Find answers to common questions about the DeFi course.
## Course Logistics
This course is designed for graduate students (Masters/PhD) in finance, economics, or computer science who want to understand decentralized finance. Ideal participants have Python proficiency and basic understanding of blockchain concepts.
Python proficiency - Experience with pandas, numpy, and data analysis
Blockchain basics - Understanding of transactions, blocks, and consensus
Finance fundamentals - Time value of money, risk/return concepts
No! All exercises use testnets with fake tokens or historical mainnet data for analysis. You never need to risk real funds. Testnet tokens are free from faucets.
Python 3.10 or higher is required. We recommend Python 3.11 for best compatibility. Check your version with python --version.
All required APIs have free tiers sufficient for course work:
Infura - Free tier: 100,000 requests/day
Etherscan - Free tier: 5 requests/second
DeFiLlama - Free, no key required
## DeFi Concepts
Impermanent loss is the opportunity cost of providing liquidity to an AMM compared to simply holding the assets. It occurs when the price ratio of your deposited tokens changes. The loss is "impermanent" because it's only realized when you withdraw. See Week 7 for detailed coverage.
Order Books (traditional exchanges): Match buyers and sellers at specific prices. Requires market makers to provide liquidity.
AMMs (Uniswap, etc.): Use mathematical formulas (like x*y=k) to determine prices automatically. Anyone can provide liquidity. See Week 4 for details.