Blockchain Technology

Description

In this course, you will learn:

• Proof-of-Stake, voting-based consensus algorithms, and federated consensus are all alternatives to Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work consensus process.
• The definition and features of crypto-economics in relation to its two constituent fields: cryptography and economics, as well as crypto-economics goals in terms of distributed systems principles.
• The many enterprise-level blockchain implementations, such as JP Morgan's Quorum, Ripple, Tendermint, and HyperLedger, as well as industry use cases, ICOs, and the growing legislation around blockchain.
• The issues of scaling and the barriers to mainstream blockchain adoption, as well as proposed solutions in vertical and horizontal scaling (e.g. block size increases, Segregated Witness, and the Lightning Network) (e.g. sidechains, sharding).
• Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) legislation, anonymity goals, and government strategies for the deanonymization of entities on the blockchain are examples of government initiatives to regulate and manage blockchain technology.
• A look into today's blockchain enterprises, including venture financing, initial coin offerings (ICOs), and crowdfunding.

Syllabus:

1. Distributed Systems and Alternative Consensus
2. Cryptoeconomics and Proof-of-Stake
3. Enterprise Blockchain: Real-World Applications
4. Scaling Blockchain: Cryptocurrencies for the Masses
5. Regulation and Anonymity
6. A Blockchain-Powered Future