Course duration

6 weeks

Excluding orientation

Language

English

Access resources from start date

Effort

7–10 hours per week

Self-paced learning online

ABOUT THIS COURSE

Course overview

Understand cryptocurrency

“Cryptocurrency is a technology that can lead to something new in the decentralized movement of money and value on the internet.” – Gary Gensler, Former Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan

60%

The annualized growth rate of the cryptocurrency market, making it the top-performing asset class of the last decade.

Moneyweb (Jul, 2020).

Through this course, you will learn about cryptocurrency’s capabilities and limitations and its comparison to traditional finance. You will also explore how start-ups, financial institutions, big tech, and central banks are adapting to its emergence. Using real-world examples, you'll learn to think critically about cryptocurrency projects and assess their viability.

This cryptocurrency course covers the essential building blocks of cryptocurrency security, including cryptographic functions such as hash functions and digital signatures, decentralized applications, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Guided by MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative along with industry experts, economists, financial regulators, and internet entrepreneurs, you'll learn to assess the viability of crypto projects and understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the evolution of digital money.

After the six-week course, you'll have a deeper understanding of blockchain technology, smart contracts, decentralized applications (DApps), and the broader environment in which cryptocurrencies exist, enabling you to analyze the viability of a smart crypto project.

Is this course for you?

This online cryptocurrency course is ideal for anyone seeking practical knowledge and skills to assess the viability of cryptocurrency projects, particularly executives exploring new organizational needs. It is also relevant for financial services and IT professionals who want to stay ahead of the curve by understanding how crypto is applied. Professionals and entrepreneurs from diverse industries seeking growth opportunities will also benefit from a comprehensive understanding of cryptocurrency and its operating environment.

The course offers information, knowledge, and frameworks to deepen your understanding of cryptocurrencies from a business perspective. You'll also explore blockchain technology, how cryptocurrencies work, and the value they bring to organizational contexts.

Course overview

What will set you apart

On completion of this course, you’ll walk away with:

Knowledge of cryptocurrency, its limitations, capabilities, and the way it functions within the economic environment.

The skills to holistically assess a crypto project by understanding cryptocurrency within its broader context, and the ability to evaluate cryptocurrency’s economic implications.

An understanding of the evolution of money, and how Bitcoin and blockchain technology operate in moving value via the internet.

A comprehensive overview of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, crypto markets and exchanges, smart contracts, decentralized applications (DApps), and initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Unlimited access to edX’s Career Engagement Network, offering you exclusive resources and events to support your professional journey and drive your career forward.

Course curriculum

As you progress through the weekly modules of this online program, examine the workings and features of cryptocurrency.

Orientation module

Welcome to your Online Campus

Module 1

Money, the payment riddle, and cryptocurrency innovation

Module 2

Smart contracts, DApps, and initial coin offerings (ICOs)

Module 3

Cryptocurrency markets, exchanges, and trading

Module 4

The viability of crypto projects

Module 5

A catalyst for change: Responses from finance, tech, and central banks

Module 6

Challenges facing cryptocurrency and the path forward

Get more information

Course Conveners

The design of this online program is guided by MIT Media Lab subject matter experts, as well as industry experts, who’ll share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.

Gary Gensler

Former Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; Senior Advisor to the Director, MIT Media Lab; Co-Director, MIT FinTech@CSAIL

Neha Narula

Director of the Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab

About the certificate

Acquire knowledge on cryptocurrency and earn an official digital certificate from the MIT Media Lab.

Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. In order to be issued with a digital certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the course.

Your certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you digitally upon successful completion of the program, as per the stipulated requirements.

MIT Media Lab Cryptocurrency online short course certificate

YOUR INFORMATION

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