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Blockchain Technology

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  Course by Rustie Lin, Nadir Akhtar and University of California, Berkeley
Course Features
  • Lectures
    6
  • Duration
    24 Hours
  • Level
    Intermediate
  • Delivery
    Online
  • Audience
    Programmers
  • Provider
    University

The course dissects blockchain main components (like decentralization level, consensus methods, defense mechanisms, scalability, security & privacy), presents available solutions for each component, critically evaluates those solutions and relates all that knowledge to the latest blockchains. After finishing the course learners will be able to design specialized blockchains and justify design choices – this is the final assignment in the course.

The course is designed for anyone having basic blockchain knowledge and interested to learn blockchain design principles.

CS198.1x Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies is a prerequisite for this course. Alternatively, basic blockchain knowledge covering main concepts in the areas like decentralization, consensus, game theory and cryptography. The following books could be used to learn the necessary concepts:
1) Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by A. Narayanan, J. Bonneau, E. Felten, A. Miller, and S. Goldfeder
2) Mastering Bitcoin by A. Antonopoulos

  • Content

    The course is structured as blockchain design “principles & solutions” guide. The learning content is taken from classical texts on distributed systems, game theory, cryptography as well as the latest scientific research articles. The course also reviews few blockchain protocols and implementations (Quorum, Ripple, Tendermint, Cosmos, HyperLedger, DASH, Monero, Zcash, Lightning Network, Mimblewimble, Grin) that incorporated the solutions discussed. In addition, the coin mixing methods to achieve greater transaction anonymity are critically evaluated.

  • Technology

    The course is primarily about blockchain design principles taking into account distributed system elements, cryptography, (crypto-) economics and therefore will be most valuable to professionals: blockchain designers, programmers and IT system integrators.

  • Applications

    The course devotes one lecture specifically to review blockchain application opportunities in Auto & Mobility, Travel, Digital Identity, Healthcare, Insurance, Housing & Real Estate and Foreign Aid domains. In addition, the discussions about privacy, anonymity, secrecy and “coin mixing” will be very useful to everyone.

  • Delivery

    The course is prepared by students and follows an academic style. The learning material is primarily presented as short video lectures complemented with additional reading texts. Each chapter ends up with a great summary and external information pointers. The presentation approach encourages to take advantage of discussion forums and interaction with the other learners. Quizzes, tests and instructor feedback are available just in the paid version.

Developed by Blockchain at Berkeley and faculty from UC Berkeley's premier Computer Science department, 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 covers many key topics in the blockchain space. First, we take a look at distributed systems and alternative consensus mechanisms, as well as cryptoeconomic and proof-of-stake. We then move on to the fundamental applications of bitcoin and blockchain technology, including exploring enterprise blockchain implementations (JP Morgan’s Quorum, Ripple, Tendermint, and HyperLedger), the challenges and solutions around scaling blockchain adoption, and the measures that the government is taking to regulate and control blockchain technology. We wrap up the course by also taking a look at the various blockchain ventures today and conclude with a blockchain-based future thought experiment.

This course is open to anyone with any background. Whether you are planning your next career move as a blockchain developer, crypto trader, data analyst, researcher, or consultant, or are just looking for an introduction to Blockchain. This course will help you begin to develop the critical skills needed to future-proof your career.

This is the second course in the Blockchain Fundamentals Professional Certificate program.

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