Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
2nd Semester, Course Code: ΜΕΧΤΕ204
Credits: 7,5
Learning Outcomes
This course covers the core fundamentals of how cryptocurrencies work, who uses them, what level of security they have, and how they are different from traditional hard currencies, as well as how Bitcoin originated and why it is becoming a global phenomenon. From an economics perspective, topics include price determination under the Proof of Work protocol, the welfare costs and benefits of cryptocurrencies, the surrounding legal issues, and the effects of digital currencies on the monetary policies of central banks. The course also provides a broad overview of the essential concepts of blockchain, the technology that is used to allow fast, secure, transparent transactions to take place, and it discusses smart contracts, consensus mining, and the key advantages of blockchain technology.
After successful completion of the course, students will have:
- The ability to compare the different cryptocurrencies available in the market.
- Knowledge of how using Bitcoin works in practice.
- Knowledge of the Ethereum ecosystem, along with smart contracts.
- An understanding of the current uses and future opportunities of blockchain technology.
- Familiarity with the regulatory concerns and governance related to cryptocurrencies and the blockchain.
- An understanding of the impact of digital currencies on the monetary policies of central banks.
General Competences
- Search for, analysis and synthesis of data and information, with the use of the necessary technology.
- Adapting to new situations.
- Decision-making.
- Working in an interdisciplinary environment.
- Working in an international environment.
- Criticism and self-criticism.
- Production of free, creative, and inductive thinking.
Course Content
- Bitcoin Foundations and Technology
- Bitcoin Protocol – A technical overview
- Bitcoin and Blockchain History: From anonymity to widespread adaption
- Blockchain and Bitcoin Dynamics: Public and Private Blockchains
- Bitcoin Mining and Difficulty
- Ethereum and Smart Contracts
- The new Ethereum Roadmap
- Merge Economics
- Decentralized Apps, EVM, and the Ethereum blockchain
- Consensus protocols
- Proof of Stake: Blockchain without waste
- Proof of Work and Electricity Usage
- Cryptocurriences and Mass adoption
- Crypto Assets – Tokens, Stablecoins, Securities enabled by Smart Contracts
- Correlation with financial markets
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
- Fungible and Non – Fungible Tokens
- Centralized vs Decentralized Exchanges
- Privacy on a public blockchain
- Scaling the blockchain
- Wallets: managing and protecting crypto assets
- Crypto Regulation
- Global Regulatory Challenges
- The SEC vs. CFTC Proxy War
- MiCa – European Regulation Markets in Crypto Assets
- The Crypto Ecosystem and Financial Stability Challenges
- The Ripple case
- Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)
- The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation
- The FedNow instant payment system
- European Central Bank and the Digital Euro
Student Performance Evaluation
1. Written final exam (70%) that includes:
– Multiple choice questionnaires
– Open-ended questions
2. Project presentation / case study (30%)
This is a 3-hour written exam. The individual evaluation grades are explicitly written next to each question.
Bibliography
Suggested Bibliography
Related Academic Journals
- Adrian, T., & Weeks-Brown, R. (2021). Crypto Assets as National Currency? A Step Too Far. IMFBlog, International Monetary Fund, July, 26.
- Alvarez, F. E., Argente, D., & Van Patten, D. (2022). Are cryptocurrencies currencies? Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador (No. w29968). National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Auer, R. (2019). “”””Beyond the doomsday economics of ‘proof-of-work’ in cryptocurrencies.”””” CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP13506.
- Badari, A., & Chaudhury, A. (2021). An overview of bitcoin and ethereum white-papers, forks, and prices.Forks, and Prices (April 26, 2021).
- Bech, M. L., & Garratt, R. (2017). Central bank cryptocurrencies. BIS Quarterly Review September.
- Berentsen, A. (1998). “”””Monetary policy implications of digital money.”””” Kyklos, 51:1, 89-118.
- Bordo, M. and A. Levin. (2017). “”””Central bank digital currency and the future of monetary policy.””””Economics Working Paper 17104, Hoover Institution.
- Budish, E. (2018). The economic limits of bitcoin and the blockchain (No. w24717). National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Buterin, V. (2014). A next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform. white paper, 3(37), 2-1.
- Buterin, V. (2017). The Meaning of Decentralization https://medium.com/@VitalikButerin/the-meaning-of-decentralization-a0c92b76a274
- Catalini, C., & Gans, J. S. (2018). Initial coin offerings and the value of crypto tokens (No. w24418). National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Chiu, J., & Koeppl, T. V. (2019).The economics of cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and beyond(No. 2019-40). Bank of Canada Staff Working Paper.
- Cong, L. W., Z. He and J. Li. (2019). “”””Decentralized mining in centralized pools.”””” No. w25592, National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Griffin, J. M., & Shams, A. (2020). Is Bitcoin really untethered?. The Journal of Finance, 75(4), 1913-1964.
- Huberman, G., J. Leshno and C. Moallemi. (2017). “”””Monopoly without a monopolist: An economic analysis of the Bitcoin payment system.”””” Working Paper 17-92, Columbia Business School.
- Nakamoto, S. (2008). “”””Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system.”””” Manuscript.
- Narayan et al., Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies. Free pdf at http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/.
- Saleh, F. (2018). “”””Blockchain without waste: Proof-of-stake.”””” Manuscript.
- Schilling, L., and H. Uhlig. (2018). “”””Some simple Bitcoin economics.”””” No. w24483, National Bureau of Economic Research.