Blockchain, Crypto Economy & NFTs

BSc Course - 12 Weeks | Comprehensive blockchain education

52Lessons 8Modules 263Charts 11Labs
Combined PDF ZIP Archive
A

Blockchain Foundations

13 lessons
01What is Blockchain?
45 min | Theory
02aDLT Fundamentals
45 min | Theory
02bDLT Architecture
45 min | Theory
03Hash Functions
45 min | Theory
04Lab: Hash Experiments
Lab60 min
05Public Key Cryptography
45 min | Theory
06Bitcoin Protocol
45 min | Theory
07Proof of Work
45 min | Theory
08Lab: Wallet Setup
Lab60 min
09Proof of Stake
45 min | Theory
10Consensus Comparison
45 min | Theory
11Scalability Trilemma
45 min | Theory
12Lab: Block Explorer
Lab60 min
B

Ethereum & Smart Contracts

8 lessons
13Ethereum Architecture
45 min | Theory
14Gas Mechanics
45 min | Theory
15Solidity Fundamentals
45 min | Theory
16Lab: Contract Interaction
Lab60 min
17ERC-20 Token Standard
45 min | Theory
18ERC-721 & ERC-1155
45 min | Theory
19Token Lifecycle
45 min | Theory
20Lab: Token Analysis
Lab60 min
C

NFTs & Digital Assets

8 lessons
21NFT Technology Deep Dive
45 min | Theory
22NFT Metadata & IPFS
45 min | Theory
23NFT Marketplaces
45 min | Theory
24Lab: OpenSea Analysis
Lab60 min
25Digital Art & Collectibles
45 min | Theory
26Gaming NFTs & Metaverse
45 min | Theory
27RWA Tokenization
45 min | Theory
28Lab: NFT Evaluation
Lab60 min
D

Tokenomics

4 lessons
29Token Economics
45 min | Theory
30Distribution & Vesting
45 min | Theory
31Token Classification
45 min | Theory
32Lab: Tokenomics Analysis
Lab60 min
E

DeFi Ecosystem

8 lessons
33Introduction to DeFi
45 min | Theory
34AMM Mechanics
45 min | Theory
35Uniswap Deep Dive
45 min | Theory
36Lab: Testnet Swap
Lab60 min
37Lending Protocols
45 min | Theory
38Stablecoin Mechanisms
45 min | Theory
39Terra/Luna Case Study
45 min | Theory
40Lab: Testnet Lending
Lab60 min
F

Advanced Topics

4 lessons
41Layer 2 Scaling
45 min | Theory
42Flash Loans
45 min | Theory
43Smart Contract Security
45 min | Theory
44Lab: Security Audit
Lab60 min
G

Regulation & Future

4 lessons
45Global Regulation
45 min | Theory
46Swiss FINMA & EU MiCA
45 min | Theory
47CBDCs & Future
45 min | Theory
48Course Synthesis
45 min | Theory
H

Hands-On Workshops

6 workshops
W1First Smart Contract
Workshop60 min
 Visual Guide (14 slides) Notebook
W2Create Your Cryptocurrency
Workshop60 min
 Visual Guide (14 slides) Notebook
W3Mint Your First NFT
Workshop75 min
 Visual Guide (14 slides) Notebook
W4Create Your Own DAO
Workshop45 min
 Slides (18 frames) Lab Guide Visual Guide Notebook
H

W05 Stablecoins in Practice NEW

90 min, 23 frames, full kit

A 90-minute interactive lecture plus workshop on fiat-backed stablecoins (USDT, USDC), focused on mechanism design and failure modes. Two analogies anchor the deck: bank deposit and run, and money market funds breaking the buck. Every failure case ends with a how-resolved beat. Tether steelman precedes the opacity critique.

Lecture deck (40 min)
19 slides + 4 advanced sidebars. Glossary, USDC depeg case, Tether steelman + critique, MiCA + GENIUS Act, 3-bullet TLDR.
Slides PDF
W-A: Notebook Analytics (25 min)
USDC March 2023 SVB depeg detection. 10 cells, runs offline against shipped CSV. Stdlib + optional matplotlib.
Notebook Open in Colab Static CSV Paper Fallback (4pp)
W-B: Peg Defense Game (20 min)
Hybrid roles + spreadsheet simulation. 5 role cards, 3 shock rounds, calibrated peg-deviation formula.
Role Cards (5) Spreadsheet 30s Explainer Paper Fallback (6pp)
Pre-class + Study Materials
Two short readings before class, plus the discovery handout for further reading on secondary analogies (gold standard, casino chips).
Primer (6pp) Discovery (3pp) Reading List Lab Guide
Quiz
10-MCQ self-check covering all 5 learning objectives.
Quiz (10 MCQs)
H

W06 MEV in Practice NEW

90 min, 23 frames, full kit

A 90-minute interactive lecture plus workshop on Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) and the sandwich attack. Anchored on the jaredfromsubway April 2023 USDT-WETH sandwich (~$165k victim, ~7.7% MEV). Two analogies: block-space auction and HFT/Flash Boys 2.0. Every sandwich slide ends with a mitigation beat (private RPCs, batch auctions, encrypted mempools). Sibling of W05; recognizable format on sight.

Lecture deck (40 min)
19 slides + 4 advanced sidebars. Glossary, sandwich mechanism, MEV pipeline, three mitigations, 3-bullet TLDR.
Slides PDF
W-A: Sandwich Forensics (25 min)
Forensic analysis of the jaredfromsubway April 2023 sandwich. 10 cells, runs offline. Stdlib + optional matplotlib.
Notebook Open in Colab Pool CSV Walkthrough (13) Paper Fallback (4pp)
W-B: Mempool Simulation (20 min)
Hybrid roles + spreadsheet simulation. 4 role cards (User, Searcher, Builder, Validator), 3 shock rounds.
Role Cards (4) Spreadsheet 30s Explainer Paper Fallback (6pp)
Pre-class + Study Materials
Two short readings before class, plus the discovery handout for further reading on secondary analogies (casino, queue, dark forest, predator-prey).
Primer (6pp) Primer Slides (25) Discovery (3pp) Reading List Lab Guide
Quiz
10-MCQ self-check covering LO1-LO5.
Quiz (10 MCQs)
IL

Interactive Lectures (NEW)

1 lecture, 12 deliverables
IL01 Ethereum Interactive Lecture (BSc, 90 min) 28 slides Browser-only primary path 12 deliverables
First-principles 90-minute lecture-with-workshop on Ethereum. Anchor analogy: Ethereum as a shared, signed, append-only Google Doc. Lecture-first 60/30 split. Primary workshop runs entirely in the browser on Remix VM (no MetaMask, no test ETH, no Python required). Sepolia and Jupyter notebook are explicit level-ups. Instructor-projected Sepolia anchor demo at minutes 35 to 38 keeps the shared-chain mental model honest. Concrete artifact: every student deploys a personalized Hello-World contract.
Open Lecture Hub Slides PDF (28pp) HelloWorld.sol Open in Colab
TL

Teaching Lectures NEW

define-first pedagogy, theory + Colab, no instructor kit
TL02 Ethereum: The Five Things (intro) 15 slides 2 analogies per concept 30 min, no math NEW
A simple 30-minute introduction to Ethereum for students who want the shape of the protocol without the math. Five concepts, two analogies each, one concrete example per concept, zero formulas. Concepts: chain (a shared notebook), account (a name plus a key), transaction (a signed cheque), smart contract (a vending machine), gas (a fare meter). Each Apply slide ends with a pointer back to the full teaching deck for the next layer of detail. Companion Colab notebook has five small cells: keccak256 fingerprint, fresh keypair to address, sign-and-verify-and-tamper, gas-in-dollars calculator. No instructor kit, no quiz, no lab guide.
Slides PDF (15pp) Open in Colab
TL01 Ethereum: Concepts, Theory, Approach 35 main + 5 ADV Define-first pedagogy Google Colab notebook 90 min, BSc
Theory-first 90-minute lecture on the Ethereum protocol. Six sections (crypto primitives, state machine, EVM and gas, consensus, smart contracts, L2 appendix), each opening with a Define slide before any Apply slide. The companion Google Colab notebook lets students compute every concept themselves: keccak256 hashing, ECDSA keypair generation, address derivation, sign-and-verify, a toy Merkle root, reading public Sepolia state, decoding the historical block 46147 mainnet transaction, and EIP-1559 fee math. The notebook never deploys and never asks for a real-money private key. Only the slides PDF and the Colab notebook are linked here; no instructor kit, no quiz, no lab guide.
Slides PDF (40pp) Open in Colab
Pedagogy. Define-first means every term gets a one-sentence definition slide before it appears in any application. The single combined Define slide for consensus terms (slide 25) handles the densest section. Coverage. hash, public-key crypto, signatures, state machine, EOA vs contract account, MPT, transactions, EVM, opcodes, gas, EIP-1559, validators, slots, epochs, attestations, finality, smart contracts, ABI, function selector, events, ERC-20 / ERC-721 interfaces, optimistic vs zk rollups. Source files. Browse on GitHub.
TL03 Business Models for Digital Finance 36 slides 5 archetypes 2h, BSc NEW
How do digital finance platforms actually make money? Opening paradox: Uniswap's code was copied in four hours, yet it holds billions in liquidity. Five archetypes analyzed: Coinbase (exchange spread + flat fee, dual regulatory and liquidity moat), Uniswap (0.3% LP fee, liquidity moat only, fork paradox), Circle (USDC seigniorage: yield on reserves minus ops costs), Revolut (freemium neobank, brand moat), Binance (offshore flywheel, no moat, DOJ settlement). Moat durability matrix: code is forkable in hours, liquidity takes 6-18 months to rebuild, a regulatory licence takes 3-10 years to obtain. Cryptoeconomics 6-question lens applied to all five archetypes in a single comparison table.
Slides PDF (36pp) Mini-lecture (22pp) Quiz (20 MC) Interactive Quiz Source
TL04 Swiss Digital Finance Strategy 34 slides 8 charts 4h, BSc NEW
Why Switzerland, and why does it matter? Three government archetypes (Ban, Enforce-first, Legislate-first) as the opening frame. DLT Act 2021: three legal innovations (DLT securities, DLT trading facility licence, insolvency segregation). FINMA 3-tier licensing: Sandbox (CHF 1M, no licence), Fintech licence (CHF 100M, CHF 300k capital), Full Bank (CHF 10M capital, esisuisse). SDX worked example: T+0 settlement, CHF 500M+ CSD volume, Project Helvetia wholesale CBDC pilot. SIF December 2025 strategy: 12 pillars (5 deep + 7 rapid). Central thesis: legal certainty is a product - Switzerland sells regulatory predictability as a competitive advantage. Includes retrieval practice frames (MiCA recall, Howey Test recall) and a student exercise (tokenised real estate fund scenario).
Slides PDF (34pp) Mini-lecture (22pp) Quiz (20 MC) Interactive Quiz Source
TL05 Institutional Crypto & TradFi Integration 28 slides 5 charts 45 min, BSc NEW
Who holds institutional crypto, how, and why does it matter? Custody architectures (hot/warm/cold, MPC, HSM) with security-operability trade-off matrix. Institutional prime brokerage: product stack comparison across JPMorgan, Coinbase, BitGo, Galaxy. Real-World Asset tokenisation: $15B deployed on-chain (rwa.xyz), $4T-$16T addressable (BCG/Citi). Case studies: BlackRock BUIDL ($2.9B Dec 2024, largest tokenised fund), Franklin FOBXX (first SEC-registered blockchain fund), JPMorgan Kinexys ($1B+ daily repo). Swiss exercise: Pensionskasse deciding between SIX ETP, BUIDL, and direct custody under FINMA/BVV2 framework. Cryptoeconomics trio applied to institutional settlement infrastructure.
Slides PDF (28pp) Mini-lecture (19pp) Quiz (20 MC) Interactive Quiz Source
TL06 Enterprise Blockchain: ROI & Business Cases 27 slides 5 charts 45 min, BSc NEW
When does enterprise blockchain actually create value? 5-question decision framework (Wust & Gervais 2018). Failure analysis: TradeLens (Maersk/IBM, press-reported $1.6B+, wound down Dec 2022), HSBC Contour (R3 Corda, wound down Nov 2023). Success cases: Walmart Food Trust (2018 pilot benchmark: 6.5 days to 2.2 seconds traceability), JPMorgan Kinexys ($1B+ daily repo, formerly Onyx), SIX Digital Exchange (FINMA-licenced, single-operator model). TCO break-even model: high Year-1 integration costs, break-even typically Year 3-4, 3x multiplier rule. Consortium survival data: 82% of 2016-2017 cohort wound down by 2024; governance disputes (34%) are the leading cause. ROI modelling exercise. Cryptoeconomics trio on enterprise multi-party settlement.
Slides PDF (27pp) Mini-lecture (19pp) Quiz (20 MC) Interactive Quiz Source
TL07 Digital Finance: Handlungsfelder 2022+ (Deutsch) 24 slides 8 charts 45 min, BSc NEW
Vollstaendige deutschsprachige Vorlesung basierend auf dem Bundesrats-Bericht "Digital Finance: Handlungsfelder 2022+" (EFD/SIF, Februar 2022). Alle 12 Handlungsfelder: Neue Akteure, Open Finance, RegTech/SupTech, Cloud-Nutzung, Cybersicherheit, Datennutzung, Gemeinschaftliche Datennutzung, Grenzueberschreitender Datenfluss, Kuenstliche Intelligenz, DLT, Green FinTech, Innovationspotenzial. Chancen und Risiken der Digitalisierung. Rolle des Bundesrats als Ermoeglicht. 8 Originalcharts. Quiz mit 20 deutschen MC-Fragen zu allen 12 HF.
Slides PDF (24pp) Mini-Vorlesung (19pp) Quiz (20 MC) Interaktives Quiz Source
TL08 Real-World Assets: The Business of Tokenization 27 slides 7 charts 45 min, BSc NEW
How do you build a business on tokenized real-world assets, and who captures the value? Opening problem: roughly $400-500 trillion of global assets exist (real estate, bonds, equities, private credit), yet less than 0.01% is tokenized on-chain (about $15B, per rwa.xyz). The gap is a business, legal, and regulatory problem, not a technology one. Covers the 3-layer RWA value chain (origination, infrastructure, distribution), sector deep-dives (real estate via RealT, private credit via Centrifuge, trade finance and carbon credits), and how incumbents co-opt tokenization (JPMorgan Kinexys, BlackRock BUIDL at $2.9B, Franklin BENJI). Four startup archetypes are compared by moat strength, with the central finding that a regulatory licence is the only truly fork-resistant moat in RWA. Includes worked business-model analyses of Centrifuge and RealT and a Maple Finance student exercise, with the cryptoeconomics 6-question lens applied to RWA value flow and failure modes.
Slides PDF (27pp) Ultra-Simple (55pp) Ultra-Simple Mini (19pp) Ultra-Simple Quiz (20 MC) Ultra-Simple Interactive Quiz Mini-lecture (18pp) Quiz (20 MC) Interactive Quiz Source
TL09 Crypto as an Asset Class 28 slides 8 charts 45 min, BSc NEW
Does Bitcoin belong in a portfolio? Opening paradox: Bitcoin has a higher Sharpe ratio than the S&P 500 over 2020-2024, yet most institutional investors still hold zero. Portfolio theory applied to crypto: annual return history 2015-2024, the volatility premium, Sharpe ratio comparison (crypto vs equities vs gold), correlation matrix, efficient frontier shift with BTC, and the Sharpe-maximising allocation. The ETF Revolution: January 2024 spot Bitcoin ETF approvals, AUM growth chart, rolling correlation regime change. Institutional adoption ladder and access vehicles. Verdict frame: digital gold, tech stock, or new asset class? Cryptoeconomics trio applied to crypto market microstructure.
Slides PDF (28pp) Mini-lecture (24pp) Quiz (20 MC) Interactive Quiz Source
TL10 Layer 2 Scaling Solutions 26 slides 4 charts 90 min, BSc NEW
Why does every Ethereum transaction cost money, and how do Layer 2 solutions fix it? Gas fee crisis: five-year timeline showing four eras (2017 ICO boom, 2021 DeFi summer, post-Merge, post-Dencun). Scalability trilemma: pick any two from decentralisation, security, scalability. Rollup mechanics: how transaction batching reduces block space demand. Data availability and the EIP-4844 Dencun upgrade (March 2024). Optimistic rollups: innocent-until-proven-guilty model, 7-day withdrawal wait, Arbitrum/Optimism/Base. ZK-rollups: instant withdrawal via cryptographic proof, zkSync/StarkNet/Polygon zkEVM. Head-to-head comparison matrix: no single winner across all dimensions. L2 ecosystem TVL chart: from $3B to $30B in three years. Mini-lecture included; no separate quiz (deep-dive format).
Slides PDF (26pp) Mini-lecture (22pp) Source
TL11 The UST Death Spiral: Anatomy of a Collapse 22 slides 8 charts 30 min, BSc NEW
Technical post-mortem of the $40 billion Terra/Luna collapse in May 2022. UST/LUNA mint-burn mechanism: how algorithmic stability was supposed to work. Anchor Protocol: the 19.5% yield trap and why reserves were draining. Terra ecosystem at peak: $60B market cap. Death spiral day-by-day: May 7-12, 2022 timeline chart. Reflexivity: why the mint-burn mechanism amplified the collapse rather than restoring the peg. Contagion: the $70 billion domino chain (Three Arrows Capital, Celsius, BlockFi). Structural fragility: why all algorithmic stablecoins face the same Achilles heel (no exogenous collateral). Regulatory response and what changed post-collapse. Supplements Module E (L39 Terra/Luna Case Study) with deeper mechanism analysis.
Slides PDF (22pp) Source
Pedagogy. Problem-first narrative arc: every lecture opens with a paradox or decision problem before revealing the framework. Retrieval practice frames embedded mid-lecture. Cryptoeconomics 6-question lens applied systematically across archetypes and regulatory frameworks.

Course Visualizations (263 Charts)

Hash Avalanche EffectVisualizing input sensitivity Bitcoin Halving ScheduleSupply reduction timeline Merkle Tree StructureData integrity verification Consensus ComparisonPoW vs PoS vs BFT Gas Costs ComparisonTransaction fee analysis Token StandardsERC-20 vs ERC-721 vs ERC-1155 AMM Constant Productx*y=k curve visualization Impermanent LossLP risk analysis DeFi TVL GrowthTotal value locked over time Protocol TVL ComparisonMarket share by protocol Stablecoin Market ShareUSDT vs USDC vs DAI Layer 2 ComparisonOptimism vs Arbitrum vs zkSync
Q

Lesson Quizzes

50 quizzes
A

Blockchain Foundations

12 quizzes
Q01What is Blockchain?
20 questions
 Q02DLT Concepts
20 questions
 Q03Hash Functions
20 questions
 Q04Lab: Hash Experiments
20 questions
 Q05Public Key Crypto
20 questions
 Q06Bitcoin Protocol
20 questions
 Q07Proof of Work
20 questions
 Q08Lab: Wallet Setup
20 questions
 Q09Proof of Stake
20 questions
 Q10Consensus Comparison
20 questions
 Q11Scalability Trilemma
20 questions
 Q12Lab: Block Explorer
20 questions
B

Ethereum & Smart Contracts

8 quizzes
Q13Ethereum Architecture
20 questions
 Q14Gas Mechanics
20 questions
 Q15Solidity Fundamentals
20 questions
 Q16Lab: Contracts
20 questions
 Q17ERC-20 Tokens
20 questions
 Q18ERC-721 & 1155
20 questions
 Q19Token Lifecycle
20 questions
 Q20Lab: Token Analysis
20 questions
C

NFTs & Digital Assets

7 quizzes
Q22NFT Metadata & IPFS
20 questions
 Q23NFT Marketplaces
20 questions
 Q24Lab: OpenSea
20 questions
 Q25Digital Art
20 questions
 Q26Gaming & Metaverse
20 questions
 Q27RWA Tokenization
20 questions
 Q28Lab: NFT Evaluation
20 questions
D

Tokenomics

4 quizzes
Q29Token Economics
20 questions
 Q30Distribution & Vesting
20 questions
 Q31Token Classification
20 questions
 Q32Lab: Tokenomics
20 questions
E

DeFi Ecosystem

8 quizzes
Q33Intro to DeFi
20 questions
 Q34AMM Mechanics
20 questions
 Q35Uniswap Deep Dive
20 questions
 Q36Lab: Testnet Swap
20 questions
 Q37Lending Protocols
20 questions
 Q38Stablecoins
20 questions
 Q39Terra/Luna Case
20 questions
 Q40Lab: Lending
20 questions
F

Advanced Topics

4 quizzes
Q41Layer 2 Scaling
20 questions
 Q42Flash Loans
20 questions
 Q43Contract Security
20 questions
 Q44Lab: Security Audit
20 questions
G

Regulation & Future

4 quizzes
Q45Global Regulation
20 questions
 Q46FINMA & MiCA
20 questions
 Q47CBDCs & Future
20 questions
 Q48Course Synthesis
20 questions
H

Workshops

5 quizzes
W1First Smart Contract
20 questions
 W2Create Cryptocurrency
20 questions
 W3Mint Your First NFT
20 questions
 W5Stablecoins in Practice
10 questions
 W6MEV in Practice
10 questions
S

Standalone Lectures

16 lectures

Self-contained gateway lectures covering an entire module in one session. Each includes a full lecture, mini-lecture, and quiz.

A Blockchain Foundations

Trust, scarcity, and coordination. Covers Module A (L01-L12) in one session.

B Ethereum & Smart Contracts

Programmable money and its consequences. Covers Module B (L13-L20) in one session.

C NFTs & Digital Assets

Ownership, value, and tokenization. Covers Module C (L21-L27) in one session.

D Tokenomics

Supply, value, and classification. Covers Module D (L29-L31) in one session.

E DeFi Ecosystem

AMMs, lending, stablecoins, and risk. Covers Module E (L33-L39) in one session.

Per-Topic Slides: Intro AMMs Lending Stablecoins Failures
F Advanced Topics

L2 scaling, flash loans, and smart contract security. Covers Module F (L41-L43) in one session.

G Regulation & Future

Global regulation, MiCA, CBDCs, and the future. Covers Module G (L45-L47) in one session.

S AI & Blockchain

Decentralized compute, AI agents, zkML verification, and content provenance. Cross-cutting special topic.

S Block Consensus

Fork resolution, chain selection, and probabilistic finality in Bitcoin. How a distributed network agrees on one truth.

S Competing Chains

Visual deep-dive into fork resolution. What happens when 2+ valid blocks appear simultaneously in a distributed network.

S PoS Security Economics

Cost-of-corruption vs cost-of-attack, the attacker payoff inequality, and weak subjectivity. Economic supplement to L09 Proof of Stake.

S NFT Explainer

What NFTs are, how to create one, and a market reality check. Beginner-friendly with hands-on appendix.

S Bitcoin Mining

Comprehensive guide to Bitcoin mining: protocol mechanics, hardware, pools, profitability, energy analysis, and security game theory.

LO

Learning Outcome Summaries

6 decks

Focused 10-slide decks, each demonstrating mastery of one BSc learning outcome. Self-contained proof-of-competency summaries.

LO Blockchain Fundamentals

Explain blockchain technology fundamentals

Bloom's: Understand

LO Smart Contracts

Analyze and understand smart contracts

Bloom's: Analyze

LO DeFi Protocols

Describe DeFi protocols (AMMs, Lending)

Bloom's: Understand

LO Tokenomics

Analyze tokenomics models

Bloom's: Analyze

LO Blockchain Tools

Apply practical blockchain tools: Wallets, Explorers

Bloom's: Apply

W Meme Token Workshop

Create and deploy your own meme token live on Solana mainnet via pump.fun. 45-minute in-class session. (2026-06-05)

LO Risks

Evaluate risks of decentralized systems

Bloom's: Evaluate

V

Video Transcripts

1 transcript
A Blockchain Foundations
~4 min Mini-Lecture Transcript

Course Completion Certificate

Complete all 51 lessons to generate your personalized certificate.

Resources

Documentation Student Projects Presentations Moodle Schedule GitHub Repository Syllabus