CS 695: Blockchains and Cryptofinance (Graduate, Spring 2023)

Professor:

Giuseppe Ateniese (ateniese@gmu.edu)

Office hours: Tuesday 4:30pm - 5:30pm (Zoom)

Description:

This graduate-level course provides an in-depth examination of the technical foundations of blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as advanced topics such as smart contracts, oracles, and decentralized finance. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of blockchains, including consensus mechanisms, applied cryptography, P2P networks, Byzantine agreement, mining, and the mechanics of cryptofinance.

We will use GMU Blackboard for Q&As, course materials, and assignments.

Scheduled Meeting Times:

Monday 4:30pm - 7:10pm, Enterprise Hall 275

Reading material:

- Narayanan, Arvind, Joseph Bonneau, Edward Felten, Andrew Miller, and Steven Goldfeder. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies: a comprehensive introduction. Princeton University Press, 2016.

Free pre-publication draft available from the authors

- Andreas Antonopoulos. Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain. O'Reilly Media, 2018.

Available from the author

Additional reading material will be provided in class.

Grading:

50% Assignments

50% Final Project or Exam

Ethics:

GMU Honor Code

CS Department Honor Code