Program Overview
What you'll work through
- Transaction structure and scripting basics
- Block anatomy and the chain linking mechanism
- Mining process and difficulty adjustment
- Network propagation and consensus rules
- Wallet architecture and key management
- Common attack vectors and mitigation strategies
Hands-on components
- Block explorer analysis
- Dissect real transactions and trace Bitcoin movement across addresses
- Mining simulation
- Run a simplified proof-of-work example to understand computational requirements
- Security scenarios
- Examine case studies of exchange hacks and wallet compromises
Bitcoin isn't magic, but the way it solves double-spending without a central authority is genuinely clever. This course breaks down the actual mechanics: how transactions get validated, what miners are really doing when they "mine," and why the blockchain structure makes tampering incredibly difficult.
You'll work through real transaction data, decode block headers, and understand proof-of-work at a technical level. We cover wallet types, private key management, and common security mistakes that have cost people millions. The focus is on how things actually work, not investment advice or price speculation.
Expect to spend time with block explorers, read through simplified Bitcoin protocol documentation, and trace transactions from creation to confirmation. By the end, you'll understand why certain design decisions were made and what tradeoffs they involve.