Resources

Technical

• EasyA

  An all-in-one app that contains resources for learning about your favorite blockchains, competing against friends, hearing about upcoming hackathons in your area and more. Complete in-app quizzes to earn free crypto and NFTs!

• Ethereum.org

  Has many resources for learning about DeFi, DAOs, smart contracts and much more. If you're looking for a technical primer on everything Ethereum, then this is the best place to start.

• Buildspace

  A Discord community as well as a website with a series of interactive tutorials in web3, ranging from creating a website where you can mint your own NFTs to establishing a domain service in Polygon. Optimal for those who want to learn by doing.

• Speedrun Ethereum

  A series of interactive smart-contract tutorials. Like Buildspace but specifically focused on Ethereum.

• FreeCodeCamp Solidity Tutorial

  A 1 hour and 30-minute tutorial for learning the basics of smart-contract development with Solidity, the programming language for Ethereum.

• ZK-Whiteboard Sessions

  Youtube playlist of experts explaining facets of zero-knowledge proofs in detail.

• Blockchain 101: Part One and Two

  Youtube two-part series that introduces how a blockchain works in a visual and intuitive way.

• But how does Bitcoin actually work?

  A visual explanation Youtube series explaining the cryptography and structure of the blockchain from 3Blue1Brown's Grant Sanderson.

Non-Technical

• Acquired Episodes on Bitcoin and Ethereum

  Acquired is a well-researched, long-form podcast that tells the story of great technology companies. If you are looking for the complete story behind Bitcoin and Ethereum and what role they will play in the future of the world, then check out their episodes on each.

• The Only Crypto Story You'll Ever Need

  Long-form essay from Bloomberg that outlines the history of cryptocurrencies and the main bull case for crypto going forward.

• Vitalik Buterin's Blog

  Buterin is the co-founder of Ethereum and one of the main philosophical leaders of the crypto movement. In his blog, he writes essays about a variety of topics that usually involve novel ideas for blockchain applications. He writes from both technical and non-technical perspectives.

Related Courses at Brown

• Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies

  CSCI 1951L

  Introduction to modern blockchain-based systems. Topics covered include consensus and distributed computing, examples of cryptocurrencies, programming smart contracts, privacy and secrecy, transfer networks, atomic swaps and transactions, non-currency applications of blockchains, and legal and social implications. Students will do a programming project and a term project.

• Spring 2022 - NFTs, Blockchain, & Art

  GISP0003

  In Spring 2022, the first ever credit-bearing course on NFTs in history was taught at Brown University. Our former President Ben Frigon was one of the co-designers.

• Applied Cryptography

  CSCI 1515

  This course teaches cryptography from a practical perspective and provides hands-on experience of building secure systems in C/C++. Students will implement secure authentication and communication systems using foundational cryptographic algorithms such as encryption schemes, authentication codes, digital signatures, key exchange, and hash functions. The course also covers advanced topics including zero-knowledge proofs, secure multi-party computation, fully homomorphic encryption, and post-quantum cryptography. Students will use these tools to develop applications such as secure online anonymous voting, privacy-preserving data analysis, and private information retrieval.

• Distributed Computer Systems

  CSCI 1380

  Explores the fundamental principles and practice underlying networked information systems, first we cover basic distributed computing mechanisms (e.g., naming, replication, security, etc.) and enabling middleware technologies. We then discuss how these mechanisms and technologies fit together to realize distributed databases and file systems, web-based and mobile information systems. Prerequisite: CSCI 0300, CSCI 0320, CSCI 0330, CSCI 1310 or CSCI 1330.

• Introduction to Cryptography and Computer Security

  CSCI 1510

  This course studies the tools for guaranteeing safe communication and computation in an adversarial setting. We develop notions of security and give provably secure constructions for such cryptographic objects as cryptosystems, signature schemes and pseudorandom generators. We also review the principles for secure system design. Prerequisites: CSCI 0220, and either CSCI 0510 or CSCI 1010.

• Introduction to Computer Security

  CSCI 1880

  This course examines the basic principles of computer security for an organization, recognizing which system components relate to which principles. Additionally, the course covers methodologies and skills for making informed security decisions and understanding how to apply security principles to design security mechanisms while considering tradeoffs. Topics include general security principles, cryptography, authentication authorization, identity, and access management, operating systems security, network security, web security, and applications security. Throughout the course, you will develop a preliminary cybersecurity plan for an organization.

Applications That We Like

• Arbitrum

  Built using optimistic rollup technology, Arbitrum is one of the most well-known Ethereum L2s. It is faster and cheaper than Ethereum's L1 and you can still interact with all your favorite dapps. Bridge to Arbitrum One and play around in their diverse ecosystem.

• dYdX

  A decentralized exchange with low fees for perpetual futures trading (futures with no delivery date). Its latest version, v3, runs on StarkWare (an L2 on Ethereum), but v4 will run on Cosmos, a modular blockchain.

• Dark Forest

  Online space strategy game that hosts data on-chain and takes advantage of ZK-SNARKs to enable the first incomplete information blockchain game. Inspired by the series of Three-Body Problem science fiction novels from Cixin Liu.

• Polymarket

  Prediction market for Ethereum that allows you to bet on anything, from who will win the next presidential election to what the Fed's interest rates will be next month.

• Uniswap

  Decentralized Exchange that uses smart-contracts for trading Ethereum-based tokens.

• Unstoppable Domains

  Blockchain-based domain name service that converts human-readable domains to wallet addresses. Operates under a buy-once, own-forever model.

• Ethereum Name Service

  Another domain name service. Like Unstoppable Domains, but specific to Ethereum. Requires paying for a ownership over a fixed period of time, rather than forever.