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50886-01 - Lecture: FinTech, Digital Currency and Blockchains (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | David Yermack (david.yermack@unibas.ch) |
| Content | We will begin with a study of the nature of money and legacy payment and banking systems. We will then study the emergence of stateless, cloud-based digital currency systems since 2009. Further lectures will explore threats that blockchain technology poses to incumbent firms and their resulting attempts to co-opt the technology into existing business models, and the rapid growth of digital finance firms such as Coinbase, Binance, and numerous others. We survey related topics including ransomware, “smart contracts,” initial coin offerings, forks, governance, decentralized finance (De-Fi), stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and emerging regulation. |
| Learning objectives | This course covers digital currencies, blockchains, and related topics in the FinTech area, perhaps the most significant innovation in the financial world since the advent of double-entry bookkeeping centuries ago. The technology appears to represent an existential challenge for major parts of the finance industry. It is now commonly suggested by experts such as McKinsey that commercial banks and stock exchanges may no longer exist, or may become much smaller, within the next 10 to 20 years, with increasing volumes of payments and exchange taking place on a peer to peer basis. |
| Bibliography | The course readings, to be posted on Google drive, are indicated in the syllabus. For optional additional reading, the textbook for the Princeton University COURSERA course on cryptocurrency is a more advanced technical resource: Narayanan et al., Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies. Students are encouraged to stay current on the topic by following recent developments. For daily breaking FinTech news, the authoritative source is the website www.coindesk.com A concise, non-technical and highly readable introduction to the field is Malekan, The Story of the Blockchain (2018). Another succint book, written at the intermediate-level book and more focused on Ethereum and decentralized finance is Harvey, Ramachandran and Santoro, DeFi and the Future of Finance (2021). |
| Comments | This course is part of the Summer School in Business, Law and Economic Policy. |
| Weblink | Weblink to the Summer School |
| Admission requirements | Solid understanding of business and economics on the BA level.Courses on Bitcoin, Banking Regulations and Monetary Policy on the BA level are helpful. |
| Course application | Registration was open from 16 February to 16 March 2026, via the Summer School website. https://wwz.unibas.ch/de/studium/summer-school/how-to-apply/ The number of participants is limited. If there are still spots available, you can register by email to summerschool-wwz@unibas.ch until 30 May 2026. All further information can be found on the website of the Summer School. The enrollment for the course is at the same time the final registration for the examination! |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| täglich | See individual dates | ||
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 03.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Tuesday 04.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Wednesday 05.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Thursday 06.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Monday 10.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Tuesday 11.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Wednesday 12.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Thursday 13.08.2026 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Modules |
Core Module: Core Areas in Monetary Economics (Master's Studies: International and Monetary Economics) Module: Field Electives in Finance and Money (Master's Studies: Finance and Money) Module: Interdisciplinary and Transfer of Knowledge (Master's Studies: Actuarial Science) Module: Specific Electives in Business and Economics (Master's Studies: Business and Economics) Module: Technology Field (Master's Studies: Business and Technology) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Course attendance is compulsory. Attendance and good preparation are prerequisites for being a valuable participant in the class. You are expected to prepare for and attend every class and participate actively. Assessment details: Final grades will be determined on a combination of class participation, assignments and a final (closed-book) examination. Date of final examination: 14 August 2026 |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Registration/deregistration: faculty |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,1 |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Business and Economics , studiendekanat-wwz@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Faculty of Business and Economics |