt -testnet, the binary bitcoin-qt is the Graphic User Interface version of the bitcoin core. The last command with the bitcoin-qt will open a new window to start the sync with blockchain (testnet).

You can later get along with the faucet and other processes that involve performing the transaction and having a record of them. You can use different bitcoin faucets for the Bitcoin testnet, which were mentioned above.

Using Blockchain tools for testing bitcoin

This process can be helpful to those who might not be interested in getting along with the Bitcoin core from bitcoin.org. Well, there are different tools available for different cryptocurrencies. Still, I guess they won’t be needed at this moment as we are currently talking about Bitcoin, so getting ahead with that, you can give BitcoinJ a try as this one is a Java-based framework that is built for Bitcoin-based apps.

BitcoinJ can enable you to interact with the mainnet (BTC Mainnet) while performing different testing processes/activities. Using BitcoinJ will enable you to not get stuck in the process of Bitcoin core from bitcoin.org and running the command; in addition to all this, you can also connect to the user forum, just in case you are stuck in the process or need any assistance in the testing process.

Using Headspin for hassle-free testing

Well, you might have already got an idea of testing your bitcoin wallet app is not something very easy and simple, if being honest it can be pretty simple but the major drawback that you’ll be dealing with is the low level in terms of diversification, think of this of the scenario where you might be able to test the certain bitcoin wallet app in some of the smartphones and models available, but having a broader testing space can be very helpful in multiple aspects. And this is where Headspin can turn out to be an excellent platform for all this, as you can get along with different models (Android and Apple), which seems like an excellent deal overall. If we look forward to the client/companies that Headspin has worked alongside are Wipro, Tinder, Disney, Dell, Pinterest, Bigo live and many more. In addition to all this where you can work alongside some of the features in terms of testing and everything, Headspin check around some of the key factors including choice of most popular devices in 100s of locations, running multiple tests, scheduling of tests, biometrics testing and much more. 

With all this, I’m going to wrap up this article; hopefully, you might have an idea of How to Test Bitcoin Wallet Apps and get along with the process.