5/5/2019 Syllabus | Welcome | CS198.

2x Courseware | edX

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Course  Welco…  Welco…  Syllabus

Syllabus
This course provides a wide overview of many of the topics relating to and building
upon the foundation of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. 

The course is divided into 6 modules: Distributed Systems & Consensus,

Cryptoeconomics & Proof-of-Stake, Enterprise Blockchain, Scalability, Anonymity, A
Blockchain Powered Future.

Trust Without Trust: Distributed Systems & Consensus

Blockchain architecture is built on the foundation of decades of computer science and
distributed systems literature. We start out by providing a formal de nition of
distributed consensus and presenting foundational theoretical computer science topics
such as the CAP Theorem and the Byzantine Generals Problem. We then explore
alternative consensus mechanisms to Bitcoin’s Proof-of-work, including Proof-of-Stake,
voting-based consensus algorithms, and federated consensus.

Securing Incentives: Cryptoeconomics & Proof-of-Stake

We examine the meaning and properties of cryptoeconomics as it relates to its two
compositional elds: cryptography and economics. We then look at the goals of
cryptoeconomics with respect to distributed systems fundamentals (liveness, safety,
data availability) and the grie ng factors and faults in the way of these goals.

Real-World Applications: Enterprise Blockchain

We categorize the uses of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, and look at
various existing enterprise-level blockchain implementations, such as JP Morgan’s
Quorum, Ripple, Tendermint, and HyperLedger. We also explore business and industry
use cases for blockchain, ICOs, and the increasing regulations surrounding blockchain.

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5/5/2019 Syllabus | Welcome | CS198.2x Courseware | edX

Cryptocurrencies for the Masses: Scaling Blockchain

One major obstacle to widespread blockchain adoption is the problem of scalability.
We de ne scaling rst as it relates to Bitcoin as a payment method, and compare it to
more traditional forms of payment such as credit cards. We then consider the general
blockchain scalability debate and look into some solutions categorized by vertical and
horizontal, as well as layer 1 and layer 2 scaling. Topics include block size increases,
Segregated Witness, payment channels, Lightning Network, sidechains, Plasma,
sharding, and Cosmos.

The Fight for Privacy: Anonymity, Mixing & Altcoins

We look into the measures that governments have taken to regulate and control
blockchain technology.  We examine Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your
Customer (KYC) regulations, anonymity goals, and government techniques for
deanonymization of entities on blockchain. Then from the user’s perspective, we also
dive into privacy oriented altcoins and mixing techniques.

A Blockchain Powered Future

A summary of the entire Blockchain Fundamentals program and an exploratory look
into blockchain ventures today, such as venture capitalism, ICOs, and crowdfunding.
We conclude with a blockchain-based future thought experiment and explain the
avenues for the student’s potential involvement.

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