# CS 4970   ### Cryptocurrency <p class='titlep'> </p> <div class="titlesmall"><p> <a href="http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~asb">Aaron Bloomfield</a> (aaron@virginia.edu)<br> <a href="http://github.com/aaronbloomfield/ccc">@github</a> | <a href="index.html">↑</a> | <a href="./03-numbers.html?print-pdf"><img class="print" width="20" src="../slides/images/print-icon.png" style="top:0px;vertical-align:middle" class="nopad"></a> </p></div> <p class='titlep'> </p> ## Daily Announcements ## Spring 2025

From here

## Lecture 11: Thu, Feb 25th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`90,924; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`2,461; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 0.884 gwei => `$`0.05 @ 2025-02-24 20:58:44 - Homeworks - [HW P4: BTC scripting](../hws/btcscript/index.html) - It is postponed until either blockcypher starts working or I can rewrite it - Any existing extension requests will be removed -- if/when it is due, you can resubmit an extension request if you need one - [HW S4: Private Ethernet Blockchain](../hws/ethprivate/index.html) is out and ready; due on Monday - HW S5: dApp Introduction will be ready in a few days, due next Wednesday - Grading - HWs P1 (intro), P2 (ecdsa), and P3 (btcparser) have been returned - Sorry about the delay in getting them back! - Quiz 1 is graded, but can't be returned just yet - Regrade concern on the homeworks? Email the course email - Office schedule is on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Mine are M 10-11:30 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - TAs are Mon 1-5:30, Tue 12-3 and 4-5:30, Wed 10-12, and Thu 1-3, all in Rice 442 - No TA OH this Thursday and Friday! And none for me tomorrow.

## Lecture 11: Thu, Feb 25th - Midterm Thursday - Two TAs will be proctoring it - You can see past midterms in the [github repo](https://aaronbloomfield.github.io/ccc/exams/index.html) - Reading - HW S3: Read the Ethereum whitepaper - This will be an additional page on the exam - There are TWO versions floating around -- please read the version in Canvas' Files - You should skip (or quickly browse) some parts of the first 3 sub-parts of the ‘History’ section (‘Bitcoin’, ‘Mining’, and ‘Merkle Trees’) and the 'Notes and Further Reading' section at the end; what’s left is about 30 pages (of large and widely-spaced text) in the PDF to read - Next Thursday will be an in-class exercise - Everybody has to bring their computers with S4 & S5 run on them - Updated upcoming schedule on the next slide - Today we will start on [Solidity](../slides/solidity.html#/) - We'll come back to [Ethereum](../slides/ethereum.html#/) and [Mining](../slides/mining.html#/) later

## Upcoming schedule - This week (week of Monday, Feb 24th): - Midterm on Thursday, Feb 27th - Next week (week of Monday, March 3rd) - Due Monday: HW S5 (dApp introduction) due (unclear which day of the week as of yet) - Due Friday: HW S4: private Ethereum blockchain (NOT YET READY) due Friday, Feb 28th - It's a quick tutorial, not a full homework -- and will be able to be completed well ahead of time - Week of Monday, March 10th: spring break (really) - The following 7 weeks will have homeworks P5 through P11 due on Tuesday evenings - HW P11 is due Tuesday, April 29th, which is the last day of classes - Final exam is Friday, May 9th (the last day of final exams)

From here

## Lecture 11: Thu, Feb 18th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`95,243; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`2,640; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 0.756 gwei => `$`0.04 @ 2025-02-17 21:37:47 - Homeworks - [HW P4: BTC scripting](../hws/btcscript/index.html) is due *Thursday* - A few issues with TXNs posting are occurring -- see [Piazza post @54](https://piazza.com/class/m5wi5vs6rs512q/post/54) - Office schedule is on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Mine are M 10-11:30 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - TAs are Mon 1-5:30, Tue 12-3 and 4-5:30, Wed 10-12, and Thu 1-3, all in Rice 442 - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Reading - HW S3: Read the Ethereum whitepaper, due this Thursday (Feb 20) - There are TWO versions floating around -- please read the version in Canvas' Files - Updated upcoming schedule on the next slide - Today we will start on [Ethereum](../slides/ethereum.html#/) - We'll come back to [Mining](../slides/mining.html#/) later

## Upcoming schedule - This week (week of Monday, Feb 17th): - HW P4 (BTC scripting) now due Thursday, Feb 20th - HW S3 (read Ethereum whitepaper) also due Thursday, Feb 20th - Next week (week of Monday, Feb 24th): - Midterm on Thursday, Feb 27th - HW S4: private Ethereum blockchain (NOT YET READY) due Friday, Feb 28th - It's a quick tutorial, not a full homework -- and will be able to be completed well ahead of time - Week of Monday, March 3rd: HW S5 (dApp introduction) due (unclear which day of the week as of yet) - Week of Monday, March 10th: spring break (really) - The following 7 weeks will have homeworks P5 through P11 due on Tuesday evenings - HW P11 is due Tuesday, April 29th, which is the last day of classes - Final exam is Friday, May 9th (the last day of final exams)

## Lecture 10: Thu, Feb 13th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`94,101; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`2,551; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 0.864 gwei => `$`0.05 @ 2025-02-12 22:07:21 - Homeworks - [HW P3: BTC parsing](../hws/btcparser/index.html) was due yesterday -- how did it go? - [HW P4: BTC scripting](../hws/btcscript/index.html) is ready, and due next week - I got it out 2 days late, so it will be due next Thursday (Feb 20) - Office schedule is on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Mine are M 10-11:30 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - TAs are Mon 1-5:30, Tue 12-3 and 4-5:30, Wed 10-12, and Thu 1-3, all in Rice 442 - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Reading - HW S3: Read the Ethereum whitepaper, due next Thursday (Feb 20) - There are TWO versions floating around -- please read the version in Canvas' Files - Upcoming schedule on the next slide - Today we will start on [Mining](../slides/mining.html#/)

## Upcoming schedule - Next week (week of Monday, Feb 17th): - HW P4 (BTC scripting) now due Thursday, Feb 20th - HW S3 (read Ethereum whitepaper) also due Thursday, Feb 20th - Following week (week of Monday, Feb 24th): - Midterm on Thursday, Feb 27th - HW S4: private Ethereum blockchain (NOT YET READY) due Friday, Feb 28th - It's a quick tutorial, not a full homework -- and will be able to be completed well ahead of time - Week of Monday, March 3rd: HW S5 (dApp introduction) due (unclear which day of the week as of yet) - Week of Monday, March 10th: spring break - The following 7 weeks will have homeworks P5 through P11 due on Tuesday evenings - HW P11 is due Tuesday, April 29th, which is the last day of classes - Final exam is Friday, May 9th (the last day of final exams)

Snow

xkcd # 2866

## Lecture 9: Tue, Feb 11th - Today was a UVA snow day, so no class was held

From here

## Lecture 8: Thu, Feb 6th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`96,208; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`2,636; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 1.206 gwei => `$`0.07 @ 2025-02-05 14:50:37 - Homeworks - [HW P2: ECDSA](../hws/intro/index.html) was due yesterday -- how did it go? - [HW P3: BTC parser](../hws/btcparser/index.html) is ready, and due Tue, Feb 11th - Upcoming HWs (not yet ready!) - HW P4 (due Tue, Feb 18th) will be on Bitcoin scripting - Office hours this week: - They are finalized, and posted on the Canvas landing page - Mine are M 10-11:30 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - TAs are Mon 1-5:30, Tue 12-3 and 4-5:30, Wed 10-12, and Thu 1-3, all in Rice 442 - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Today we will continue with [Bitcoin](../slides/bitcoin.html#/)

From here

## Lecture 7: Tue, Feb 4th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`91,242; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`2,159; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 9.353 gwei => `$`0.42 @ 2025-02-03 13:41:48 - Homeworks - [HW P2: ECDSA](../hws/intro/index.html) is due tomorrow by midnight - [HW P3: BTC parser](../hws/btcparser/index.html) is ready, and due Tue, Feb 11th - Upcoming HWs (not yet ready!) - HW P4 (due Tue, Feb 18th) will be on Bitcoin scripting - Office hours this week: - They are finalized, and posted on the Canvas landing page - Mine are M 10-11:30 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - TAs are Mon 1-5:30, Tue 12-3 and 4-5:30, Wed 10-12, and Thu 1-3, all in Rice 442 - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Today we will continue with [Bitcoin](../slides/bitcoin.html#/)

From here

## Lecture 6: Thu, Jan 30th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`101,427; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`3,055; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 1.926 gwei => `$`0.12 @ 2025-01-29 23:09:33 - Homeworks - [HW P1: Cryptocurrency Introductory](../hws/intro/index.html) was due yesterday by midnight; how did it go? - HW S2, due today, is reading the [Bitcoin whitepaper](https://bitcoinwhitepaper.co/) - A PDF of it is also in Canvas' Files (named [bitcoin-whitepaper.pdf](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076/files?preview=6015859)) - [HW P2 (ECDSA)](../hws/ecdsa/index.html) is ready, and due Tue, Feb 4th - Upcoming HWs (not yet ready!) - HW P3 (due Tue, Feb 11th) will be on Bitcoin's blockchain - HW P4 (due Tue, Feb 18th) will be on Bitcoin scripting - Office hours this week: - They are posted in a pinned Piazza post for now; once they settle, we will post them on the Canvas landing page - Mine are M 10-11:30 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Today we will continue with [Bitcoin](../slides/bitcoin.html#/)

From here

## Lecture 5: Tue, Jan 28th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`97,795; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`3,024; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 3.966 gwei => `$`0.25 @ 2025-01-27 22:43:00 - Homeworks - [HW P1: Cryptocurrency Introductory](../hws/intro/index.html) is due today by midnight - HW S2 will be a reading (the [Bitcoin whitepaper](https://bitcoinwhitepaper.co/)), due this Thursday (!) - A PDF of it is also in Canvas' Files (named [bitcoin-whitepaper.pdf](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076/files?preview=6015859)) - [HW P2 (ECDSA)](../hws/ecdsa/index.html) is ready, and due Tue, Feb 4th - Upcoming HWs (not yet ready!) - HW P3 (due Tue, Feb 11th) will be on Bitcoin's blockchain - HW P4 (due Tue, Feb 18th) will be on Bitcoin scripting - Office hours this week: - They are posted in a pinned Piazza post for now; once they settle, we will post them on the Canvas landing page - Mine are M 10-11:30 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Today we will finish with the [encryption](../slides/encryption.html#/) slide set - Next up: [Bitcoin](../slides/bitcoin.html#/)

From reddit

## Lecture 4: Thu, Jan 23rd - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`102,000; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`3,203; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 4.705 gwei => `$`0.32 @ 2025-01-22 23:28:49 - Homeworks - HW S1: course introduction survey was due yesterday; summary on the next slide - [HW P1: Cryptocurrency Introductory](../hws/intro/index.html) is due the next Tuesday (Jan 28th) by midnight - It's all ready to go - Gradescope submission opens up 3 days before it is due - HW S2 will be a reading (the [Bitcoin whitepaper](https://bitcoinwhitepaper.co/)), due in late January - A PDF of it is also in Canvas' Files (named [bitcoin-whitepaper.pdf](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076/files?preview=6015859)) - Upcoming HWs (not yet ready!) - HW P2 (due Tue, Feb 4th) will be on ECDSA - HW P3 (due Tue, Feb 11th) will be on Bitcoin's blockchain - HW P4 (due Tue, Feb 18th) will be on Bitcoin scripting - Office hours this week: - Abby has them today from 5-6:30 in ??? - The full schedule will start next week, and will be posted by noon on Monday - Mine are M 9:30-11 and W 1:30-3 in Rice 402 (note the change) - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Today we will continue with the [encryption](../slides/encryption.html#/) slide set

## HW S1 summary ($n=60$) - 57% took ICS already, 17% are taking it this semester, 27% have not - Topic familiarity (1-5 Likert scale): - Encryption: RSA: 2.50 - Hashing: 2.77 - Cryptocurrency: 2.15 - The Tor system: 1.70 - Residences: - 46 from Virginia - 10 from US but not Virginia - Alabama, Georgia, Hawai'i, Illinois, New York x 2, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas - 4 from other countries (Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Germany) - Likely to invest in cryptocurrency: 3.12; in NFTs: 1.92 (1-5 Likert scale) - Cryptocurrency knowledge: 1.98 (1-5 Likert scale) - Other topics of interest: - Ones currently in the curriculum: NFTs, Tether, Solana x 4, rug pulls, staking, tokens - Ones I'll look into inserting at some point: XRP x 4, pump.fun x 2, Cardano, Ondo, Sui x 4, Aptos, Chainlink, Destra x 2, Avax, Dogecoin, hardware aspects of mining, Trump Coin - Ones that are much less interesting than they seem: SBF, Monero, The Hawk Tuah Coin (!) x 2 - 100% of you wish you had bought bitcoin 15 years ago

From twitter

## Lecture 3: Tue, Jan 21st - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`100,454; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`3,191; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 12.076 gwei => `$`0.81 @ 2025-01-20 20:32:13 - Homeworks - HW S1: course introduction survey is due today (Tuesday, Jan 21st) by midnight - The link is on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - I'll bring a summary in on Thursday - [HW P1: Cryptocurrency Introductory](../hws/intro/index.html) is due the next Tuesday (Jan 28th) by midnight - It's all ready to go - Gradescope submission opens up 3 days before it is due - HW S2 will be a reading (the [Bitcoin whitepaper](https://bitcoinwhitepaper.co/)), due in late January - A PDF of it is also in Canvas' Files (named [bitcoin-whitepaper.pdf](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076/files?preview=6015859)) - Upcoming HWs (not yet ready!) - HW P2 (due Tue, Feb 4th) will be on ECDSA - HW P3 (due Tue, Feb 11th) will be on Bitcoin's blockchain - HW P4 (due Tue, Feb 18th) will be on Bitcoin scripting - Office hours start this week - Mine are M 9-11 and W 2-3 in Rice 402 - TA office hours TBA - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Today we will continue with the [encryption](../slides/encryption.html#/) slide set

Blockchain

xkcd # 2267

## Lecture 2: Thu, Jan 16th - [BTC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD): `$`96,480; [ETH](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ETH-USD): `$`3,186; [ETH gas](https://etherscan.io/gastracker): 6.771 gwei => `$`0.45 @ 2025-01-15 18:08:05 - Homeworks - HW S1: course introduction survey is due next Tuesday (Jan 21st) by midnight - The link is on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - [HW P1: Cryptocurrency Introductory](../hws/intro/index.html) is due the following Tuesday (Jan 28th) by midnight - It's all ready to go - Gradescope submission opens up 3 days before it is due - HW S2 will be a reading (the [Bitcoin whitepaper](https://bitcoinwhitepaper.co/)), due in late January - A PDF of it is also in Canvas' Files (named [bitcoin-whitepaper.pdf](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076/files?preview=6015859)) - Upcoming HWs (not yet ready!) - HW P2 (due Tue, Feb 4th) will be on ECDSA - HW P3 (due Tue, Feb 11th) will be on Bitcoin's blockchain - HW P4 (due Tue, Feb 18th) will be on Bitcoin scripting - Office hours start next week - All are currently TBA; the times will be posted this weekend, but the locations may not be ready until Monday - This all will be on the [Canvas landing page](https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/140076) - Today we will continue with the [Cryptocurrency overview](../slides/overview.html#/) slide set, and then start [encryption](../slides/encryption.html#/)