Blockchain 101

Day 1

1. Introduction to Blockchain & Key Concepts

• Topics Covered:
  • Definition of blockchain
  • Historical context (Bitcoin whitepaper, Nakamoto)
  • Key characteristics (decentralisation, transparency, immutability)

2. Core Terminology & How a Blockchain Works

• Topics Covered:
  • Blocks, transactions, and chains
  • Hashing, block headers, and the concept of “chain of blocks”
  • Mining or validation (Proof of Work / Proof of Stake overview)

3. Bitcoin

• Topics Covered:
  • Bitcoin’s origin and ecosystem
  • Key components (wallets, nodes, mining)
  • Bitcoin’s economic implications (scarcity, halving events)

4. Ethereum & Smart Contracts

• Topics Covered:
  • Ethereum’s evolution from Bitcoin
  • What are smart contracts, and how do they work
  • Examples of decentralised applications (DApps)

Day 2

1. Proof of stake

• Topics Covered:

• • Concept & Rationale: How PoS differs from Proof of Work and why many blockchains adopt PoS
  • Staking Mechanics:
    • Staking requirements (minimum stake, validators, delegators)
    • How blocks are validated and added to the chain
    • Rewards and penalties (slashing)
  • Security & Game Theory:
    • How PoS incentivises honest participation
    • Potential attack vectors (e.g., “nothing at stake,” long-range attacks)
  • Major PoS Implementations:
    • Ethereum 2.0, Cardano, Polkadot, etc.
    • Key differences among each approach

7. Practical Workshop: Setting Up a Crypto Wallet

• Topics Covered:
  • Types of wallets (hot vs. cold, custodial vs. non-custodial)
  • Steps to create and secure a wallet (seed phrases, backup)
  • Sending and receiving tokens

8. Real-World Blockchain Use Cases

• Topics Covered:
  • Supply chain management (e.g., food traceability)
  • Financial services (DeFi, cross-border payments)
  • Identity management and secure data sharing
  • Non-financial applications (NFTs, gaming, tokenized assets)

9. Security, Risks & Regulatory Landscape

• Topics Covered:
  • Common threats (51% attacks, smart contract bugs, phishing)
  • Importance of secure coding and auditing
  • Regulatory considerations (compliance, KYC/AML, global perspectives)

10. Future Trends & Next Steps

• Topics Covered:
  • Scalability solutions (Layer 2, sharding)
  • Web3 vision and decentralized internet
  • Potential career paths and skill sets needed in blockchain