Master in Blockchain & Digital Assets

This block week gives the students an understanding of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), blockchains and crypto assets, in particular their applications. The general concepts of decentralisation, trust, immutability, and consensus are subject to the module’s content. Concerning DLTs, finding appropriate solutions while acknowledging challenges that come about by implementing them in various business domains are also contained. The appropriateness for various DLT, blockchain and crypto asset use-cases as well as their potential risks is part of this module. 

The block week distinguishes between public and private blockchains as well as their suitability for different projects that go beyond crypto assets such as digital money and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) including the Chinese digital Yuan, the digital US-dollar and the digital Euro. This module touches on the financial infrastructure and regulatory framework of CBDC exploring countries. Storage and processing of information on a blockchain, and how it can provide certain guarantees on safety, security, and dependability which makes it a suitable tool for tokenisation of assets, financial technology (FinTech) and custody of digital assets and securities is explained. Furthermore, further indispensable building blocks for an alternative financial infrastructure such as Ethereum and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the context of decentralised finance (DeFi) are also considered.

Bitcoin’s protocol, its mining mechanism, and its connection to game theory are part of this module. During the Bitcoin deep-dive, students are accompanied in building their own Bitcoin Lightning Node with a Raspberry Pi to gain hands-on understanding.

If you do not have any experience or theoretical knowledge in the field of programming, we recommend you to take one of the following introductory classes before completing this module: coursera or udemy.

Philipp Sandner, Jonas Groß, Manuel Klein, Christoph Kreiterling

This block week further deepens the students’ understanding of Bitcoin and Ethereum and their protocols from a technical, economical, political and social perspective as well as various other crypto assets projects and their purpose. These topics are complemented by smart contracts and thereby brought standardisation and execution of automated streams of data, money and different kinds of assets (e.g., NFTs, digital securities, Bitcoin). Their current use in various sectors, e.g., banking & financial services contracts and digital identity management is furthermore highlighted. This is done by drawing on the parallels and differences between crypto assets and traditional types of investment and organisational structure. 

As for Ethereum, the technical aspects of the network, Ethereum 2.0, and alternative smart contract platforms (e.g., Polkadot, Cardano) are explained. In this context, we consider how crypto assets map to the existing monetary and banking system, drawing direct comparisons between DeFi and centralised finance (CeFi). Explaining the DeFi ecosystem to the students forms the base for understanding digital assets and digital securities and tokenisation in this module.

Sarah Palurovic, Felix Bekemeier, Sebastian van Staa, Cedric Heidt

This block week fosters the understanding of digital assets, tokenisation and trading thereof and assets on-chain that can be exemplarily found in the sectors of real estate, finance, art, music and rights. In this context, the difference between tangible, fungible tokens, and NFTs is highlighted to the students. This is done in comparison to the approaches used in centralised ecosystems. Furthermore, the nature of stablecoins, privacy coins, and utility tokens are part of this module thus, gaining insights about the markets for crypto assets as a whole. Their characteristics are equally as pertinent as their application areas, advantages, and disadvantages as well as their role in DeFi. An overview of use-cases and the token ecosystem is given. The overview of the current status quo is supposed to raise students’ awareness for trends and emerging topics, to be able to make educated decisions for the future of financial markets. 

Robert Richter, Philipp Schulden, Thomas Faber, Stefan Schmitt

Within this block week, students are introduced to the interactions between legal requirements, innovation, and society from a company’s point of view. The understanding of the relationship between law and the current adoption of blockchain, crypto assets, and other DLTs is deepened. A comprehensive overview of the legislative framework including Europe’s MiCA, Germany’s blockchain rules and Liechtenstein Token Act is provided for example concerning regulatory affairs and data protection law. Especially, the frameworks for regulating tokens from digital securities to decentral protocols are highlighted. We also include comparisons to the law frameworks elsewhere in Europe (e.g. Switzerland). 

Moreover, pitfalls of regulatory change and the risk of introducing blockchain as part of a company’s strategy are explained. Real-life use-cases in the sectors finance, banking, CBDC (i.e., digital assets, digital Euro, digital Dollar) and Internet of Things (IoT) are outlined by keynote speakers while reverting back to the existing regulatory framework and custodial questions. Ethical and societal considerations are just as much part of the block week as emerging topics, cost-benefit analysis, trends, and the rate of adoption in various sectors.

Johannes Blassl, Matthias Wöllner

Throughout this block week, students learn about important considerations when economically and technically designing a blockchain solution fitting a specific entrepreneurial business case and model. It mimics the early stages of startup development and crowdfunding. Additionally, the creation of such a strategy is exemplarily shown. This block week further deals with economic theory to understand the economic impact of DLT-based emerging technologies i.e., crypto & digital assets and tokens. 

Topics such as interoperability amongst blockchain networks and hybrid blockchains and their implications for business are contained. Further examples that are subject to this module comprise instant cross-border transfers and real-time settlements on stock exchanges. Limitations of current blockchain projects and the meaning of scalability for broad adoption, possibilities regarding IoT, and real-life pilot projects are outlined to the students. This block week focuses on fostering transferable skills that are useful for the further course of the blockchain and digital asset studies as well as students’ further professional paths. Students will gain the skills necessary to evaluate the potential of projects regarding solving or facilitating business, environmental, social, and governance problems.

Constantin Ketz, Marcel Kaiser, Benjamin Schaub

This block week is intended to make students familiar with the basic concepts of programming using both Solidity and Python as programming languages. The fostering of technical understanding is thereby supposed to complement their prior built theoretical and economical understanding of blockchains and smart contracts. Students face programming concepts such as assignments, digital signatures, hash functions, encryption, and branching. During this solely online-based portion of the study, the students analyse a smart contract in a team effort and determine its suitability for a certain operational business problem. This hands-on experience with teamwork-task-approach is supposed to make students gain a more profound insight into blockchain technology, smart contracts and thus, make better informed strategic decisions as a result.

Valentin Seehausen