Mathematical Methods for Distributed Ledger Systems

2020/2021

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

8

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Департамент программной инженерии

Статус:

Курс по выбору

Когда читается:

4-й курс, 1-3 модуль

Преподаватель

Янович Юрий Александрович

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Mathematical Methods for Distributed Ledger Systems: Distributed ledger technology (blockchain) was introduced in 2008 as a basis for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency and has found application in many areas: state registries, supply chain, financial sector, and others by the moment. The blockchain is based on beautiful mathematical approaches from cryptography, data structures and distributed algorithms, such as public-key cryptography, Merkle trees and consensus protocols, and challenges researchers with new ones. The course will tell you what a distributed ledger is, about its underlying theoretical principles and what current trends are in it. Mastering the material requires only standard computer science student skills, namely: • to be familiar with at least one high-level programming language and not be afraid of meeting new ones; • do not be afraid of power over a given field either on paper or in a computer; • draw pictures and display text in Jupyter notebook; • understand what an algorithm is.

Learning Objectives

• study of distributed ledger (blockchain) technology with an emphasis on its mathematical foundations, as well as technical and applied aspects

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Ability to design a blockchain application from the formulation of an application problem to a technical description
• The ability to simulate cryptographic primitives and simplest blockchains in the Jupiter laptop web application
• Be able to program and run simple smart contracts in Solidity language
• Be able to program and run simple smart contracts on the Exonum platform

Course Contents

• Blockchain basics
  Blockchain technology as a basis of Bitcoin. Blockchain application examples. My toy cryptocurrency. Inside Bitcoin: network protocol and clients.
• Cryptography basics
  Introduction to cryptography. Block ciphers. Public key cryptography. RSA. ElGamal. Elliptic curves. PKI. Zero-knowledge proofs. Secret sharing scheme.
• Deeper into blockchain
  Blockchain capabilities, limitations and challenges. Proof-of-X. Scaling blockchain: sidechains, sharding. Privacy in blockchains: Bitcoin case study. Privacy in blockchains: ZKP and private smart contracts. ZKP practice.
• Smart contracts
  Micropayments and smart contracts (Bitcoin). Micropayments and smart contracts practice. Ethereum. Ethereum smart contracts. Lightning.
• Private blockchains
  BFT consensus Private blockchains: Exonum, Hyperledger Fabric

Assessment Elements

• home assignment 1
• home assignment 2
• home assignment 3

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (3 module)
  0.3 * home assignment 1 + 0.4 * home assignment 2 + 0.3 * home assignment 3

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Handbook of blockchain, digital finance, and inclusion. Vol.1: Cryptocurrency, FinTech, InsurTech, and regulation, , 2018
• Handbook of blockchain, digital finance, and inclusion. Vol.2: China Tech, mobile security, and distributer ledger, , 2018
• Harvard Business Review, Don Tapscott, Marco Iansiti, Karim R. Lakhani, & Catherine Tucker. (2019). Blockchain : The Insights You Need From Harvard Business Review. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2003693
• Introduction to cryptography and network security, Forouzan, B. A., 2008
• Introduction to cryptography, Buchmann, J., 2004

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Katz, J., & Lindell, Y. (2014). Introduction to Modern Cryptography (Vol. Second edition). Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=nlebk&AN=1766746