• To introduce learners to the principles of distributed ledger technology and cryptography.
• To develop the ability to record digital transactions securely on a blockchain.
• To equip learners with skills in developing smart contracts and decentralized apps.
• To provide understanding of consensus mechanisms and tokenomics.
• To prepare learners for roles in blockchain development and fintech.

Upon completion, learners will be able to:
• Apply the principles of hashing and decentralization to secure data.
• Prepare and process smart contracts using Solidity or similar languages.
• Post transactions to a testnet and produce a block explorer report.
• Account for gas fees and reconcile digital asset wallets.
• Identify and correct vulnerabilities in decentralized financial records.

Module 1: Foundations of Blockchain and Cryptography

• The digital equation: Public keys + Private keys = Digital Signature.
• Types of blockchains: Public, private, and consortium.
• Principles of hashing: SHA-256 and Merkle trees.
• The structure of a block and the chain.
• Source documents: Genesis blocks, whitepapers, and transaction IDs.

Module 2: Consensus and Networks

• Proof of Work (PoW) and mining systems.
• Proof of Stake (PoS) and validator systems.
• Network nodes: Full nodes, light nodes, and archival nodes.
• Forking: Soft forks vs. Hard forks.
• The mempool and its uses in transaction ordering.

Module 3: Smart Contracts and DApps

• Posting code from IDEs to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
• Token standards: ERC-20 (fungible) and ERC-721 (NFTs).
• Balancing security and efficiency in smart contracts.
• Preparing a deployment manifest.
• Identifying bugs revealed by smart contract audits.

Module 4: Tokenomics and Digital Assets

• Principles of supply, demand, and burning mechanisms.
• Regulatory status: Utility tokens vs. Security tokens.
• Recording transaction fees (Gas) in digital ledgers.
• Preparing and submitting a token distribution plan.
• DeFi reconciliation: Yield farming and liquidity pools.

Module 5: Security, Scalability, and Future Trends

• Types of blockchain attacks: 51% attack, Sybil attack, Reentrancy.
• Layer 2 solutions: Rollups and sidechains.
• Wallet security and hardware reconciliation.
• Interoperability between different blockchain systems.
• Introduction to enterprise blockchain (e.g., Hyperledger, Corda).

Project