Cryptographic Currencies Crash Course (C4): Tutorial

”Bitcoin is a rare case where practice seems to be ahead of theory.” Joseph Bonneau et al. [15] This tutorial aims to further close the gap between IT security research and the area of cryptographic currencies and block chains. We will describe and refer to Bitcoin as an example throughout the tutorial, as it is the most prominent representative of a such a system. It also is a good reference to discuss the underlying block chain mechanics which are the foundation of various altcoins (e.g. Namecoin) and other derived systems. In this tutorial, the topic of cryptographic currencies is solely addressed from a technical IT security point-of-view. Therefore we do not cover any legal, sociological, financial and economical aspects. The tutorial is designed for participants with a solid IT security background but will not assume any prior knowledge on cryptographic currencies. Thus, we will quickly advance our discussion into core aspects of this field.