Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies From Proliferation to Utility

The State of the Technology & The True Business Potential 

2 Day Training Course

 Course Description

This course covers blockchains, cryptocurrencies, distributed ledgers, tokens, and related technologies as well as the business, economic, philosophical paradigm shifts that have been taking place since the “mining” of the first Bitcoin “block” on January 3, 2009.   This course not only explains blockchains and cryptocurrencies from a holistic point of view, but it does so with the aim to incite a critical thinking approach to learning and understanding the state of these technologies and their true potential for deploying applications in private industry and government.  While the course is presented from a centrist point of view, it offers thought-provoking discussion on the pro’s and con’s, the hype and speculation, as well as the prevalent dogmatic beliefs surrounding the entire blockchain ecosystem.    The primary focus of the course is to enable participants to learn more than “just” the fundamentals such that they are able to decouple preconceived ideas and biases with the ultimate goal of making sound decisions surrounding blockchain projects, initiatives, and investments.  

Course Outline

Module 1:  The Origin of Cryptocurrencies

• The History of Cryptocurrencies
• The Bitcoin Whitepaper in 2008
• The Start of Bitcoin in 2009
• The Early Alternatives to Bitcoin
• Key Concepts of Peer-to-Peer, Immutability, Trust, and Disintermediation 
• The Double Spending Problem
• The Byzantine Generals Problem
• How Digital Currency Will Change the World
• Do Cryptocurrencies Have Intrinsic Value
• US Dollar vs Bitcoin – Which is More Promising
• A Philosophical Movement and a Technological Breakthrough

 Module 2:   Bitcoin Fundamentals

• What is Bitcoin
• What is Blockchain
• What is a Distributed System
• What is a Decentralized System
• What is a Block
• What is a Hash
• What is Cryptography
• What is a Merkle Tree
• What is Mining
• Who are Miners
• What is a Node
• What is a Nonce
• What is a Blockchain Consensus Protocol
• What are Forks in a Blockchain
• Who are Bitcoin Stakeholders
• What is a Distributed Ledger
• What are Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs)
• What is the Current State of Bitcoin 

Module 3:   Skeptics & Believers of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain

• Who Are Some of the Better-known Bears or “Skeptics”, What Are They Saying, And Why Have They Taken Skeptical or Generally Negative Stances on This Asset Class and Related Technologies.
• Paul Krugman
• Nouriel Roubini
• Warren Buffett
• Charlie Munger
• Bill Gates
• Joseph Stiglitz
• Robert Shiller
• others

• Who Are Some of the Better-known Bulls or “Believers” And What Are They Saying, And Why Do They Promote And Have Generally A Positive Outlook Regarding this Asset Class and Related Technologies.
• Brian Armstrong
• Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss
• Naval Ravikant
• Michael Novogratz
• Chris Dixon and Katie Haun
• Vitalik Buterin
• Jimmy Song
• others

 Module 4:   Crypto Currency Proliferation

• Top 10 Decentralized Cryptocurrencies
• Types of Cryptocurrencies
• Cryptocurrency Bubbles
• What Makes a Good Cryptocurrency
• Percentage of Americans that Own Bitcoin
• How Many Cryptocurrencies Are There
• Cryptocurrency as Legal Tender
• “Virtual Currencies” and Taxation
• Worldwide Market Capitalization of Cryptocurrency Versus Other Asset Classes
• The Conversion Funnel
• The Adoption Gap
• How to Acquire Bitcoin or Other Crypto
• Types of Cryptocurrency Wallets
• Cryptocurrency Exchanges
• Which Coins/Tokens Are Here for the Long Run 

Module 5:   Utility

• Applications and Use Cases of Blockchains
• Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Platforms
• The Blockchain Killer App
• The 2^ndWave of Killer Apps
• The Oracle Problem and Smart Contracts
• How “Blockchain” is Meaningless
• The 3^rdWave of Killer Apps
• What is Up and Running
• Regulation of Cryptocurrency Around the World
• Use Cases in Business and Private Industry
• Use Cases in Government
• Methodologies for Deploying Blockchain

Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies from Proliferation to Utility - Course Syllabus.

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