Obiettivi formativi
The aim of this class is to provide a practical understanding of the digital transformation in the financial industry. The course will cover topics such as the blockchain technology, fintech and AI with finance and business applications.
Prerequisiti
No
Risultati di apprendimento attesi
The students will work on case studies and white papers to acquire the fundamental concepts of cryptocurrencies, will identify opportunities for disruption in the financial services sector and will understand how technology will build better financial services firms.
Additional in-class experiential learning will include interaction with startups, entrepreneurs and industry executives to allow you to experiment with this technology.
Contenuti Del Corso
The technology
Bitcoin
Other cryptocurrencies and tokens
The finance of cryptocurrency
NFTs
Bitcoin mining and scale up technologies
Staking and lending
Venture capital investing
Testi Di Riferimento
For background information:
The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains, A. Lewis
Papers distributed in class
Metodologie Didattiche
The students will have to discuss a team-based project (teams of 5 students each). The project will be based on the development of a new layer one technology or an application of blockchain technology in the financial markets.
Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
For attending students, discussion of team-based project. For attending students, class participation is fundamental.
For non-attending students, written exam based on the reading list of the course.
This course has a pass/fail grading.
Criteri per l’assegnazione dell’elaborato finale
Academic performance and quality of the proposal
Settimana 1
The technology
Blockchain
Proof-of-work
Hash
Bitcoin
Settimana 2
Other cryptocurrencies and tokens
Ethereum
Proof-of-stake
Solana
Meme coins
Settimana 3
A finance perspective on cryptocurrencies
Liu and Tsyvinski (RFS)
Liu, Tsyvinski and Wu (JF)
Settimana 4
Arbitrage and trading in cryptocurrency markets
Makarov and Schoar (JFE)
Borri and Shakhnov (RAPS)
Settimana 5
NFT and digital property rights
Borri, Liu, Tsyvinski and Wu
Settimana 6
Fintech and business cases
Settimana 7
AI in finance
Settimana 8
Bitcoin mining and scale up technologies
Overview of the main metrics: hash price, hardware type, energy efficiency, profitability metrics
Business Models: Hosting vs Self Mining.
Unit economics and financial modeling (IRR, Payback Period and Sensitivity Analysis).
Lightning Network, payment channels and decentralized node infrastructure.
Settimana 9
Staking and Lending
Staking as an alternative asset class
The risk-free rate, lockups, staking ratio and liquid staking
ROA and financial modeling
Building Fixed income strategies
Settimana 10
Venture capital investing
Blockchain investment landscape
Token vs Equity investment strategies
Major investment trends and key ecosystem players
Settimana 11
In-class presentations
Settimana 12
In-class presentations