FA595 Financial Technology (FinTech)
Course Catalog Description
Introduction
This course covers emerging topics in the area of financial technology and also allow students to develop practical programming, statistics, and mathematical skills that are valued in the Fintech industry. We will explore topics from both theoretical and practical perspectives in the areas of digital currency and blockchain technologies, automated wealth management, digital lending, peer-to-peer applications including payments and insurance, machine learning financial applications.
| Campus | Fall | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| On Campus | X | X |
Instructors
| Professor | Office | |
|---|---|---|
|
Jingrui Li
|
jli264@stevens.edu | Morton 103 |
More Information
Course Outcomes
After successful completion of this course, students will:
- Be conversant in both the main theoretical ideas and high level concepts of the financial technology topics to be discussed.
- Conversant in both the main theoretical ideas and high-level concepts of the financial technology topics to be discussed.
- Students should aim to become proficient in the implementation of key ideas behind such topics.
- Give students exposure to core ideas in financial technology as well as develop hands-on programming skills in the Fintech area.
- Students will also be given outlines for a main project for this course which may lead into future research projects or a master’s thesis topic.
- Finally, this course is a precursor for further Fintech topic,specific graduate courses.
Course Resources
Textbook
- Mastering Ethereum: Building Smart Contracts and DApps (2018) by Andreas M. Antonopoulos and Gavin Wood. ISBN: 1491971940.
- Blockchain Bubble or Revolution: The Future of Bitcoin, Blockchains, and Cryptocurrencies (2019) by Neel Mehta, Aditya Agashe and Parth Detroja. ISBN: 0578528150.
- Students should aim to become proficient in the implementation of key ideas behind such topics.
- DeFi and the Futrue of Finance (2021) by Campbell R Harvey, Ashwin Ramachandran and Joey Santoro. ISBN: 1119836018.
- Python for Data Analysis: Data Wrangling with Pandas, NumPy, and IPython (2017) by William McKinney. ISBN: 1491957662.
Additional References
- Lecture slides used during each lecture
- Whitepapers, Survey Articles, and Video materials will be given to students throughout the class
Grading
Grading Policies
| Weights | ||
| 1 | Two Exams | 50% (25% each) |
| 2 | Group Project and Presentation | 30% (15% and 15%) |
| 3 | Homework | 15% |
| 4 | Canvas Discussions | 5% |
| 5 | Total | 100% |
Lecture Outline
| Week | Topic |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Course Introduction
FinTech Overview |
| Week 2 | Blockchain Overview and Bitcoin Mechanics Discussion 1 Due |
| Week 3 | Bitcoin Economics and Limitations Homework 1 Due |
| Week 4 | Scaling Blockchain: Proof-of-Work vs. Proof-of-Stake Discussion 2 Due |
| Week 5 | Proof-of-Stake Mechanics and Proof-of-Stake Blockchain |
| Week 6 | Ethereum and Smart Contracts Homework 2 Due Group Project Member Sheet Due |
| Week 7 | Cryptocurrencies Overview, Ecosystem and Interlinkages Decentralized Applications (dApps) Discussion 3 Due Exam 1 Review |
| Week 8 | Exam 1 |
| Week 9 | Spring Recess – No Classes |
| Week 10 | Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Group Project Member Sheet Due |
| Week 11 | DeFi: Borrowing and Lending through the Compound Protocol Homework 3 Due Discussion 4 Due |
| Week 12 | Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Centralized and Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) |
| Week 13 | Web3 and Metaverse |
| Week 14 | rypto Regulation, Tax and Risk Management Exam 1 Review Group Project Due Homework 4 Due Discussion 5 Due |
| Week 15 | Exam 2 |
| Week 16 | Group Project Presentations |