Postgraduate in Blockchain and other DLT Technologies

Presentation of all the technical and human elements that have had a notable influence on the birth of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies.

Analysis of the basic technical concepts that define blockchain technology. Advantages, disadvantages, and possible benefits of the use of blockchain and smart contracts.

Introduction to hash functions, public or private key, online signature, and proof of zero knowledge.

Analysis of the consensus algorithms in the most frequent smart contracts. We will explain the difficulty of making a scalable system and why this is a problem in blockchain technologies.

Basic notions of one of the pillars on which decentralized blockchain systems or dapps work, their smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies.

Mention of projects that focus on the loss of a central power with other crypto systems.

We examine the structure and the social and political business scope of DLTs and in particular blockchain technology, analysing the level of investment already made in this technology, the socio-political and economic context, the main agents, and the evolution of the industry since it began with Bitcoin in 2008.

This topic examines blockchain, smart contracts, and cryptoeconomic trends and investigates the disruptions in the fintech market caused by this technology and the impact that blockchain has, and will have, on the international scene. The student will understand the new business model that is revealed by DLT technologies, a new strategy of business ecosystems that dilute the divisions between companies, sectors, and professional specializations.

Starting with topic two, we delve into the crypto economy and how blockchain is changing countless sectors. Blockchain is promoting new payment methods and cryptocurrencies, property title registrations, and new mechanisms for negotiation, settlement, and clearing through p2p networks. We will investigate the main strategic challenges and opportunities in these areas, and we will work as a group to analyse the scope, dimension, and trajectory of this technology: Decentralized Applications (DAPP), Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO), integration with IoT, Big Data, eHealth, Banking/FinTech, crowdfounding, Intellectual property, and collaborative businesses

Socially transformative FinTech business structures. We discover how blockchain is fundamentally changing ways of doing business and the impact it has on industries, consumer habits, and society. After acquiring the necessary technical and strategic competencies, in this block we will learn to develop dynamic capacities for innovation and growth that drive the blockchain business strategy.

We go through the history and detailed operation of ICOs, their categorization (structures, discounts, duration period), and the strategic design (roadmaps). We will review in detail the must have's of an ICO (the team, the project, and the token), the marketing and community instruments, and the different ICO platforms in the market.

Finally, each student individually and in a group will design their own idea for a blockchain use case, and will apply the skills acquired in the DLT ecosystem strategy framework, analysing their strengths and weaknesses as well as their transformative potential for the business landscape. This technical, legal, and business model document is commonly referred to as a White Paper.

Introduction of the legal implications of the suppression of a central power, dapps, blockchain as disruptive technology in the legal field, and smart contracts. Use cases in blockchain. Governance and regulatory challenges.

Signature, identification, and certificates in smart contracts. Blockchain crypto management systems associated with an electronic transaction signature mechanism that reformulates identity management criteria. In a context in which the legal framework for electronic signatures and digital identification is regulated by EU Regulation 910/2014 (EIDAS), it is worth exploring the possible connections between both models and their potential from a legal point of view. Other initiatives related to identity management are also covered.

Definition and legal nature of blockchain and p2p networks, categories of smart contracts, and use of systems such as solidity, legal implications of self-execution, the function of Oracles. Legal implications, technical validity vs. legal validity. Jurisdiction applicable to smart contracts.

We analyse ICOs as new financing mechanisms, and their legal key points: security or no security, the rights of the investor, and the rights of the buyer. We also explore the legal aspects of asset tokenization, an essential concept in the economic viability of blockchain ecosystems.

When launching an ICO we have to take into account the fiscal and financial aspects from different perspectives: the treatment of operations with cryptocurrencies in terms of income tax, the impact of the sale and the conversion into capital gain, indirect taxation (VAT) and legal taxation on economic activities (IAE).

Throughout the course, the student will acquire the necessary skills to be able to develop and implement a fintech business model based on blockchain and smart contracts. The Final Project consists of preparing a White Paper, an essential document in any blockchain project. It describes the business model, the internal team, the incentive system or token-economics, as well as the rights and obligations of the members of the ecosystem.
The work will be done in small groups, to encourage the multidisciplinary nature of the course, and will be presented at the end of the program.
The evaluation of the Postgraduate Final Project is based on the written document and the presentation. Each student will have their own individual grade.