Learn how to critically assess the viability of any cryptocurrency project with an online short course from MIT Media Lab.
Over the past few years, the highest performing asset class was not stocks, bonds, or even real estate, it was Bitcoin.1 Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the MIT-developed Vault have emerged as a new asset class that has seen momentous returns. To navigate volatility, it’s necessary to demystify the real-world capabilities of cryptocurrency and its economic implications.
Enhance your knowledge of cryptocurrency, its limitations, capabilities, and the way it functions within the economic environment in the Cryptocurrency online short course from the MIT Media Lab. Taking a comprehensive approach, you’ll explore cryptocurrencies in comparison with traditional finance, and gain insight into how start-ups, financial institutions, big tech, and central banks are adapting to its emergence.
The MIT Media Lab Cryptocurrency course will give you the ability to think critically about any cryptocurrency project and assess its viability. Using real-world examples, the course covers major topics related to cryptocurrencies, including their history, design, and economic properties. You’ll learn about cryptographic building blocks (e.g., hash functions and digital signatures) that are critical to understanding cryptocurrency security. The course also covers decentralized applications and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), which are often built on top of cryptocurrency platforms.
Guided by MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative — as well as crypto industry experts, economists, financial regulators, and internet entrepreneurs — you’ll gain the skills to critically and holistically assess the viability of crypto projects, and understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the evolution of digital money. In six weeks, you’ll gain insight into blockchain technology, smart contracts, decentralized applications (DApps), and the broader environment in which cryptocurrencies exist. At the end of the course, you’ll be equipped with the critical reasoning skills to analyze the viability of any smart crypto project.
1 Yahoo Finance (March, 2021).
Is this course for you?
This course is designed for anyone seeking practical knowledge of the latest cryptocurrency developments and the skills to assess the viability of crypto projects, and is especially applicable to executives exploring new organizational needs. The program is relevant to both financial services and IT professionals aiming to gain an edge within their sector by understanding how crypto is actually being applied. Professionals and entrepreneurs from wide-ranging industries, who are seeking future growth or new opportunities, will also benefit from a comprehensive understanding of cryptocurrency and the environment in which it operates.
During this course, you’ll be provided with the information, knowledge, and frameworks to deepen your understanding of cryptocurrencies from a business perspective. You’ll also explore blockchain technology, how cryptocurrencies operate, and what value they offer in organizational contexts.
You’ll not be given cryptocurrency trading or investing advice, or investment or financial advice of any nature.
Explore blockchain technology
This Cryptocurrency course from MIT Media Lab provides an understanding of how Bitcoin and other digital assets are created, transferred, and stored, and unpacks the underlying blockchain technology. Further exploration includes examining trends in cryptocurrency and learning about the evolving regulatory landscape. Finally, you’ll consider future applications of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in business.
What is bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading?
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. Crypto trading is the act of speculating on cryptocurrency price movements. Cryptocurrency traders buy and sell digital currencies in an attempt to profit from price fluctuations in the market.
So how does cryptocurrency work? Cryptocurrencies are decentralized, meaning they are not subject to government or financial institution control. Cryptocurrencies are created through a process called mining, which involves verifying and adding transaction data to a public ledger. Miners are rewarded with cryptocurrency for their efforts.2
The value of cryptocurrency in an organizational context
Cryptocurrencies are being increasingly adopted by organizations as a means of payment, but they also offer other advantages such as transparency, immutability, and speed of transaction settlements. A comprehensive understanding of cryptocurrency is essential for anyone considering their use within their own organization.
By the end of this course, you’ll gain an understanding of the changing regulations surrounding cryptocurrency and the future applications of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in business.
2 IG (Nd). Accessed May 4, 2022.
