20729 - BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTO ASSETS
Department of Management and Technology
Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 31
CLMG (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - M (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - IM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - MM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - AFC (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - CLELI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - ACME (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - DES-ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - EMIT (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - GIO (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - DSBA (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - PPA (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - FIN (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - CYBER (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07) - AI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | 3 credits ING-INF/05 | 3 credits SECS-P/07)
Course Director:
LEONARDO MARIA DE ROSSI
LEONARDO MARIA DE ROSSI
Suggested background knowledge
No prior knowledge required.
Indeed, it is worth mentioning that during the course some sessions will be devoted to the analysis of the Ethereum coding system. Some prior knowledge on general coding language could be useful. Yet, it is not the core of the course and thus is not mandatory.
Mission & Content Summary
MISSION
Blockchain, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies: three terms used often without having precisely in mind where the boundaries among them are located. Some believe that blockchain is the most promising and revolutionary technology currently being researched in the IT field, others think that is only an overhyped phenomenon destined to explode in a market bubble. Regarding Bitcoin, some think it is 21st century’s digital gold, non-country specific and censorship-resistant; others, that it represents an asset used only for illicit trafficking.
The course aims at providing the tools from the technological perspective and from the business perspective to understand the technologies, their impact on business, finance and society at large, analyzing the following topics:
- The starting point: Bitcoin. The story, motivations and basic technologies and bitcoin economics
- Blockchain components and technologies: cryptography, ledgers, blocks, chaining, consensus models
- Blockchain categorization and forking. History and main examples
- The main permissionless platform: Ethereum
- Smart contracts and DApp, digital sovereign identity
- Blockchain limitations and misconceptions
- The cryptoasset market development and the financial system: history, case studies, paradigms, regulations…
- Blockchain applications and business implications
- What’s next?
CONTENT SUMMARY
The Bitcoin Paradigm
- Why was Bitcoin created?
- The technological stack of Bitcoin
- The developers' communities of Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin hands-on: opening and exchanging Bitcoin.
The Ethereum Paradigm
- Prologue: the expressiveness limits of Bitcoin script (statelessness, lack of Turing completeness)
- Inception, design and deploy of Ethereum ("the world computer")
- Differences with Bitcoin: scripting language, code execution and account model, governance
- EVM and high level smart contract languages (Solidity)
- Sharding and Proof of Stake (PoS)
Permissioned Blockchains
- Motivations: performance and regulatory compliance issues of permissionless blockchains
- Decentralization trade-offs: permissioned consensus protocols
- Main permissioned platforms (e.g. EBSI, LIbra, Sovrin), perspectives and applications
The blockchain application landscape
- Notarization and certification
- ICOs
- Decentralized Applications
- NFT, Metaverse and Web3
Blockchain business considerations
- Why blockchain can be considered a multi-layer infrastructure.
- What are the blockchain architectural options.
- When the blockchain makes sense in the enterprise and how to implement it.
- What are the so called off-chain services and how do they work.
Introduction to Regulations and institutional initiatives
- Italian and European initiatives
- The role and position of Central Banks on cryptoassets
- The blockchain regulatory framework
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
At the end of the course student will be able to:
- Understand the idea of digital money and especially the functioning of Bitcoin.
- Understand the technical elements of a blockchain architecture.
- Comprehend the logic behind the development of an enterprise project based on blockchain.
- Understand the concept of Decentralized Applications identifying benefits and weaknesses.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
At the end of the course student will be able to:
- Design and code blockchain-based smart-contracts.
- Derive, from the key blockchain framework, the best approach to implement a blockchain solution.
- Use some of the most common software tools (i.e. wallet and blockchain explorers) needed to manage and exchange a cryptocurrency protocol.
Teaching methods
- Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
- Individual works / Assignments
- Collaborative Works / Assignments
- Interaction/Gamification
DETAILS
Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
Students will have the chance to interact with experienced managers, executives and developers dealing with Bitcoin and Blockchain in order to discuss the main issues and trends in the field
Group assignments
A final group assignment will give students the opportunity to discuss among peers and collaborate in the development of a Blockchain application for a company
Assessment methods
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ATTENDING STUDENTS
With the purpose of measuring the Course expected learning outcomes, the assessment for attending students, the exam will consist of an individual exam (50% of the final mark) + group assignment and presentation (40% of the final mark) + class participation and activities (10% of the final mark).
- Individual exam: a questionnaire (composed of multiple-choice and open questions) on the theoretical part of the course, aimed at testing:
- their understanding of the key technical, economic and business aspects of blockchain-based cryptoassets;
- their knowledge about Bitcoin, Ethereum and Permissioned Blockchains;
- their understanding of the most relevant blockchain-based applications, their strengths and weaknesses.
- Group assignment: it focuses on the second part of the course, specifically designed to measure the students’ ability to design a blockchain application tailored to a specific business context. Each project will be evaluated both from a technical and business perspective.
- Class participation: it will be crucial to acquire the ability to interact with executive and managers about the emerging trends and issues of blockchain in order to build an open and collaborative approach to the course’s topics.
NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
The assessment for not attending students is based on a final written exam (100% of the grade). This exam will consist in:
- a multiple-choice questionnaire on the course, aimed at testing
- their understanding of the key technical, economic and business aspects of blockchain-based cryptoassets;
- their knowledge about Bitcoin, Ethereum and Permissioned Blockchain;
- their understanding of the most relevant blockchain-based applications, their strengths and weaknesses.
2. Open questions aimed at testing their ability to analyze a blockchain-based solution from technical and business perspectives.
Teaching materials
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
A collection of course readings will be made available in the course website through the University's elearning platform (Blackboard).
Last change 27/05/2024 17:07