Foundations of Blockchain
Learn how blockchain systems work by examining the technologies, incentives, and design principles behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and decentralized applications.
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Course Description
Blockchain technology is reshaping how value, information, and digital assets are recorded, transferred, and verified. From cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets to decentralized applications and digital infrastructure, blockchain systems are becoming an increasingly important part of the digital economy. Yet despite their growing influence, the underlying mechanisms that make these systems possible are often poorly understood.
Foundations of Blockchain provides a structured introduction to the concepts, technologies, and design principles that underpin modern blockchain networks. Through conceptual frameworks, technical explanations, and real-world examples, you will explore how decentralized systems establish trust, verify transactions, and achieve consensus without relying on a central authority.
Designed to build conceptual understanding rather than programming expertise, the course is accessible to learners seeking a deeper understanding of how blockchain systems operate and the design choices behind them.
This course is ideal for:
- Professionals seeking a foundational understanding of blockchain technology and digital assets
- Individuals working in financial services, fintech, digital infrastructure, or emerging technology sectors
- Business leaders and decision-makers evaluating the opportunities and risks associated with blockchain systems
- Students and researchers interested in distributed systems, cryptography, or decentralized technologies
- Anyone looking to build a strong conceptual foundation before exploring more advanced topics in decentralized finance and blockchain applications
As blockchain technologies continue to influence finance, digital infrastructure, and emerging forms of coordination, understanding how these systems work is becoming increasingly important. Whether evaluating digital assets, blockchain applications, or emerging business models, this course provides the foundation needed to understand the incentives, tradeoffs, and design choices that shape decentralized systems.
Course Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites for this course.
The course is designed for learners from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds and does not require prior experience with blockchain technology, computer science, or programming.
What You Will Learn
Blockchain technology is often discussed in terms of cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and emerging applications, but understanding these innovations requires a deeper understanding of the systems that make them possible. In this course, you will explore the foundational concepts behind modern blockchain networks, from cryptography and decentralized consensus to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and smart contracts. By examining both the technical mechanisms and the design tradeoffs behind these systems, you will develop a strong conceptual framework for understanding how blockchain technologies operate, where they create value, and the challenges they are designed to address.
By the end of the course, you will:
- Understand the foundational concepts behind distributed ledgers, digital signatures, and decentralized consensus
- Examine how blockchain networks address challenges such as double-spending, Sybil attacks, and decentralized transaction verification
- Compare the design, incentives, and tradeoffs of proof-of-work and proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms
- Explore how Bitcoin and Ethereum achieve network security, transaction finality, and decentralized coordination
- Learn how smart contracts, fungible tokens, and non-fungible tokens enable programmable blockchain applications
- Evaluate the opportunities, limitations, and real-world implications of blockchain technologies
- Module 1: Motivation
Explore the purpose of blockchain technology and the challenges it was designed to address.
- Understand what blockchain technology is and how distributed ledgers function
- Examine the problems blockchain systems are designed to solve
- Module 2: Background
Build the technical foundation needed to understand how decentralized blockchain networks operate.
- Trace the evolution of money, ledgers, and digital cash
- Explore the evolution of digital cash and the path toward distributed ledger systems
- Understand the role of cryptocurrencies within blockchain networks
- Learn how digital signatures and asymmetric cryptography verify transactions
- Examine how decentralized consensus is achieved across open networks
- Understand Sybil attacks and the challenge of preventing double-spending
- Module 3: Bitcoin
Examine the first successful decentralized blockchain and the consensus mechanism that secures it.
- Understand how proof of work enables decentralized consensus
- Evaluate the tradeoffs and limitations of proof-of-work systems, including energy consumption, finality, and network recovery
- Module 4: Ethereum
Explore how Ethereum expanded blockchain functionality through proof of stake and smart contracts.
- Learn how proof of stake secures blockchain networks through validator incentives, participation, and finality mechanisms
- Understand how smart contracts enable programmable applications and digital assets
Instructors
Agostino Capponi is a Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University, where he also serves as Director of the Center for Digital Finance and Technologies and is a member of the Data Science Institute. His work sits at the intersection of finance, technology, and economic systems, with research spanning blockchain, financial technology, market microstructure, economic networks, and machine learning in finance.
Capponi's research examines how incentives, risk, and system design shape the behavior of financial markets and emerging digital infrastructures. His work has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, and Operations Research. He is also co-editor of Machine Learning and Data Sciences in Financial Markets, published by Cambridge University Press.
Beyond academia, Capponi has collaborated with policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, and technology organizations to study market stability, financial innovation, and digital asset ecosystems. His research has been supported by organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF), DARPA, J.P. Morgan, IBM, Ripple, and the Ethereum Foundation.
Capponi earned his master's degree in Computer Science and his PhD in Applied and Computational Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology. Through his teaching and research, he helps learners develop a deeper understanding of how modern financial and technological systems are designed, how they operate, and how their underlying incentives shape outcomes.