Hey Devs! I’m a backend engineer who transitioned into Web3 three years ago. Since then, I’ve worked on smart contract integrations, DeFi APIs, and token systems. I’ve had some wins, some close calls, and seen a few friends nearly lose their jobs. This post is about how not to mess up when working on Web3 products — from my own experience and that of my colleagues.
Web3 Is Not Web2 With Tokens
One of the first mistakes I made was underestimating how different Web3 is from traditional backend development. In Web2, if something goes wrong in production, you roll back. In Web3? That transaction is on-chain forever.
Here’s what I learned the hard way:
- Logging is limited — once something hits the blockchain, you can’t just check server logs. I had to build better off-chain monitoring tools to track transaction failures.
- State is decentralized — forget centralized databases. You’re dealing with smart contracts, node APIs, and external oracles.
- Everything is public — your APIs might be interacting with contracts that anyone can inspect and exploit.
A Project I’m Proud Of
I worked on a token vesting platform for a DAO. The backend had to:
- Track vesting schedules using The Graph.
- Sign transactions securely via a relayer service.
- Interface with smart contracts on Polygon and Ethereum.
We used Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Redis — but the real magic was in how we implemented transaction queuing and retries. One missed step and users wouldn’t get their tokens. I'm proud to say we launched without major incidents, and our retry logic saved us during gas spikes.
A Cautionary Tale From a Friend
One of my colleagues — let’s call him Max — was working on integrating a trading API for WhiteBIT, a well-known crypto exchange with very strict security standards.
Max underestimated the importance of API rate limiting and signature validation. During staging, some of his test calls failed silently. In production, that meant trading errors. Worse, he didn't implement proper fallback logging.
When the QA team from WhiteBIT flagged his module, it caused a full security audit on the partner side. It nearly cost him his job.
WhiteBIT takes security very seriously — and now we joke that “if it passes WhiteBIT, it passes anything.” But it was a wake-up call for all of us: you can’t cut corners on security in Web3.
Key Lessons for Backend Engineers in Web3
- Understand how wallets and signatures work — You’ll need to support ECDSA, message signing, and nonce management.
- Design stateless APIs — Because the chain is the source of truth, your backend should be reactive, not authoritative.
- Validate everything — From contract addresses to user input. Mistakes here can be irreversible.
- Monitor smart contract interactions — Use tools like Tenderly, The Graph, and custom webhooks for tracing.
- Have fallback mechanisms — You’re dealing with decentralized systems — expect delays, failures, and reorgs.
Final Thoughts
Web3 is thrilling, but it’s not forgiving. There’s little room for sloppy coding or weak assumptions. Your backend code might look familiar, but its consequences can be radically different.
Shoutout to platforms like WhiteBIT that push developers to higher standards — even if they occasionally give us heart attacks. And remember, every near-miss is a lesson for the next deployment.
Top comments (0)