CS /441: Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies

Transcription

1 CS /441: Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies Instructor: Abhishek Jain Spring 2018 Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

2 What is a Blockchain A distributed ledger or database Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

3 What is a Blockchain A distributed ledger or database Used for building decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

4 What is a Blockchain A distributed ledger or database Used for building decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Several other applications such as distributed Domain Name system (DNS), Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI), stock trade database, etc. Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

5 What is a Blockchain A distributed ledger or database Used for building decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Several other applications such as distributed Domain Name system (DNS), Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI), stock trade database, etc. Lots of exciting research currently underway Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

6 What is a Blockchain A distributed ledger or database Used for building decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Several other applications such as distributed Domain Name system (DNS), Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI), stock trade database, etc. Lots of exciting research currently underway Lots of new startups Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

7 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

8 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Understanding why current implementations work Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

9 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Understanding why current implementations work Understanding the necessary cryptographic background Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

10 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Understanding why current implementations work Understanding the necessary cryptographic background Exploring applications of blockchains to cryptocurrencies and beyond Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

11 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Understanding why current implementations work Understanding the necessary cryptographic background Exploring applications of blockchains to cryptocurrencies and beyond Understanding limitations of current blockchains Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

12 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Understanding why current implementations work Understanding the necessary cryptographic background Exploring applications of blockchains to cryptocurrencies and beyond Understanding limitations of current blockchains Introduction to recent exciting research Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

13 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Understanding why current implementations work Understanding the necessary cryptographic background Exploring applications of blockchains to cryptocurrencies and beyond Understanding limitations of current blockchains Introduction to recent exciting research Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

14 Course Objectives Understanding the mechanics of blockchains Understanding why current implementations work Understanding the necessary cryptographic background Exploring applications of blockchains to cryptocurrencies and beyond Understanding limitations of current blockchains Introduction to recent exciting research Main Goal: Entrepreneurial or research projects by student teams Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

15 Disclaimer This is not a finance course on cryptocurrencies. You should not expect to be taught how to invest in cryptocurrencies or how to become a billionaire overnight. Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

16 Pre-requisites No background in Cryptography is necessary. However, the following are expected: Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

17 Pre-requisites No background in Cryptography is necessary. However, the following are expected: Basic mathematical maturity Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

18 Pre-requisites No background in Cryptography is necessary. However, the following are expected: Basic mathematical maturity Comfort with basic probability Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

19 Pre-requisites No background in Cryptography is necessary. However, the following are expected: Basic mathematical maturity Comfort with basic probability Basic familiarity with asymptotic (Big-O) notation Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

20 General Information Course website: Link on my homepage abhishek Office Hours: Tuesdays 2-3pm in Malone 315 Teaching Assistants: Arka Rai Choudhuri Aarushi Goel TA Office Hours: Arka (Wed 4:30-6pm), Aarushi (Thu 4-5:30pm) Discussion Board: Pizza Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

21 Grading Assignments (take home and in class) and a project Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

22 Grading Assignments (take home and in class) and a project Late submission policy for take-home assignments: Late submissions within 0-24 hrs will lose HALF of their value. Submissions late by more than 24 hours late carry no value at all. Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

23 Grading Assignments (take home and in class) and a project Late submission policy for take-home assignments: Late submissions within 0-24 hrs will lose HALF of their value. Submissions late by more than 24 hours late carry no value at all. Students must form teams for projects Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

24 Grading Assignments (take home and in class) and a project Late submission policy for take-home assignments: Late submissions within 0-24 hrs will lose HALF of their value. Submissions late by more than 24 hours late carry no value at all. Students must form teams for projects Deadlines for forming teams, choosing projects, reporting mid-way progress will be announced later Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

25 Grading Assignments (take home and in class) and a project Late submission policy for take-home assignments: Late submissions within 0-24 hrs will lose HALF of their value. Submissions late by more than 24 hours late carry no value at all. Students must form teams for projects Deadlines for forming teams, choosing projects, reporting mid-way progress will be announced later Grading scheme will be announced next week Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

26 Grading Assignments (take home and in class) and a project Late submission policy for take-home assignments: Late submissions within 0-24 hrs will lose HALF of their value. Submissions late by more than 24 hours late carry no value at all. Students must form teams for projects Deadlines for forming teams, choosing projects, reporting mid-way progress will be announced later Grading scheme will be announced next week Take home assignments must be submitted by Gradescope (use Code M74J8W to join). Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

27 Collaboration You can collaborate with other students on take home assignments Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

28 Collaboration You can collaborate with other students on take home assignments However: you must write the solutions in your own words Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

29 Collaboration You can collaborate with other students on take home assignments However: you must write the solutions in your own words You must also list the names of students you collaborated with for each problem Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

30 Collaboration You can collaborate with other students on take home assignments However: you must write the solutions in your own words You must also list the names of students you collaborated with for each problem Do not collaborate with more than 2 students on assignments Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

31 Plagiarism Plagiarism will be dealt with strictly. You will be IMMEDIATELY reported. If you have a problem, come and talk to me. Do NOT cheat! Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and CryptocurrenciesSpring / 11

32 (Tentative) Syllabus Crypto background: Hash functions, Commitment schemes, Digital signatures, Zero-Knowledge proofs Distributed Consensus and Blockchains Bitcoin: protocols, mining strategies, attacks, weaknesses, applications Alternative approaches Anonymity and Privacy Altcoins Smart-contracts Recent applications Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies Spring / 11

33 Textbook Main resource: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by Narayanan, Bonneau, Felten, Miller, Goldfeder (NBFMG) Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies Spring / 11

34 Textbook Main resource: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by Narayanan, Bonneau, Felten, Miller, Goldfeder (NBFMG) Additional reading material (including research papers) will be made available on class website. Instructor: Abhishek Jain CS /441: Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies Spring / 11