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UVA Introduction to Blockchain Website
| Introduction | Tracks | Cryptography | Economics | Application Development | Projects | Library |
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This class provides students with a high-level introduction to blockchain technology. Students taking the class come from diverse backgrounds including Math, Physics, Computer Science, Economics, Finance, Public Policy, Philosophy, and Law. With this in mind, our core objective is to provide a holistic introduction to blockchain with an emphasis on the underlying technology. To achieve this objective, we are splitting the class into 3 Tracks:
A description of each of the tracks is provided in later sections (linked above). In addition, more information is included in the Track directory.
The materials from each week's lecture (powerpoint, lecture notes, etc.) are stored in the numbered directories (ie 1, 2, ...). The lecture notes complement the powerpoint. In class, we will cover content from all 3 Tracks.
We also encourage students to build software and interact with the blockchain. Over the course of the semester, students will be notified of opportunities to contribute to active projects. In addition, we plan to eventually develop infrastructure to encourage the formation of teams around project proposals.
There are three main tracks for the UVA CS1501 Introduction to Blockchain:
Students may participate in 1, 2, or all 3 tracks. Each track will provide participants with reading resources. In class, we will cover a mix of all three tracks, but likely focus on Economics/Governance. In the future, we may offer other activities/opportunities for students in each track.
This track focuses on the cryptography related to blockchain technology. The material will focus on academic papers but may also cite informal resources on discussion boards, social media feeds, and blog posts.
The Cryptography track will work closely with the UVA Blockchain Research Lab.
Resources Week 1 (9/7-9/14):
Resources Week 2 (9/14-9/21):
- [Reading]
- [Paths]
This track focuses on economics, governance, and incentive management. Incentive loops are the magic sauce of blockchain protocols and communities. By studying the construction of permissionless incentive loops, we can help students grasp the more subtle features that enable (to some extent) decentralization and trustless dispute resolution. Moreover, by understanding the incentive dynamics behind blockchain actors, we can help students realize the limitations of modern blockchain protocols.
Resources Week 1 (9/7-9/14):
This tracks focuses on helping students build software that interacts with the blockchain. This track will provide resources oriented towards coding tutorials and practical examples. It is our hope that the work in this track closely corresponds to the Projects. We organize resources in this track according to programming language. Our favorite programming languages are Rust, Golang, Solidity, Python, Javascript/ES6, and WebAssembly (but we may only focus on a few).
Check out what we offer for students interested in learning this languages.
This part of the class will encourage students to form teams and build projects. It is under construction.
Resources: