the blockchain is a term that has come
to mean many things to many people
for developers it is a set of protocols
and encryption technologies for securely
storing data on a distributed network
for Business and Finance it is a
distributed ledger and the technology
underlying the explosion of new digital
currencies for technologists it is the
driving force behind the next generation
of the Internet for others it is a tool
for radically reshaping society and
economy taking us into a more
decentralized world
whichever way you look at it blockchain
has become a term that captures the
imagination and fascinates many as the
implications of such technology are
truly profound for the first time in
human history people anywhere can trust
each other and transact with in large
peer-to-peer networks without
centralized management trust is
established not by centralized
institutions but by protocols
cryptography and computer code this
greatly strengthens our capacity for
collaboration and cooperation between
organisations and individuals within
peer networks enabling us to potentially
form global networks of collaboration
without centralized formal institutions
unprecedented but hugely relevant in an
age of globalization and a new set of
21st century challenges that require
mass collaboration
Chane is a complex technological
economic and social phenomenon it calls
into question what might have seemed to
be established parameters of the modern
world like currency economics trust
value and exchange to make sense of this
one needs to understand it in a holistic
context all the way from its
technicalities to it's aspirational
potential this course is designed to do
exactly that by giving a 360-degree
overview to the different dimensions of
the technology its potential application
within various industries and its
far-reaching implications for society
and economy
in the first section of the course we
give an overview to the blockchain both
on a technical and non-technical level
we also discuss the importance of the
blockchain within the context of the
emerging next-generation Internet
in the second section we talk about the
blockchain as a so-called trust machine
and how it enables transparency and
collaboration we will look at
distributed ledger technology talking
about smart contracts aetherium and
decentralized applications
in the third section we introduce you to
the workings of token economies
illustrating how the blockchain and
distributed Ledger's can work to build
vibrant ecosystems through the use of
tokens to incentivize behavior
section of the course we will be looking
at specific applications of the
blockchain to economy society technology
and environment looking at both existing
practical applications and potential
future applications
the blockchain is a so-called emerging
technology that is currently
experiencing very rapid evolution within
the space of just two or three years it
has already gone through changes in its
technical implementation and our
understanding of what it is and can be
as such our aim is to future-proof this
course by not dwelling excessively on
existing technical implementations but
presenting a more conceptual
understanding of the blockchain within
the broader process of change of the
emerging next-generation Internet
the blockchain is much more than a
technology it is also a culture and
community that is passionate about
creating a more equitable world through
decentralization it is a movement to
disrupt the disruptors to redesign the
Internet and in so doing shake up
existing centralized incumbents
throughout the course we will introduce
you to this culture and its aspirations
course is non-technical in nature it is
an introductory course and thus all
terms will be explained it should be
accessible to anyone with a basic
understanding of web technologies and
economics