Writing a Technical Specification for a Blockchain Project
A technical specification for a blockchain project is fundamentally different from a spec for a regular web service: you need to specify smart contracts, their interaction, upgrade strategy, gas optimization, and infrastructure. A poorly developed spec leads to cardinal changes during development — in crypto this is especially expensive due to audits.
Blockchain Project Specification Structure
1. System Overview
- Project goal and key stakeholders
- Chosen blockchain and justification
- High-level architecture (diagram)
- Integration with external systems (oracles, bridges, other protocols)
2. Smart Contracts
For each contract:
Contract: LiquidityPool
Network: Arbitrum One
Standards: ERC-20 compatible
Upgradeability: UUPS proxy
Functions:
- deposit(uint256 amount) — deposit tokens, mint LP shares
- withdraw(uint256 shares) — burn LP shares, get tokens + accumulated fees
- swap(address tokenIn, uint256 amountIn, uint256 minAmountOut) — token swap
Events:
- Deposit(address indexed user, uint256 amount, uint256 shares)
- Withdraw(address indexed user, uint256 shares, uint256 amount)
- Swap(address indexed user, address tokenIn, uint256 amountIn, uint256 amountOut)
Roles (Access Control):
- DEFAULT_ADMIN_ROLE: Gnosis Safe 3/5
- PAUSE_ROLE: Protocol Defender (multisig or automated)
- FEE_MANAGER_ROLE: DAO timelock
Parameters (configurable):
- swapFee: 0.3% (range: 0.01%-1%)
- protocolFeeShare: 20% of swap fee
3. Token Specification (if applicable)
Token: PROTO
Standard: ERC-20 + ERC-2612 (Permit)
Supply: 100,000,000 (fixed)
Decimals: 18
Mintable: no (fixed supply)
Burnable: yes (holder can burn)
Pausable: yes (PAUSE_ROLE)
Distributor: special Vesting contract
4. Off-chain Components
- Indexer (The Graph subgraph) — which events are indexed, GraphQL schema
- Backend API (if needed) — endpoints, authentication
- Frontend — technical stack, wallet integration
5. Infrastructure
Deployment:
- Foundry Deploy Scripts + Hardhat for verification
- Multisig owner: Gnosis Safe 3/5
- Timelock: 48 hours for admin functions
- Proxy: UUPS (implementation upgrade via timelock)
Monitoring:
- OpenZeppelin Defender for alerts
- Tenderly for transaction simulation
- The Graph for historical data
Networks for deployment:
- Testnet: Arbitrum Sepolia
- Mainnet: Arbitrum One
6. Security
- List of smart contract patterns (Reentrancy guard, CEI, etc.)
- Oracle manipulation protection
- Flash loan attack vectors
- Access control scheme
- Upgrade strategy and timelock
7. Testing
Unit tests (Foundry):
- All public functions
- Edge cases and boundary conditions
- Revert scenarios
Fuzz tests:
- Invariants: "totalShares * pricePerShare = totalAssets"
- Random deposit/withdraw sequences
Fork tests:
- Integration with real protocols on mainnet fork
Coverage target: 95%+
8. Audit Plan
- Audit scope (which contracts)
- Timeline (audit after code freeze, before mainnet)
- Readiness criteria (all medium+ findings fixed)
Common Mistakes in Specification
No role specification: "only owner can call function" — but is owner an EOA, multisig, or DAO?
No upgrade strategy: developers decide during development — risk of incompatible decisions.
No target gas budget: contract is written, then it turns out each call costs $50 gas.
No failure scenarios described: what happens if oracle is unavailable, if counterparty doesn't implement interface.
Writing a technical specification for a blockchain project: 1-2 weeks. Includes architecture diagrams, contract specifications, infrastructure requirements.