Curated interview practice questions with answers. These are practice scenarios, not a verified list of past interview questions.
About HSBC hiring for Blockchain roles
HSBC is a global banking group with retail, commercial and wholesale banking operations across Asia, Europe and other regions. Its India technology and global service centres support software development, operations, analytics and risk for the group. It hires for software engineers, testers, data analysts, data engineers and financial crime analysts.
For Blockchain roles, this HSBC practice set focuses most on Blockchain Fundamentals (6), Solidity Programming (6), dApp Development (4), Cryptography for Blockchain (4). It has 2 easy, 24 medium, 4 hard questions, so you can start easy and work up to the harder ones.
Company type
Banking & finance
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
Main India offices
Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru
HSBC Blockchain interview process
Online assessment (aptitude + technical)
Technical round
Managerial round
HR round
Typical pattern based on public candidate experiences. Rounds vary by role, team and year.
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01
What are front-running and sandwich attacks, and how do you mitigate them?
Pending transactions are public, so bots can copy or outbid them. Front-running is placing a transaction ahead of a victim's, for example buying before a large purchase. A sandwich attack buys before the victim's swap and sells right after, profiting from the price impact. Mitigations include slippage limits and deadlines, commit-reveal schemes, batch auctions, private transaction relays, and design that does not reward ordering, such as using time-weighted prices.
02
Your fantasy sports contract needs live match scores. How do you get that data on-chain?
Smart contracts cannot call web APIs, so use an oracle. Options include a decentralised oracle network such as Chainlink Functions to fetch from several sports APIs and aggregate, or an optimistic oracle where results are proposed and can be disputed. Settle only after the match result is final, use multiple data sources, add a dispute window for high-value pools, and handle cancelled matches. Avoid a single back-end key posting results, which is a central point of failure.
03
An HR team wants to store employee records on a blockchain. Would you recommend it?
Usually no. Employee records are owned by one organisation, change often and contain personal data that must be correctable and deletable under the DPDP Act 2023. A normal database with role-based access and audit logs is cheaper, faster and compliant. I would ask who else needs to trust the data. If several employers or background-check agencies must verify certificates, I would store only hashes of credentials on a permissioned chain and keep the actual data off-chain.
Solidity is a statically typed, contract-oriented, curly-brace language for writing smart contracts on Ethereum and other EVM chains. Its syntax resembles JavaScript and C++, and it compiles to EVM bytecode plus an ABI. It supports inheritance, libraries, user-defined types, custom errors and events. Version 0.8.x is current, with checked arithmetic by default. Developers usually write it with Foundry or Hardhat and reuse audited building blocks from OpenZeppelin Contracts.
05
How would you check on-chain whether a user is in a 10,000-address allowlist without storing all addresses?
Build a Merkle tree off-chain from the allowlisted addresses (hashing each leaf, ideally double-hashed with amounts if needed) and store only the 32-byte root in the contract. Each user submits a proof of about 14 hashes for 10,000 leaves. The contract recomputes the root with OpenZeppelin MerkleProof.verify and compares it. This costs one storage slot instead of 10,000, and you can update the list by changing the root.
06
Write a basic voting contract using a struct, mapping and event.
A mapping does not store keys. The value for key k in a mapping declared at slot p lives at storage slot keccak256(k . p). Every possible key implicitly exists with a default zero value, so the contract cannot know which keys were set or how many. To iterate, keep a separate array of keys or use OpenZeppelin EnumerableSet or EnumerableMap, accepting extra gas, or rebuild the list off-chain from emitted events.
08
A product team wants to store user documents and personal details directly on a public chain. What do you advise?
Do not put personal data on a public chain. Data there is permanent, public and replicated globally, which conflicts with the right to erasure under India's DPDP Act and GDPR, and storage is extremely expensive. Store documents encrypted in off-chain storage, keep only a salted hash or commitment on-chain for integrity, and control access through the application. If the data must be deleted, delete the off-chain copy and the encryption key; the hash alone reveals nothing.
09
A function that distributes rewards loops over all users and is getting too expensive. How do you fix it?
Unbounded loops eventually exceed the block gas limit. Switch to a pull-based accounting model: maintain a global reward-per-token accumulator that grows when rewards are added, and store each user's last checkpoint. Users claim with reward equals balance times (current accumulator minus their checkpoint). This makes distribution O(1) for any number of users. Alternatively, use a Merkle distributor where rewards are computed off-chain and users claim with proofs.
10
Write a simple Proof of Work loop in Python with a difficulty setting.
The miner increments the nonce until the hash starts with the required number of zero hex digits.
import hashlib
def mine(data, difficulty=4):
prefix = '0' * difficulty
nonce = 0
while True:
h = hashlib.sha256(f'{data}{nonce}'.encode()).hexdigest()
if h.startswith(prefix):
return nonce, h
nonce += 1
print(mine('block-1: A pays B 5'))
Each extra zero makes mining about 16 times harder, while verifying still needs one hash.
11
Your exchange credited a deposit, but the block was later dropped in a reorg and the funds vanished. How do you prevent this?
Credit deposits only after enough confirmations for the chain's risk profile, and on Ethereum prefer waiting for finalized or at least safe block tags rather than the latest block. Make the deposit indexer reorg-aware: track block hashes, detect when a parent hash changes, roll back credits from orphaned blocks and reprocess. Scale required confirmations with deposit size, and alert on unusually deep reorgs on smaller chains, which can signal a 51 percent attack.
12
How do you read a contract and send a transaction with viem?
A contract inherits with is, for example contract Token is ERC20, Ownable. Parent functions that may be changed must be marked virtual, and the child must use override; with several parents you list them, as in override(A, B). Solidity uses C3 linearisation, so the order of the parent list matters, from most base to most derived, and super calls the next contract in that order. Constructors of parents run first in linearised order.
15
How do you read a contract's storage slot directly with Foundry's cast?
Use cast storage with the contract address and slot number. For mappings, compute the slot as keccak256(key . slot).
# Read slot 0 (often the first state variable)
cast storage 0xContractAddress 0 --rpc-url $RPC_URL
# balanceOf mapping stored at slot 2, key = user address
cast index address 0xUserAddress 2
cast storage 0xContractAddress <slot-from-above> --rpc-url $RPC_URL
This shows that private variables are not secret: anyone can read storage.
16
Your dApp needs a full history of user transactions and fast queries. Reading events from the node is too slow. What do you do?
Build or use an indexer. An indexer listens to contract events from a start block, transforms them and stores them in a database like PostgreSQL, so the front-end runs normal fast queries. Options are a subgraph on The Graph, hosted indexing services, or a custom service with ethers and a queue. It must handle reorgs by tracking block hashes, support backfilling, and expose an API. Design events up front with indexed fields that queries need.
17
What is the difference between receive and fallback functions?
receive() external payable runs when a contract receives plain ETH with empty calldata, for example a transfer from a wallet. fallback() runs when calldata matches no function, or when ETH arrives with data and no receive exists; it must be payable to accept ETH. Proxies use fallback to delegatecall all unknown calls to the implementation. Keep both simple, since a reverting or gas-heavy receive can break senders that use transfer with its 2300 gas stipend.
18
Design token vesting for team members and early investors.
Use a vesting contract that holds allocated tokens and releases them on a schedule, typically a one-year cliff followed by monthly or linear vesting over two to four years. OpenZeppelin VestingWallet gives linear vesting per beneficiary; add a cliff and an owner-controlled revoke for employees who leave, returning unvested tokens. Make schedules public on-chain for transparency, and avoid admin functions that could release tokens early, as that erodes investor trust.
19
A fee-on-transfer token breaks your DEX's accounting. What happened and how do you fix it?
Fee-on-transfer tokens deduct a percentage on every transfer, so when your contract calls transferFrom for 100 tokens it may receive only 98. If the code assumes 100 arrived, balances and reserves drift and can be exploited. Fix it by measuring the actual amount received: read the contract's balance before and after the transfer and use the difference. Also decide whether to support such tokens at all and document unsupported token behaviours like rebasing.
The trilemma says a blockchain finds it hard to maximise decentralisation, security and scalability at the same time on a single layer. Raising block size or using few validators increases throughput but reduces decentralisation. Ethereum's answer is a rollup-centric roadmap: keep the base layer decentralised and secure, and move execution to Layer 2 rollups that post data back to Layer 1. Many high-throughput chains instead accept fewer, more powerful validators.
21
A developer accidentally pushed a private key to a public GitHub repo. What do you do?
Treat the key as compromised immediately, because bots scan GitHub within seconds. Move all funds and tokens to a new secure wallet, revoke token approvals, and if the key owns contracts, transfer ownership or roles to a new multisig. Removing the commit is not enough since history and forks keep it. Then rotate any related API keys, add secret scanning and pre-commit hooks, and load keys from environment variables or a secrets manager.
22
What is finality, and how does probabilistic finality differ from deterministic finality?
Finality is the guarantee that a confirmed transaction will not be reversed. In proof of work, finality is probabilistic: each new block on top makes reversal exponentially less likely, so exchanges wait for several confirmations. In BFT-style and Ethereum proof of stake, finality is economic and deterministic: once two-thirds of stake attests to a checkpoint, reverting it would require burning at least one-third of all staked ETH. Ethereum finalises in about two epochs, roughly 13 minutes.
23
Tell me about a bug you missed and what you learned from it.
Situation: I shipped a rewards contract where a rounding error let users claim slightly more than earned when claiming very often. Task: fix it and prevent repeats. Action: I owned the mistake in the team call, wrote a failing test reproducing it, changed the division order to round down in the protocol's favour, and added fuzz tests on claim frequency. Result: losses were tiny, and I now always fuzz any maths involving division.
24
How do you listen to contract events and query past events with ethers?
Use contract.on for live events and queryFilter for history.
const abi = ['event Transfer(address indexed from, address indexed to, uint256 value)'];
const token = new Contract(TOKEN, abi, provider);
token.on('Transfer', (from, to, value, event) => {
console.log(from, to, value.toString(), event.log.blockNumber);
});
const filter = token.filters.Transfer(null, MY_ADDRESS);
const past = await token.queryFilter(filter, -5000); // last 5000 blocks
console.log(past.length);
Use a WebSocket provider for live events, and page large ranges because providers limit block spans.
25
What is the difference between SHA-256 and Keccak-256?
SHA-256 is from the SHA-2 family and uses a Merkle-Damgard construction; Bitcoin uses double SHA-256 for block hashes and transaction IDs. Keccak-256 is based on the sponge construction and is what Ethereum uses for addresses, function selectors, event topics and storage slots. Ethereum's Keccak-256 is the original Keccak submission and differs from the final NIST SHA3-256 in padding, so the two give different outputs for the same input.
26
Your dApp's users are paying high gas fees on Ethereum mainnet. How would you choose a Layer 2?
I would compare candidate rollups on security (proof system live, stage of decentralisation, upgrade keys), EVM compatibility so our Solidity code deploys unchanged, ecosystem fit (wallets, oracles, liquidity, bridges our users already use), fees and throughput, and withdrawal experience. I would deploy to testnets first, measure real costs and latency, and check that our dependencies such as Chainlink feeds exist there. Then migrate gradually, keeping L1 contracts for high-value settlement if needed.
27
What is the difference between an execution client and a consensus client, and why does client diversity matter?
Since the Merge, an Ethereum node runs two pieces of software. The execution client, such as Geth, Nethermind, Besu, Erigon or Reth, runs the EVM, holds state and handles transactions. The consensus client, such as Lighthouse, Prysm, Teku, Nimbus or Lodestar, runs Proof of Stake. They talk over the Engine API. Client diversity matters because a bug in a client used by over two-thirds of validators could finalise an invalid chain and cause mass slashing.
28
Write a Python function that computes a Merkle root from a list of transactions.
Hash leaves, then hash pairs until one remains, duplicating the last hash when a level is odd (Bitcoin style).
import hashlib
def h(b):
return hashlib.sha256(b).digest()
def merkle_root(txs):
level = [h(t.encode()) for t in txs]
while len(level) > 1:
if len(level) % 2:
level.append(level[-1])
level = [h(level[i] + level[i+1]) for i in range(0, len(level), 2)]
return level[0].hex()
print(merkle_root(['tx1', 'tx2', 'tx3']))
29
How do you verify a deployed contract's source code on a block explorer?
Verification uploads source and compiler settings so the explorer can recompile and match the bytecode, letting users read the code.
# Foundry, using an explorer API key
forge verify-contract 0xDeployedAddr src/Counter.sol:Counter \
--chain sepolia --etherscan-api-key $KEY --watch
# With constructor arguments
--constructor-args $(cast abi-encode 'constructor(address)' 0xOwner)
# Hardhat
npx hardhat verify --network sepolia 0xDeployedAddr 0xOwner
Compiler version, optimiser runs and via-IR settings must match exactly.
30
Tell me about a time you explained blockchain to a non-technical stakeholder.
Situation: a business head wanted 'blockchain' in a vendor portal because competitors mentioned it. Task: help him decide. Action: I compared it to a shared online spreadsheet that nobody can secretly edit, then showed cost, speed and privacy trade-offs against a normal database with audit logs. Result: we agreed to keep the portal on a database and anchor monthly hashes of invoices on a chain for proof, saving months of work while meeting the trust goal.
Tips to crack the HSBC Blockchain interview
Learn anti-money laundering and KYC basics, since financial crime analytics is a large function at HSBC.
Revise SQL, Python and testing fundamentals for technology and data roles in banking systems.
Read about HSBC's focus on Asia and international trade to show understanding of its business.
Keep a one-minute story ready for every project on your CV: problem, your part, tools, result.
Practise the hard questions on this page aloud; HSBC interviewers usually ask follow-ups on your first answer.
Frequently asked questions
How many rounds are there in the HSBC Blockchain interview?
Candidates usually go through 4 stages: Online assessment (aptitude + technical); Technical round; Managerial round; HR round. The exact rounds change with the role, team, location and your experience, so confirm the process with the recruiter.
Which topics should I prepare for the HSBC Blockchain interview?
This practice set leans on Blockchain Fundamentals (6), Solidity Programming (6), dApp Development (4), Cryptography for Blockchain (4). Revise those first, then practise explaining one or two of your own projects end to end, because most HSBC interviewers ask you to walk through real work.
Are these the exact questions asked at HSBC?
No. These are curated practice questions that match the skills and difficulty usually tested in banking & finance interviews like HSBC's. They are not a leaked or verified list of past questions.
Where does HSBC hire Blockchain professionals in India?
HSBC has large teams in Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru. Openings and locations change often, so check the HSBC careers page and filter by city and experience.