Over the past few weeks, I’ve immersed myself in one of the most engaging and practical learning experiences I’ve had in Web3 development—the HackQuest Eclipse Ecosystem program. As someone who has always been curious about blockchain, and especially how modular blockchains are shaping the future, this program was not just educational—it was transformational.
The Eclipse ecosystem is a modular blockchain platform that uses the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) for its execution layer. But before diving deep into contracts or deploying dApps, HackQuest broke everything down into a clear four-phase learning journey. I appreciated the way the curriculum was structured—starting from ecosystem fundamentals all the way to building and deploying real projects. Here’s a breakdown of my personal experience through each phase.
The first phase introduced me to Eclipse—not just as a name, but as a new way of thinking about blockchains. Unlike the traditional monolithic blockchains where everything (execution, consensus, settlement, and data availability) is bundled together, Eclipse follows the modular blockchain paradigm. This means each layer of the blockchain can be specialized and optimized independently.
What stood out to me was how Eclipse combines the power of Solana’s execution layer (SVM) with data availability layers like Celestia, and potentially settles onto Layer 1 chains like Ethereum. The result is a fast, customizable, and scalable infrastructure for decentralized applications.
Before this, I had only a basic understanding of execution environments and the limitations of Ethereum’s EVM. Learning why the SVM was chosen for Eclipse made a lot of sense—especially considering its high throughput and low latency. HackQuest explained the trade-offs clearly, and for the first time, I began to see how real-world design decisions are made in blockchain architecture.
This phase wasn’t about coding yet—it was about context. And having that context gave me a strong mental model as I moved forward.
Once the big picture was clear, HackQuest shifted gears into the second phase: basic Rust syntax. I won’t lie—this part was intimidating at first. Rust is known for its steep learning curve, and coming from JavaScript and Python, I wasn’t used to dealing with things like ownership, borrowing, or lifetimes.
But the HackQuest team broke it down in a way that actually made it approachable. The lessons were hands-on and incremental. I learned how to:
Declare variables with let and understand immutability.
Use control flow structures like if, match, and loop.
Work with structs and enums to model data.
Handle errors using Result<T, E> and the ? operator.
What I appreciated most was how each Rust concept was tied to why it matters in Web3 development. For example, memory safety and ownership rules are not just academic—they're crucial when writing smart contracts that manage real assets. There’s no garbage collector in smart contract environments; every byte matters.
By the end of this phase, I wasn’t just familiar with Rust syntax—I was thinking in Rust. And that mindset is what gave me the confidence to move into smart contract development.
This is where things started to get real. Phase three introduced me to the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) and how to build programs (smart contracts) that run on it using the Anchor framework.
Anchor, as I discovered, is like what Hardhat or Truffle is for Ethereum—but it’s built specifically for Solana. It provides macros, account validation, and error handling that streamline the otherwise complex process of writing Solana programs.
I learned how to:
Define programs using #[program] and manage contexts with #[derive(Accounts)].
Interact with Solana accounts, which are stateful objects unlike simple Ethereum addresses.
Handle cross-program invocations (CPIs), instructions, and system programs.
Use tools like the Solana CLI and Anchor test environment to deploy and test my code.
One of my favorite projects during this phase was building a counter program—a simple contract that increments a stored value. It might sound basic, but it taught me how Solana manages state, how program-derived addresses (PDAs) work, and how clients interact with the blockchain.
I had a few frustrating moments debugging errors around account mismatches or signer permissions—but each one taught me something deeper about how Solana works under the hood. And the HackQuest community was always there on Discord to help out.
The final phase was my favorite. HackQuest shifted from theory to real-world application by guiding me through end-to-end projects. These weren’t toy examples—they were fully-functional dApps that covered essential Web3 use cases.
Some of the guided projects included:
Minting NFTs: I learned how metadata accounts are created, how mint authorities work, and how to integrate with Metaplex tools.
DAO voting systems: This project introduced me to proposal structures, member voting logic, and how to update on-chain state based on votes.
Token creation and transfers: I got to deploy my own SPL token and write the logic for secure transfers between users.
Each project followed a consistent structure:
Explanation: What we’re building and why it matters.
Step-by-step guidance: Code snippets and logic broken down into chunks.
Challenges: Tasks where I had to implement functionality on my own.
Deployment: Pushing the contract live and interacting with it via CLI or front-end.
By the time I completed this phase, I didn’t just feel like a student—I felt like a Web3 builder. I could take an idea, plan out the smart contract logic, write it in Rust, test it using Anchor, and deploy it to the SVM. That’s a massive leap from where I started.
This experience didn’t just teach me how to write code. It taught me how to:
Understand blockchain architecture from a systems-level perspective.
Read and write Rust, one of the most performant and secure languages in the space.
Work within a modular blockchain framework (Eclipse) that’s poised to lead the next wave of innovation.
Deploy and test real-world dApps on a live network.
More importantly, it gave me confidence. In the beginning, I often hesitated to even touch Web3 tools for fear of “breaking” something. Now, I’m actively experimenting with protocols, writing smart contracts, and even contributing to open-source projects.
If you're serious about becoming a Web3 developer, the HackQuest Eclipse track is one of the most comprehensive and hands-on experiences available today. It doesn't assume prior blockchain experience, but by the end, you'll feel ready to build on any SVM-compatible chain—including Eclipse itself.
The learning path is clear, the support is strong, and the focus on building real things is what makes the biggest difference. Eclipse isn’t just a promising ecosystem—it’s a developer-first platform that makes sense both technically and strategically. And with HackQuest guiding the way, it’s never been easier to get started.
As for me, this journey has just begun. I plan to keep building on SVM, dive deeper into modular architectures, and maybe even deploy my own dApp on Eclipse. If you’ve been on the fence about Web3, or don’t know where to start—take the leap. This is where the future is being built.