Workshop overview:

This course provides a foundational understanding of blockchain technology, starting with essential cryptographic concepts such as hashing, Merkle trees, and digital signatures. Participants will explore how these principles support blockchain fundamentals, including block construction, transactions, network structure, addresses, wallets, and consensus mechanisms. 

The course also introduces the concept of digital tokens, covering token standards like ERC-20 fungible tokens, and an overview of tokenised assets. There will be a particular focus on stablecoins and digital money. By the end of the course, learners will have a well-rounded theoretical and practical understanding of how blockchain systems function and how to evaluate the many innovations in digital money and on-chain finance that may transform financial and payments systems in the coming years.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this course, learners will be able to: 

  • understand core cryptographic concepts like hashing, private keys, and digital signatures

  • explain how blockchain works as a database, as a payments infrastructure, and as a computer for deploying software (smart contracts) 

  • set up your own wallet and interact with a public permissionless blockchain 

  • create, deploy and interact with smart contracts that create digital tokens 

  • analyse and critique prominent stablecoin smart contracts (USDT, USDC…) and create a simplified version yourself.

Area of expertise:
Payments, innovation & resilience
Tags:
Digital Risk Risk management
Rhys Bidder

Rhys Bidder

Deputy Director, Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance

With over 15 years of experience as an economist, researcher, and lecturer, I have a deep understanding of the complex interactions between banking, a...

With over 15 years of experience as an economist, researcher, and lecturer, I have a deep understanding of the complex interactions between banking, asset pricing, monetary policy, and financial regulation - in traditional systems and in the rapidly emerging digital asset/crypto space.

As the Deputy Director of the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance (QCGBF) at King's College London, I lead and support various research projects, publications, events, and collaborations. My work explores classic topics in macroeconomics and finance, but also addresses novel topics such as stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, stress testing, and climate change. I also teach and mentor students, drawing on my experience as an Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and from lecturing at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and Warwick.

I have consulted for the Bank of England on stress testing and asset pricing models, and am currently a research affiliate on the digital euro and payments at the Central Bank of Ireland. I have published multiple papers in leading academic journals (including the American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Theory, and the Journal of Monetary Economics). I am also a consultant on banking and capital markets for Chainlink Labs.

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  • Payments Specialist / Treasury Analyst  

  • Regulatory Affairs Specialist / Policy Engagement 

  • Risk Manager / Operational Risk Analyst  

  • IT Risk Manager  

  • Cryptography Specialist  

  • Cybersecurity teams  

  • Data Risk Manager  

  • Data Privacy Officer  

  • Product Managers  

  • Innovation Managers  

To ensure a smooth and interactive training experience, delegates should be aware that part of the session will involve using a digital wallet. Ahead of the training, joining instructions will be provided with guidance on setting up a wallet and installing the MetaMask app on a mobile device, as well as the MetaMask browser extension. 

This preparation is important to participate in key elements of the course.

Digital Money and Blockchain

Event details

Venue
Online event
Date and time
14 Jul 2025
10:00 - 16:00
Full and associate member rate
£845.00 (+VAT)
Non-member rate
£1050.00 (+VAT)
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