IERG 5590: Advanced Topics in Blockchain

Announcements

Weekly structure

1. Week 1: Course model, decentralization, and trust

   W1

   Why blockchain is not merely a database topic. Trust distribution, adversarial thinking, and the role of cryptography in systems without a single trusted operator.

   focus: problem setting keywords: decentralization, trust, cryptography outcome: course mental model

2. Week 2: Bitcoin and blockchain basics

   W2

   Blocks, transactions, hash chaining, proof of work, validation, and the basic logic of the Bitcoin system. This week fixes the vocabulary used later in the course.

   focus: base-layer mechanics keywords: blocks, PoW, transactions outcome: common language

3. Week 3: Variants, forks, and mining incentives

   W3

   Altcoins, proof-of-space style variants, hard versus soft forks, mining pools, and selfish-mining style incentive issues. The point is to see which parts are engineering choices and which parts are structural.

   focus: protocol evolution keywords: forks, pools, incentives outcome: design trade-offs

4. Week 4: UTXO model and smart contracts

   W4

   UTXO as state, transaction validation, txid stability, SegWit motivation, script templates, and the shift from UTXO execution to account-based smart-contract platforms with gas and re-entrancy risk.

   focus: execution model keywords: UTXO, txid, gas, re-entrancy outcome: model comparison

5. Week 5: Public-key cryptography I

   W5

   History and motivation of public-key cryptography, Diffie-Hellman key agreement, modular arithmetic, multiplicative groups, discrete logarithm, and the CDH/DDH viewpoint. The goal is to build the algebraic language needed for the signature systems used later.

   focus: PKC foundations keywords: DH, DLP, CDH, DDH, groups outcome: algebraic toolkit

6. Week 6: Public-key cryptography II

   W6

   Public-key signatures and related constructions, including Schnorr, DSA, ECDSA, public-key recovery, RSA, pairing-based cryptography, BLS, threshold signatures, multisignatures, and rogue-key attack.

   focus: signatures keywords: Schnorr, ECDSA, RSA, BLS, threshold, multisig outcome: signature design space

7. Week 7: Privacy-enhancing signatures

   W7

   How signatures can provide privacy rather than only authentication. Topics include pseudonymity versus unlinkability, confidential transactions, blind signatures, ring signatures, linkable ring signatures, and the zero-knowledge(ZK) viewpoint behind privacy-preserving signature constructions.

   focus: signatures with privacy keywords: blind signatures, linkable ring signatures, ZK outcome: how privacy coins use signatures

8. Week 8: Privacy in blockchain systems

   W8

   Pseudonymity limits, privacy goals, mixers, and private-transaction systems such as RingCT, Zerocoin, and Zerocash. Accumulators and zero-knowledge ideas appear here as system tools rather than as detached theory.

   focus: privacy mechanisms keywords: mixers, Zerocoin, Zerocash, accumulators outcome: privacy threat model

9. Week 9: Payment channels and off-chain protocols

   W9

   Why off-chain protocols are needed, how payment channels work, and which assumptions are shifted rather than removed. The emphasis is on protocol logic, dispute handling, and the trust boundary between on-chain enforcement and off-chain interaction.

   focus: off-chain scaling keywords: payment channels, off-chain protocols, disputes outcome: scaling trade-offs

10. Week 10: Brief project introduction and mid-term

    W10

    Brief introduction to the possible directions for the project. The mid-term is also scheduled in this week.

    keywords: project topics, mid-term

11. Week 11: Privacy-preserving payment channel network

    W11

    Privacy-preserving layer-2 approaches for retail payment (LDSP@ICDCS21) and atomic off-chain payments with on-chain settlement.

    focus: privacy mechanisms keywords: mixers, blind signatures, randomizable signatures outcome: scaling privacy-preserving layer-2 solutions

12. Week 12: Invited talk 1, and CBDC

    W12

    Safeguarding the Web3 Fintech Ecosystem Across the Full Stack
    by Prof. Daoyuan Wu

    (Interested students may refer to the GPTScan paper for possible final course project ideas: Its current implementation may also serve as a starting point for extending vulnerability rules and detectors.)

    The "regular" lecture is on privacy-preserving central bank digital currency.

    focus: invited perspective keywords: web3, fintech, full stack, code outcome: exposure to an external research

13. Week 13: Invited talk 2, and MEV

    W13

    Understanding Security and Compliance Risks in Stablecoins
    by Prof. Yajin Zhou
    Introduction to stablecoins: fundamental concepts, key security risks, e.g., smart contract vulnerabilities, depegging events, and attack surfaces in DeFi integrations, emerging compliance and regulatory challenges, e.g., anti-money laundering (AML)

    The "regular" lecture is on maximal extractable value attacks, their defenses, and presentation tips.

    focus: security & compliance keywords: stablecoins, DeFi, AML, depegging outcome: evaluate attack surfaces and regulatory challenges of pegged assets

14. Week 14: Student Project Presentations (Preliminary)

    W14

    Preview version of the research-project presentation

    focus: learn how to teach; learn from each other