15.S12 Blockchain and Money (Fall 2018, MIT OCW). Instructor: Prof. Gary Gensler. This course is for students wishing to explore blockchain technology's potential use - by entrepreneurs and incumbents - to change the world of money and finance. The course begins with a review of Bitcoin and an understanding of the commercial, technical, and public policy fundamentals of blockchain technology, distributed ledgers, and smart contracts. The class then continues on to current and potential blockchain applications in the financial sector.
(from ocw.mit.edu)
Lecture 04 - Blockchain Basics and Consensus
This lecture covers blockchain consensus protocols. Because of the decentralized nature of blockchain technology, it is crucial that consensus protocols are used to require that the nodes on the network agree on the same state of a blockchain.