Blockchain

Objectives

Blockchain technology is being developed and deployed to change the way both citizens and corporations interact online. In the future of the internet, referred to as Web 3.0, blockchain proponents imagine we will decentralise our online interactions and no longer be required to trust centralised services. In the decentralised internet we will have sovereign ownership of our data online without exposing it to big corporations like Facebook. Ownership of assets, from houses to shares, will be “tokenized” and traded from peer to peer directly. Bitcoin supporters imagine a world where payments are made privately and seamlessly without the need for intermediaries such as banks. The goods and services we purchase will have verifiable supply chain histories, allowing us to know to if the food we eat is really local and which products originate from exploitative labour practices.  Even the companies in which we work may be operated in a decentralised manor, with blockchain coordinating the decisions of employees who own and operate decentralised autonomous organisations.

Find out how blockchain technology actually works and how businesses are creating trustable shared environments with smart contracts. Discover the problems currently being tackled with blockchain, and the big ideas it is enabling for the future.

General characterization

Code

200269

Credits

4.0

Responsible teacher

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - Available soon

Teaching language

Portuguese. If there are Erasmus students, classes will be taught in English

Prerequisites

Basic familiarity with Python or other programming language is recommended. Practical materials are designed for students from all backgrounds, but students without previous programming experience may need to dedicate additional effort to learning how to write basic smart contracts.

Bibliography

Antonopoulos, A. M., & Wood, G. (2018). Mastering ethereum: building smart contracts and dapps. O'reilly Media. Available at: https://github.com/ethereumbook/ethereumbook

 

Antonopoulos, A. M. (2017). Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the open blockchain. Second edition" O'Reilly Media, Inc.". available at: https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook

 

Additional bibliography distributed throughout the semester in line with the content of the topics covered in each class.

Teaching method

The course will be largely theory classes with a minor practical component. The aim is to present both the big changes possible with blockchain and a practical understanding of the technology and the smart contracts developed for it.

Throughout the semester students will complete a simple set of smart contract development exercises.

Evaluation method

To successfully finish this curricular unit, students need to score a minimum of 9.5 points. The grading is divided into two seasons. Attendance in the second is optional for students that passed the curricular unit in the first season and can be used to improve their grade.

Continuous Evaluation (1st Call)

The first season is dedicated to continuous evaluation and replaces the first Exam call. The continuous evaluation includes the following two assessment components:

  1. Exam (60%) – This is an individual assessment activity. The exam is multichoice. To successfully complete the course students must obtain a minimum score of 9.5 in the final examination
  2. Practical Exercises (40%) – Completion of simple smart contract development tutorial and answering to questions in online quizzes.

Final Exam (2nd Call)

The second grading season will take place in July and consists of a multiple-choice exam.

The Exam is made up of 40 multiple-choice questions.

Please note: As this exam covers the full course (practical and theoretical components) it is typically significantly more difficult than the first exam that has a larger focus on theoretical components. Student averages are significantly lower for this exam typically.

Subject matter

  • Introduction
  • Blockchain and cryptography basics
  • Ethereum: The world computer
  • Smart contracts and decentralized apps
  • Decentralised finance (DeFi) and other big idea
  • Scalability and the future of blockchains
  • Applications