Blockchain for Financial Markets

Shared ledgers, like blockchain, commoditize trust and revolutionize the way transactions will be performed. In 2015, The World Economic Forum (WEF) forecasted that 10% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to be stored on the blockchain by 2027. This statement is becoming increasingly realistic now that central banks across the world are developing their own digital currencies.

In this course, we introduce the working of different blockchains, their tokens and smart-contracts, and how these can be used to build new applications offering an enormous potential across industries. In particular we will look into how they attempt to build the foundation for a new financial system managed by open-source and decentralized protocols, often referred to as "Decentralized Finance". Leaving no stones unturned, this course will also cover the strategies and latest developments of central banks to bring their own digital currency on the market.

Now, more than ever, organizations need to understand the potential of blockchain technology and how it might affect their competitive landscape. This course goes deeply into the working of blockchains, helps you navigate through the use-cases for your industry, and sheds light on the regulatory, business and implementation aspects of blockchain.

• Quants / financial engineers
• Risk managers
• Strategists and researchers
• Operations and Technology

Delegates will learn about

• Different types of blockchain and their applications
• Consensus mechanisms
• Wallets and Exchanges
• Tokens
• Smart Contracts
• Oracles
• Decentralised Finance (DeFi)
• Identity Management

• Basic understanding of financial transactions and derivatives
• Familiarity with Microsoft Excel

Section 1 – Introduction to Money

• Historical perspective of money
• Current monetary system
• Electronic money
• The internet disruptive nature and limitations
• The why of blockchains

Section 2 – Blockchain Overview

• Topics to be discussed
• Introduction to the rules of the blockchain
• Concept of distributed storage
• Permissionless and permissioned blockchains
• Data storage and concrete applications
• Transfer of value and concrete applications
• Smart-contracting and concrete applications
• ICO’s, Dapps and DAO’s
• A vision on the future of blockchains
• The challenges of blockchains
• Conclusion

Workshop: Use case ideation

Section 3 – Consensus Mechanisms

• Proof of work
• Proof of stake
• Proof of authority
• Other consensus mechanisms
• Hashing
• Game theory and network incentives
• Mempool, transactions and fees
• Forks
• Governance around protocol improvements

Section 4 – Wallets and Exchanges

• Private and public keys, digital signatures
• Wallet types (security vs convenience trade-offs)
• Wallet features (multi-sign, time locking, etc .)
• Exchanges and ecosystem overview
• Custodian implications
• Examples with transactions
• Advanced wallet structures (hierarchical, deterministics, etc.)

Section 5 – Tokens

• Token functions (payment, network, utility, security, incentives, physical asset representation, etc.)
• Token standards
• Token issuance (ICO, vesting, etc.)
• Token properties (e.g. fungibility, supply-economics, standards, etc.)
• Privacy (ring signatures, zk-snarks, etc.)
• Stable coins (collateralized by reserves or commodities)
• Private currencies (issued by corporation and consortiums)
• Central Bank Digital Currencies (US, UK, Euro, Jasper, Ubin, Khoka)
• 2nd layer transactions, state chains, lightning networks, sharding, etc

Workshop: Token use cases and projects

Section 1 – Smart Contracts

• Historical perspective
• Paper contracts vs smart contracts
• Legal implications
• Considerations and limitations
• Examples and non-technical exercises

Section 2 - Oracles

• Trusted external data on the blockchain
• The three oracle types
• Considerations
• Examples

Workshop: Use case deep dive and design

Section 3 – Major Permissionless Blockchain

• Presentation of the major permissionless
• Ethereum
• Cardano
• Binance chain
• Ripple
• Polkadot
• Solana
• Internet computer
• Polygon
• Filecoin

Section 4 – Decentralised Finance (DeFi)

• Introduction to DeFi
• DeFi ecosystem
• DeFi applications (borrowing and lending, yield farming, staking, decentralized exchanges, prediction markets)
• Services, asset management tools and infrastructure
• Presentation of the major DeFi protocols

Section 5 – Major Permissioned Blockchains and Service Providers

• Corda
• IBM – Hyperledger
• Ethereum private
• Quorum by JP Morgan
• Ecosystem overview (e.g. infrastructure, compliance, etc.)

Section 6 – Identity Management

• GDPR scope and sensibilities
• Identity management
  • Specificities related to permissionless or permissioned blockchains
  • Identity requirements
  • Public identities
  • Revealing your identity to some parties while hiding it to anyone else
  • Links with the wallet section
• Case studies and examples

Section 7 – Regulatory Aspects

• Regulatory concerns and risks
• Financial stability, investor protection, financial integrity
• Regulatory approach and evolution
• Token classifications
• FATF / AML 6.0 guidance
• Implication for ecosystem players
• Case studies and examples

Section 8 – Business

• How blockchain introduces a new, more horizontal, value paradigm
• How blockchain allows the creation of new ecosystems or changes the way existing ones operate
• Consortiums and networks (e.g. R3, Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, etc.)
• Key points to consider before validating a use case
• Business impacts and considerations
• Value to stakeholders
• Key drives for project success
• Project approach