Cryptocurrencies, Digital Currencies for the Future?Laajuus (3 ECTS)

Objective

In 2008, Satoshi Nakomoto (a pseudonym for a yet unknown person) published a whitepaper on a new technology useful in creating a fully distributed currency: the bitcoin. This technology has since slowly matured, and can be expected to stay. It is relevant to many people in the fields of information technology and finance to understand the technology and its consequences. However, because of the multitude of alternate crypto coins and ideas on useful features, deciding the way to move forwards is far from easy.

This course aims at giving the student insight into the technology and how to use it. At the end, the group will draw the proverbial crystal ball and try to take a peek into the future of this technology, or rather this stack of related technologies.
Specifically, after successfully completing this course, the student will be able to:
• Set up the infrastructure necessary to use and mine crypto currencies.
• Find relevant literature for specific crypto coins and blockchain technologies.
• Evaluate the viability of a technology based on blockchain.
• Express his (her) vision on the future of this technology stack.

Content

Session 1: introduction to blockchain. History, encryption techniques, mechanisms and protocols. Discussing Proof of Work, Stake and Excellence. Specific routes to relevant literature.

Session 2: using and mining cryptocurrencies. Setting up the technical infrastructure. Mining single node or using a mining pool. The ASICS problem.

Session 3: features in crypto. Covering a number of different crypto coins having interesting features, such as master nodes, witnesses and smart contracts.

Session 4: economics behind crypto. How to determine the viability of a crypto coin. Recognizing scams. Mechanisms determining the value (price) of a crypto coin. Exchanges and trading.

Session 5: the future of crypto. Current issues and possible solutions. What would it take to make a crypto widely accepted, and what to make it fit for the future? The ideal cryptocurrency.
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Qualifications

Students need to have some background in information technology, preferably with an introductory course in programming. They also need mathematics at a level making them admissible to a technical programme. Because of this, the course will be primarily suited for students in computer sciences and students in econometrics who took classes in programming or software development.