Blockchain and FinTech: Basics, Applications, and Limitations

Understand the design rationale of blockchain technology, its emerging platforms and applications and uncover the limitations and the opportunities enabled by blockchain applications, particularly as it relates to finance.

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Created by: Siu Ming Yiu

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Course Description

Blockchain is a core technology in FinTech. The original design of blockchain focused on the cryptocurrency "Bitcoin". Due to its specific characteristics, many companies and users now find blockchain very useful for applications in many areas, not limited to cybercurrencies, including finance, logistics, insurance, medicine and even music. However, the design of blockchain involves cryptographic technology, which cannot be easily understood by those who are not professionals in the area of IT and security.
In order to better understand what kinds of applications best fit blockchain and other forms of distributed ledger technology and the potentials of these emerging technologies, it is important to understand the design rationale, the basic technology, the underlying cryptographic fundamentals, and its limitations. This 6-week online coursewill walk you through the following:
The design rationale behind blockchain and the issues for such decentralized ledger (transaction) systems.
The underlying technology (e.g. how the fundamental algorithms - the cryptographic primitives - work together) behind and how it makes blockchain works and safe.
The differences of the various existing blockchain platforms and what these platforms can provide (e.g. pros and cons of the major platforms).
What kinds of applications (both traditional and emerging) best fit the blockchain technology and how blockchain technology can benefit these applications.
Blockchain does have its limitations. We will uncover the problems and the limitations of blockchain technology to enable developers and researchers to think about how to enhance the existing blockchain technology and practitioners to better address the issues when using blockchains in their applications.
This course will also briefly discuss the downside of blockchain with respect to the protection of criminal activities (e.g. why ransomware always ask for bitcoins as ransom, and the money laundering problem).
The course aims at targeting a wide audience: This course will provide learners a good understanding of the technological, applicability, limitations and "illegal" usage of the blockchain technology.

Beginner Level

Time: 6 Weeks - 3-4 hours per week

Instructor Details

Siu Ming Yiu

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S.M. Yiu is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Hong Kong. Dr. Yiu has received numerous teaching awards including the outstanding teaching award of HKU, best teacher award (twice) of the Faculty of Engineering, HKU, and the teaching excellence award of the Department (more than six times). He is good at presenting difficult concepts using simple and easy-to-understand approaches. He is also the director of the FinTech Research Laboratory of the department and an expert in cryptography and blockchain technology. He is also a popular speaker in the industry in cryptography and blockchain technology. He is also one of the only twelve HKU researchers that appeared on the 2017 list of highly cited researchers in the world by Clarivate Analytics (there are only 152 such researchers in the field of computer science all over the world, and only 4 in Hong Kong).