Course contents: Basic principles and tools of cryptography, cryptographic hash functions, introduction to the concept of distributed ledger technologies, introduction to blockchain technology (origin, specific technical characteristics, architecture), in-depth operation of Bitcoin, consensus protocols: Proofof-Work (PoW), Proof-of-Stake (PoS), introduction to smart contracts, decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), application of blockchain technology in critical sectors such as data security, and data privacy, etc., presentation of open-source software and development of related applications.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• design and analyze blockchain mechanisms for a wide range of problems of both theoretical and practical interest.
• become familiar with cutting-edge technologies, fully understanding the operation of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and how they provide security guarantees through cryptographic algorithms.
• understand the design challenges of blockchains and the proposed solutions.
• design applications based on blockchain technology.
• understand the use of smart contracts and will be able to develop applications on-top of them.
• evaluate under which conditions an application can benefit from the use of blockchains and how
• have gained insight into the upcoming generations of distributed ledger systems and the functionalities they will offer far beyond cryptocurrencies.
• have extensive knowledge of the relevant applications of this technology for solving numerous problems in critical sectors, such as data management, security, privacy, Internet of Things (IoT) and Telecommunications, etc.

Assessment: The final grade is derived 30% from the theoretical/literature-based or the assignment, and 70% from the written exam at the end of the semester. However, the final exam grade must be passing in order for the overall final grade to be considered passing as well. The percentages may vary by up to ±10%.