Financial applications of blockchains and distributed ledgers

Summary

This course provides an introduction to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), blockchains and cryptocurrencies, and their applications in finance and banking and draws the analogies between Traditional Finance (TradFi) and crypto and the ways investors/traders can transact in those worlds.

Content

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Keywords

Cryptocurrencies, Distributed Ledger Technology, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Smart Contracts,

Decentralized Finance

Learning Prerequisites

Recommended courses

Introduction to Finance, Derivatives

 

 

Important concepts to start the course

Databases, Interest rates, Counterparty credit risk, Derivatives

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Distinguish between different types of blockchain (private vs public, permissioned vs non-permissioned, etc.) and cryptocurrencies (utility tokens, security tokens, stablecoins etc.)
• Explain the concepts of smart contracts, Layer 1 and 2, and CEXs vs DEXs
• Reconstruct the various AMMs implementations
• Present existing examples of DeFi (Decentralized Finance) in areas such as borrow/lending and derivatives businesses
• Compare financial products offered in TradFi vs. DeFi under various formats and analyze implications on credit counterparty risk and capital efficiency
• Present various examples of two-way bridges between TradFi and DeFi

Transversal skills

• Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
• Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines.
• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking

Teaching methods

Lectures, group project

Assessment methods

• 60% Group essay
• 40% Group presentation

Supervision

Office hours	Yes
Assistants	No
Forum	No

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

No

Bibliography

Cryptocurrencies: Money, Trust and Regulation (https://epfl.swisscovery.slsp.ch/permalink/41SLSP_EPF/1g1fbol/alma99116897841005516)

 

 

Ressources en bibliothèque

• Cryptocurrencies / McDonald

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/FIN-413