Blockchain & Bitcoin MasterClass

Section 1: Introduction, Ecosystem & Hash

• Basic understanding of money, fiat currency, ledgers and transactions

• Detailed understanding of hash functions, their applications and benefits

• Exposure to blockchain operation and terminology with a focus on Bitcoin

• Introduction to popular terms involved with blockchain and cryptocurrency applications

• Brief history of the internet’s technology evolutions, and why blockchain is advancing today

• Learning the numerous potential applications for blockchain along with risks & benefits

Section 2: Blockchain, Proof of Work & Mining

• Detailed understanding Bitcoin’s block data structure and purpose (can be expanded to most blockchains)

• Learning why the blockchain is immutable and tamper-proof via block hashes

• Understanding the purpose and function of Merkle roots and how they are used in the blockchain

• Exposure to technical blockchain terminology with a focus on Bitcoin

• Solutions to the trust-less consensus and double-spend problems using Nakamoto Consensus

• The validation rules used by Bitcoin to ensure a stable and secure network

• Consensus forks and how Bitcoin deals with network conflicts globally

• Mining algorithms and how mining pools and rigs operate on the inside, and how they earn money

• Trade-offs between various types of mining hardware

Section 3: Transactions & Digital Signatures

• Different types of financial ledger systems

• Bitcoin transaction format & operation

• Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) purpose & function

• How wallets create transactions when making payments

• Coinbase transaction purpose, format and function

• Digital signature purpose & detailed mathematical operation

• Detailed understanding of Bitcoin’s Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH) format

Section 4: Wallets, Exchanges, Fees & Block Rewards

• Purpose and function of a cryptocurrency wallet

• Different types of wallets, including hot, cold and SPV

• The most common standards that dictate all the modern wallets used today

• Private and public key generation

• Purpose and function of a cryptocurrency centralized exchange

• Merkle proofs and their benefits

• Bloom filters and how they add some security to the wallet operation

• Block rewards & fees

• Mempool creation and management

• Fee volatility and network risks

• Techniques that could exploit a fee-dominant network, such as undercutting, selfish mining and petty compliance

Section 5: Bitcoin Core, Blockchain Explorer & Forks

• Bitcoin core software functionality and operation

• Operation of the major transaction types (P2PKH, P2MS, P2SH)

• Navigating cryptocurrency blockchain explorers

• Hard and soft fork, their causes and impacts

Section 6: Bitcoin Advancements

• Transaction malleability – what does it mean, why it’s bad, and how to fix it

• Segregated Witness – what does it mean and how was this innovative technique implemented in Bitcoin

• Bech32 Bitcoin addresses – how they are calculated and why they are important

• The concept of layer 2 solutions built on-top of layer 1 blockchains, the meaning of “on-chain” vs “off-chain”, along with the reasons and benefits for implementing a layer 2

• Payment channel fundamentals including funding, commitment, revocation, punishment and settlement transactions

• Lightning Network protocols including Onion Routing and Hash Time Locked Contracts (HTLCs)

• How Bitcoin’s Pay-to-Script-Hash transaction types enable the layer 2 and Lightning, via smart contract code

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have access to the course materials?

You can view and review the lecture materials indefinitely, like an on-demand channel.

Can I take my courses with me wherever I go?

Definitely! If you have an internet connection, courses on Udemy are available on any device at any time. If you don’t have an internet connection, some instructors also let their students download course lectures. That’s up to the instructor though, so make sure you get on their good side!