Course syllabus and readings
Fall 2018
Every lecture is accompanied by readings that support and expand on what was covered in the lecture. In the listings below we use NBFMG to refer to the course textbook Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction by Narayanan, Bonneau, Felten, Miller and Goldfeder (referred to as NBFMG below). Note that attendance in lectures is not required, as lectures will be recorded and available via SCPD.
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Lecture 1:
Mon 9/24/18
(DB)
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Intro to cryptography & crypto currencies
References:
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Lecture 2:
Wed 9/26/18
(DM)
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Overview of consensus protocols
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 3:
Mon 10/ 1/18
(DB)
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Bitcoin nuts and bolts
References:
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Lecture 4:
Wed 10/ 3/18
(DM)
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Proof of Work and mining strategies
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 5:
Mon 10/ 8/18
(DM)
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Proof of Stake
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 6:
Wed 10/10/18
(DB)
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Managing and protecting crypto assets
References:
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Lecture 7:
Mon 10/15/18
(DM)
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Mining attacks
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 8:
Wed 10/17/18
(DM)
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Cross-chain transactions
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 9:
Mon 10/22/18
(DB)
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Ethereum: Decentralized Apps, EVM, and the Ethereum blockchain
References:
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Lecture 10:
Wed 10/24/18
(Guest)
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Programming in solidity (Amir Bandeali, 0x project)
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 11:
Mon 10/29/18
(DB)
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Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
References:
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Lecture 12:
Wed 10/31/18
(Guest)
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A real-world Ethereum system (Alex Melville, BitGo)
[notes]
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Lecture 13:
Mon 11/ 5/18
(DB)
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De-anonymizing the blockchain and mixing
References:
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Lecture 14:
Wed 11/ 7/18
(DB)
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Privacy on the blockchain: zero-knowledge and more
References:
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Lecture 15:
Mon 11/12/18
(DM)
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Scaling blockchains
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 16:
Wed 11/14/18
(DM)
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Distributed exchanges
[notes]
References:
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Holiday: Mon 11/19/18 |
Thanksgiving |
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Holiday: Wed 11/21/18 |
Thanksgiving |
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Lecture 17:
Mon 11/26/18
(DM)
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Token economics
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 18:
Wed 11/28/18
(Guest)
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Legal aspects and regulation (Marvin Ammori, Protocol Labs)
[notes]
References:
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Lecture 19:
Mon 12/ 3/18
(DB)
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MimbleWimble, randomness beacons
References:
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Lecture 20:
Wed 12/ 5/18
(Guest)
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The future of blockchains (Olaf Carlson-Wee, Polychain)
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