Learn Crypto and Have Fun: A Fantasy Trading App Adventure powered by AWS Amplify

This article is about the AWS Amplify Hackathon hosted at Hashnode. #AWSAmplify and #AWSAmplifyHackathon

Cryptocurrencies have taken the financial world by storm, and the allure of trading digital assets has captivated millions worldwide. However, diving into real-world trading without proper knowledge can be daunting and risky. That's where fantasy trading apps come into play! With a fantasy trading app, you can learn the ropes of cryptocurrency trading in a fun and risk-free environment.

What is Fantasy Trading?

Fantasy trading, also known as virtual trading or paper trading, is a simulated trading experience that allows users to trade assets using virtual or fake money. It's like a "sandbox" for traders to practice their strategies and learn how financial markets work without risking real money.

The Fantasy Trading App - A Gateway to Crypto Knowledge

The Fantasy Trading App is the perfect tool for beginners and crypto enthusiasts alike. By creating a virtual portfolio and trading with play money, users get hands-on experience in buying, selling, and managing digital assets without any financial risk.

The Fun Element

Learning should never be boring, and the Fantasy Trading App understands that! Here's how it infuses fun into the crypto-learning process:

1. Gamification: Earn your rank on the leaderboard as you progress through your trading journey. The app's gamified features keep you motivated and engaged.

2. Social Interaction: Connect with like-minded traders in the app's community. Share insights, strategies, and experiences with others to enrich your learning.

What does the Fantasy trading app look like?

Imagine you had $1M and were given a thrilling challenge - to decide whether to save or invest in cryptocurrencies. That's the exciting premise of the game! As a participant, you'll begin with a generous 1M points (hooray for a head start!). Throughout the game, you'll have the opportunity to play, invest, and hone your skills as you climb your way to success. The game is not just about making decisions; it's an experience to get you started in the world of cryptocurrencies.

How to play:

1. Sign in with Google

2. Join the contest

3. Select a crypto stock to invest in and withdraw if the time is right and reinvest

4. Your data will be updated on the leaderboard along with other members.

Current Features:

1. Seamless Sign-in with Google powered by Amplify Auth (AWS Cognito)

2. Choose from 5 of the most famous crypto market stocks (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, Solana, Ripple)

3. Live time data feed from cryptocompare.com. and AWS Amplify GraphQL subscriptions

4. Live Leaderboard refresh: To make the development process lightning-fast, I leveraged the powerful capabilities of AWS Amplify GraphQL subscriptions along with DynamoDB. This winning combination not only ensures real-time updates but also enhances the overall development speed. Thereby making the application more engaging.

5. Practice Trade: Practice trading without really needing to invest real money.

6. Live Chat: You can chat with other participants, if you have joined the contest, or as a visitor you can view the conversations happening.

7. Seamless Hosting with AWS Amplify hosting.

Tech Stack:

1. Current

   1. AWS Amplify with CLI (Auth, AppSync, DynamoDB)

   2. Vue3

   3. DaisyUI (Tailwindcss)

2. Planned Features

   1. AWS Amplify Storage for audio support in chats

   2. Golang backend application to create and close contests dynamically. Also, host real-time feed. (Currently hosted as a web page to speed development, path /admin)

   3. Access rights on the dynamo db objects

   4. Past leaderboard

Experience with AWS Amplify

With this hackathon, I had a chance to touch base with the Amplify ecosystem. Below are some of my experiences.

1. Saves nearly 50-60% of development efforts

2. With Amplify CLI, adding Authentication, and integration with Dynamodb was a breeze

3. Supports all possible scenarios including functions (for custom logic), storage (for storing files), and push notifications(would have been interesting if it had web notifications too). And how can I forget offline storage with datastores? <3

4. Amplify Studio (although entered late, the Amplify studio looks promising, especially with the design to UI to backend data fetch integration made seamless with zero-to-less code). I am not a designer expert nor good with colours :) hence went ahead with a ready template supported on tailwindcss

Check out the source code.

Source code: https://github.com/godwinpinto/fantasy-trading-aws-amplify

Demo: https://dev.d1xhajst1mi28r.amplifyapp.com/

Concluding thoughts

Overall, the experience of building with AWS Amplify CLI has been awesome and will continue to explore this.

A little secret to my readers. The application was built in just 36 hours by 1 person! with zero background in the AWS Amplify ecosystem. FYI, i am not a fulltime / rare frontend dev guy. :)

Just to let you know, how simple AWS Amplify with CLI makes the whole development and shipping process.

Cheers and thanks for reading.