Week 1

Introduction to Crypto and Cryptocurrencies

• Welcome
• Cryptographic Hash Functions
• Hash Pointers and Data Structure
• Data Signature
• Public Keys as Identities
• A Simple Cryptocurrency

Week 2

How Bitcoin Achieves Decentralization

• Centralized vs. Decentralization
• Distributed Consensus
• Consensus without Identity the Block Chain
• Incentives and Proof of Work
• Putting It All Together

Week 3

Mechanics of Bitcoin

• Bitcoin Transactions
• Bitcoin Scripts
• Applications of Bitcoin Scripts
• Bitcoin Blocks
• The Bitcoin Network
• Limitations and Improvements

Week 4

How to Store and Use Bitcoins

• How to Store and Use Bitcoins
• Hot and Cold Storage
• Splitting and Sharing Keys
• Online Wallets and Excahnges
• Payment Services
• Transaction fees
• Currency Exchange Markets

Week 5

Bitcoin Mining

• The Task of Bitcoin Miners
• Mining Hardware
• Energy Consumption & Ecology
• Mining Pools
• Mining Incentives and Strategies

Week 6

Bitcoin and Anonymity

• Anonymity Basics
• How to de-anonymize Bitcoin
• Mixing
• Decentralized Mixing
• Zerocoin and Zerocash
• Tor and the Silk Road

Week 7

Community, Politics, and Regulation

• Consensus in Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Core Software
• Stakeholders: Who is in Charge
• Roots in Bitcoin
• Government Notice Bitcoin
• Anti Money-Laundering
• Regulation
• New York's BitLicense Proposal

 Week 8

Alternative Mining Puzzles

• Essential Puzzle Requirements
• ASIC Resistant Puzzles
• Proof-of-useful-work
• Nonoutsourceable Puzzles
• Proof-of-Stake "Virtual Mining"

Week 9

Bitcoin as a Platform

• Bitcoin as an Append-Only Log
• Bitcoin as Smart Property
• Secure Multi-Party Lotteries in Bitcoin
• Bitcoin As Randomness Source
• Prediction Markets & Real-World Data Feeds

Week 10

Altcoins and the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem

• Short History of Altcoins
• Interactions Between Bitcoin and  Altcoins
• Lifecycle of an Altcoin
• Bitcoin-Backed Altcoins, "Side Chains"

Week 11

The Future of Bitcoin?

• The Block Chain as a Vehicle for Decentralization
• Routs to Block Chain Integration
• What Can We Decentralize
• When is Decentralization a Good Idea