14.129 | Spring 2025 | Graduate

Blockchain and the Design of Financial Systems

Course Description

This course synthesizes the computer science technologies underlying cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenization, platforms, and computational algorithms with the economics tools of contract theory, mechanism design, general equilibrium theory, and monetary theory. The goal is to understand the assumptions, existing …
This course synthesizes the computer science technologies underlying cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenization, platforms, and computational algorithms with the economics tools of contract theory, mechanism design, general equilibrium theory, and monetary theory. The goal is to understand the assumptions, existing shortcomings, and potential impact on legacy systems of distributed ledgers, smart contracts, and encryption and to explore possibilities for new financial designs and for regulation.
Lecture Notes
Lecture Videos
A polyhedron whose faces are made of Bitcoins
This course covers modern financial systems from the perspectives of both economics and computer science. (Image courtesy of fdecomite on Flickr. License: CC BY.)