Learn how bitcoin transactions work and how to set up and send Bitcoin to anyone from your wallet using JavaScript.

If you’re considering becoming a blockchain developer, this is a good time to get started.

After all, according to Zip Recruiter’s data, an average blockchain developer salary is about $154,550/year.

However, with this article, you don’t need any knowledge of cryptography to follow along. If you know JavaScript, you are good to go.

At the end of this tutorial, you should have a general understanding of how bitcoin transactions work and should be able to send Bitcoin to anyone from your wallet using JavaScript.

Prerequisites

To follow along, you should have:

• Node.js Installed
• A basic understanding of JavaScript

Here’s a simple workflow diagram of the entire bitcoin transaction process.

Bitcoin transaction workflow

Here’s the transaction workflow:

• Get the unspent transaction outputs
• Add the inputs to get a new transaction input
• Calculate transaction fee
• Check if you have enough balance to cover the transaction
• Set transaction inputs
• Set change address
• Set transaction fee
• Sign transaction
• Serialize transaction
• Broadcast transaction

What is a blockchain?

First off, let’s define two key terms you’ll notice throughout this tutorial: the blockchain and a bitcoin transaction.

The blockchain can be described as an immutable distributed database of a global log of transactions. A block in the blockchain can be likened to a record in traditional databases.

What is a bitcoin transaction?

A transaction is the transfer of value from one bitcoin wallet to another that gets included in the blockchain.

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