Introduction to cryptocurrencies ******************************** .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00100 Introduction to the course ========================== These slides and all the tutor-web content can be found under the two links * https://tutor-web.net/comp/crypto251.0 * https://beta.tutor-web.net/ * Videos in English: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzTQcKBiNWB3E7nh5egXI_PaHW1MLnXy8&disable_polymer=true * Videos in Icelandic (in-class recordings): See the Moodle course page This content forms the basis for an on-line cryptocurrency course as well as a course, "Rafmyntir (STÆ 532M)" at the University of Iceland. **Only the beta version will be used in the actual course** even though it is still under development. Only work done in the beta version will count towards completion of the course. The slides and content are **open** so they are freely available and accessible to anyone, anywhere. To receive **academic credit** for working through the material, a student needs to be **registered** at a university which approves this course. Initially that is only the University of Iceland. For the UI course, announcements are sent out by email and any additional explanations are stored in the UI Moodle web.Handout ------- **Handout for Rafmyntir (STÆ 532M) at the University of Iceland, fall 2018** The following describes the setup of the course in fall 2018, the first time it is given. There will be one double lecture per week, on Fridays at 15-16:30. Attempts will be made to record each lecture (most likely in Icelandic). Attempts will be made to make very short weekly videos, in English, of the most important topics covered during the week. The final grade will mainly be based on homework during the semester. **Homework** will consist of * work undertaken only in the tutor-web system (writing/reviewing exercises/drills plus practicing drills) and * various other tasks listed in a Google docs file (see Moodle for the link), normally reported in the tutor-web. Note that some (most) of the output from the homework done outside the tutor-web will still be reported within the tutor-web system (the beta version). Homework inside the tutor-web will range from simple documentation (writing examples) through reporting solutions to exercises to reporting output of tasks/projects using the Smileycoin to test new features of cryptocurrencies. In adddition, students will review and grade each other's submissions to the tutor-web. Each component will count towards the final grade (submissions, projects, reviews). The **textbook by Antonopoulos** contains all the important background and main concepts used in the course. The **Smileycoin paper in Ledger** contains all the information needed on the Smileycoin and how it deviates from Bitcoin. Video describing how to return homework: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bnLH05deD4&list=PLzTQcKBiNWB3E7nh5egXI_PaHW1MLnXy8&index=11&t=0s Other topics will be covered in class or assigned reading, some is available as Steemit articles but other material can be discovered by on-line searching. .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00105 Enrollment, credits and Smileycoin rewards ========================================== To obtain credits for the course, a student needs to be registered at a university which provides that kind of accreditation. However any student, anywhere, is free to take the open tutor-web version of the course, as a self-study course, with or without any association with an instructor or institution. **Students should note**: If you are formally enrolled in a school anywhere, you should ask your instructor to contact any admin of the tutor-web to make the class a formal class in the tutor-web. This will ensure that the students in the class receive much higher Smileycoin rewards when completing tasks in the system. Students are free to use the system without being enrolled anywhere, but will then receive fewer SMLY. For further information, see handouts and examples in the PDF version of these tutorial notes. Video corresponding to this introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHBc0VMcD1I&index=2&list=PLzTQcKBiNWB3E7nh5egXI_PaHW1MLnXy8 .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00110 Reading material ================ **The** book .. image:: http://tutor-web.net/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/antonopoulos.png :height: 100px :scale: 50 % :alt: alternate text :align: right **The SMLY paper** http://ledgerjournal.org/ojs/index.php/ledger/article/view/103/84 **The** paper Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00120 Cryptocurrencies ================ A cryptocurrency is an electronic solution to the task of securely storing and exchanging units of value without any need for trusted intermediaries such as banks or backing by physical objects such as gold, coins or notes. By taking this course the student will study in detail the technical aspects of cryptocurrencies, including how transfer of value is conducted and how they are made secure. There are many, many cryptocurrencies: * Bitcoin * Litecoin * Dogecoin * Etherium * Auroracoin * ... * Smileycoin (Broskallar) :-) This course will use the Smileycoin as an example throughout See https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/ .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00130 Behind the scenes ================= * Bálkakeðja/Færslukeðja/Bunkakeðja (blockchain) * Færslur (og grunnhugtakið, UTXO) * Námugröftur * Satoshi Nakamoto .. image:: http://tutor-web.net/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/faerslukedja.png :height: 125px :scale: 50 % :alt: alternate text :align: center (Hjálmtýr Hafsteinsson, Vísindavefurinn) .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00140 A useful allegory ================= * The chain is like an old-fashioned ledger * Each block is like a page in the ledger * Each transaction is just like a traditional transaction "Alice pays/lends Bob 10 cents" * The miner is the accountant: * collects transactions * records them into a new block - a page in the book * gets paid for doing this work A short video describing the same concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcpBlXHOZoc&index=3&list=PLzTQcKBiNWB3E7nh5egXI_PaHW1MLnXy8 .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00150 The user side ============= * Download a "wallet" (a computer program/app) to a computer (e.g. desktop, laptop, tablet or phone) * **Receive** cryptocurrency "to the wallet" * **Send** to others .. image:: http://tutor-web.net/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/smly_wallet.png :height: 250px :scale: 50 % :alt: alternate text :align: center **MEMO** Nothing actually gets sent anywhere :-) .. Slide http://ui-tutorweb.clifford.shuttlethread.com/comp/crypto251.0/lec00100/sl00160 Overview ======== This section has given a quick overview of the cryptocurrency course and basic concepts. Your instructor will give more detail. At UI more detailed definitions of work are/will be given in Moodle. This would be a good time to read chapter 1 of Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos. Handout ------- Homework: Add some material to any single subsection of this section.