Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency
Code: 105072 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2502441 Computer Engineering | OT | 4 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jordi Herrera Joancomarti
- Email:
- Jordi.Herrera@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
To take this subject, it is necessary to have previously taken the subjects of Information and Security and the Fundamentals of Information Technology.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objectives of this subject are:
- Understand the theoretical concepts of blockchain technology
- Understand how cryptocurrencies work.
- Understand how Bitcoin works, from a technical point of view.
- Know some of the scalability mechanisms of blockchain technology.
- Know how to securely manage the keys that give access to cryptocurrencies.
Competences
- Acquire personal work habits.
- Acquire thinking habits.
- Capacity to design, develop, evaluate and ensure the accessibility, ergonomics, usability and security of computer systems, services and applications, as well as of the information that they manage.
- Capacity to design, develop, select and evaluate computer applications and systems, ensuring reliability, security and quality, in accordance with ethical principles, and applicable standards and legislation.
- Have the capacity to conceive, draft, organise, plan, develop and sign projects in the field of computer engineering for the conception, development and exploitation of computer systems, services and applications.
- Have the capacity to select, deploy, integrate and manage information systems that satisfy the needs of an organisation, identifying the cost and quality criteria.
Learning Outcomes
- Design computer solutions that integrate accessibility and security needs in a distributed system.
- Design, develop, select and evaluate applications, ensuring their reliability and security.
- Develop a capacity for analysis, synthesis and prospection.
- Identify the main attacks that a computer system can receive, as well as the possible protection and detection methods and the application of security policies to avoid damage to the system or minimise the repercussions.
- Incorporate distributed information treatment systems in an organisation in order to increase operative capacity.
- Work independently.
Content
Subject contents:
- Cryptography basic for blockchain technology
- Basic concepts of blockchain technology
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Second layer protocols: Lightning Network
- Key management: wallets
Methodology
The sessions of more theoretical content will be based on material that the teacher will previously make available to students through the virtual campus. Based on this material, two different types of sessions will be structured. On the one hand, question and answer sessions where students will formulate the doubts that have arisen from the previous work on the material provided. In these sessions, the teacher will also challenge the students to highlight the most relevant aspects of the material being worked on. On the other hand, there will be sessions where students, in groups of two, will present a more detailed study of some of the topics covered in the course.
The most practical content sessions will include both solving questions as exercises and performing more technical tasks where the use of specific tools of the subject will be combined (wallets, blockchain browsers, smart contract compilers , etc.) with the development of specific functions using the Python programming language.
Transversal competences. In this subject the following transversal competences of the Degree in Computer Engineering will be worked and evaluated:
- T01.02 - Develop the capacity of analysis, synthesis and prospective: this competence will work of more intense form in the most theoretical sessions where the students will have to show the comprehension of the contents proposed through the questions that the professor will propose them during the theory sessions. This competence will also be worked on in the different works that the students will present throughout the course.
- T02.01 Work autonomously: this focuses on those individual activities, such as carrying out the practical work that students will do throughout the course.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Practical Lab | 25 | 1 | 1, 2, 5, 6 |
| Teorethical Lecture | 25 | 1 | 3, 4, 5 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Help desk | 10 | 0.4 | 3, 1, 2, 4, 5 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Practical lab workhome | 25 | 1 | 3, 1, 2, 6 |
| Theoretical lecture study | 37.5 | 1.5 | 3, 4, 5, 6 |
Assessment
The evaluation model of this subject will be entirely of continuous evaluation. Given the dynamism of the same and the involvement that is required of students in all class sessions (both more theoretical and more practical) the teacher will have multiple elements to assess students. Active participation in the classes asking questions to the teacher and answering questions from other students or the teacher's questions will account for 30% of the grade of the subject. It is for this reason that class attendance in this subject is mandatory.
Beyond the evaluation based on the contributions in the classes, the students will also have to deliver different more practical works that will be proposed throughout the course in the virtual campus of the UAB, deliveries that will complement the evidences of evaluation of the student. These more practical activities will account for 45% of the grade for the subject.
On the other hand, the presentation of the subject that the students will do in the theoretical sessions of the asignatura will also form part of the evidences of evaluation and will suppose 25% of the grade of the subject.
To pass the subject it will be necessary to have passed each one of the evaluable activities understanding that the evaluable activities are: participation in class, practical works and presentation. Each of the practical works must be passed separately.
In case of not passing any of the practical works they will be able to recover returning them to present, although in this case the maximum note of the recovered work that will obtain will be a 5.
In case of not passing the presentation work, it will be necessary to recover it presenting an extended version of the same work that will be presented orally to the professor of the subject.
In case of not passing the evaluation of the participation in class, this will not beable to recover.
No validation of any of the assessable activities for repeat students is contemplated.
Without prejudice to other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, irregularities committed by a student that may lead to a variation in the grade will be graded with a zero (0). Assessment activities qualified in this way and by this procedure will not be recoverable. If it is necessary to pass any of these assessment activities to pass the course, this course will be suspended directly, without the opportunity to retake it in the same course. These irregularities include, but are not limited to:
- the total or partial copy of a practice, report, or any other assessment activity;
- let copy;
- present group work not done entirely by group members;
- present as own materials prepared by a third party, even if they are translations or adaptations, and in general works with non-original and exclusive elements of the student;
In short: copying, copying or plagiarizing (or attempting to) in any of the assessment activities is equivalent to a SUSPENSION, not compensable and without validations of parts of the subject in later courses.
Students who achieve the minimum number of points to pass the course but have not reached the minimum grade in any of the assessment activities, will be assessed with a final grade of 4.5. In the event that the subject has not been passed due to the grade of zero of an activity due to copying, the final grade of the subject will be a 3, which will not compensate for this subject.
Finally, those students who do not submit any of the proposed practical activities will obtain the qualification of “Non-Evaluable”. Participation in any of these evaluation activities will mean receivinga different rating of "Not Evaluable".
No assessment activity will be carried out on any student at a different time than the established one unless there is a justified cause, the activity has been notified in advance and the teacher has given his / her consent. In any other case, if a student has not attended an activity, it cannot be recovered.
With regard to honors enrollments, these may be awarded to those students who have passed the subject with a final grade equal to or greater than 9. Given that the number of honors enrollments may not exceed 5% of students enrolled, will be awarded to students with the highest grades. In the event of a tie, students may be required to take an oral test to break the tie.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral presentation | 25 | 1 | 0.04 | 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
| Participación en clase | 30 | 14 | 0.56 | 4 |
| Practical activities | 45 | 12.5 | 0.5 | 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
Bibliography
- Arvind Narayanan, Joseph Bonneau, Edward Felten, Andrew Miller, Steven Goldfeder. Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction. Princeton University Press (2016). ISBN: 978-0691171692
- Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain. O'Reilly Media; 2nd Edition. (2017) ISBN: 978-1491954386
- Andreas M. Antonopoulos y Gavin Wood, Mastering Ethereum: Building Smart Contracts and DApps. O'Reilly Media. (2018) ISBN: 978-1491971949
- Kalle Rosenbaum, Grokking Bitcoin. Manning Publications (2019) ISBN 9781617294648
- Roger Wattenhofer. Blockchain Science: Distributed Ledger Technology.Inverted Forest Publishing; 3rd Edition (2019) ISBN: 978-1793471734