Blockchain Foundations

Blockchain Foundations
chain links with binary numbers

Blockchain Foundations is for students, executives, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts interested in understanding the basics of blockchain technology and the impact it will have in our work and personal lives.  

This course is an introduction to the world of bitcoin, blockchain and distributed ledgers. We’ll cover the basics, look at how Bitcoin works under the hood, explore Bitcoin and blockchain’s brief and fascinating history, and show you the practical usage of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. The aim of the course is to provide a solid foundation for those looking to gain a deeper understanding and learn how blockchain will affect their business areas. With a firm focus on, but not entirely limited to, the finance industry we will look at use cases that are already in the market and those that will come in the future.

Blockchain Foundations is offered in partnership with The Blockchain Academy.

Related Workshops:

This course is currently unavailable.

Module 1: Blockchain Basics 1 

  • Origins of Blockchain
  • Disintermediation
  • How Bitcoin Works
  • Other Consensus Methods 

Module 2: Blockchain Basics  

  • Public vs Private Blockchains
  • Hybrids
  • Permissioned vs Permissionless

Module 3: Cryptography 

  • Terms and Definitions
  • Hash Functions

Module 4: Blockchains Security 

  • Blockchain Security – a primer
  • Consensus engines on Blockchains
  • Decentralization of computing architectures

Module 5: Accessing Utilities KU and TX and Wallets 

  • Public / Private Keys / Wallets
  • Passphrase-Encrypted Wallets (AKA BIP38)
  • Multisig

Module 6: Blockchain Smart Contracts 

  • Data
  • Permissions
  • Tokens
  • Solidity

Module 7: Blockchain Pros & Cons 

  • Speed, cost and latency
  • Throughput
  • Public vs Private Blockchains
  • Open source vs proprietary

Module 8: Current State of Blockchain

  • Bitcoin Blockchain
  • Ethereum  / Eris / Tendermint / BigChainDB
  • Hyperledger

Module 9: Review of Public Blockchain apps

  • InsurEth
  • Augur
  • Digix

Module 10: Governments & Regulation 

  • Who regulates it?
  • Currently regulatory landscape
  • US, UK and EU  government view 

Module 11: Use case deep dive

  • Blockchain in global financing
  • Use of blockchain to create efficient interactions
  • Blockchain used to resolve business interactions
  • Central Banks use of Blockchain

Module 12:  DAO 

  • How does it work
  • How was it funded
  • What happened with the DAO attach?
  • What are the ramifications of the DAO attack?

Module 13: Regulatory Reporting  

  • What is regulatory reporting
  • RegTech – a deeper look
  • Transaction reporting via the blockchain
  • Simplify complex systems

Module 14:  Breakout Session  

  • Payments / Remittances
  • Provenance
  • Identity

Module 15: The Future of Blockchain 

  • The Future – A vision statement
  • Threat or opportunity?
  • The future of Banking and Finance
  • Blockchain applications in Finance
  • Adoption of Blockchain by Central Banks
  • The Distributed Autonomous Organization