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5th Scientific School on Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Technologies

Cagliari (Italy), September 10-13, 2024

Crypto economics is a new discipline born after the rise of virtual currencies and distributed ledger technologies, and is rapidly developing in a unique intersection between computing, cryptography, law, economics, and game theory. The school aims at disseminating knowledge about the foundations and the applications of these technologies to researchers, PhD students, scholars and technologists in industry and academia, not excluding under- or new graduates with strong technical drive and a sufficient background.

Important dates

Venue & accommodation

The school, which is planned as a physical, in-person event, will be hosted at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Cagliari (Italy).

The venue is in the city center, close to the historical area of Castello. The city center can be reached from the Cagliari airport in 15’ by taxi (it costs around 20 EUR), or by train.

In the center of Cagliari there are several affordable accommodation opportunities: check bed-and-breakfast.it and airbnb.it.

Registration & selection

The school plans for a maximum of 20 attendees; the attendance to the school is free, while travel and accommodation expenses are to be paid by participants (there are several affordable accommodations in Cagliari). The participants will be selected by the scientific committee on a CV best-match basis. All sessions will be held in English.

Registration link: forms.gle/bBdBLTu5986NEz4j8

Lectures

Smart Contract Languages: a Comparative Analysis Decentralized blockchain platforms support the secure exchange of assets among users without relying on trusted third parties. These exchanges are programmed with smart contracts, computer programs directly executed by blockchain nodes. Multiple smart contract languages are available nowadays to developers, each with its own distinctive features, strengths, and weaknesses. In this lecture, we examine the smart contract languages used in six major blockchain platforms: Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Algorand, Aptos, and Tezos. Starting with a high-level overview of their design choices, we discuss their programming style, security, code readability, and usability.

Massimo Bartoletti, University of Cagliari (IT)

Solidity vs. Move side-by-side In this lecture we give a side-by-side overview of two of the main smart contract languages: Solidity and Move. Solidity is the most widespread language for smart contracts, used since 2015 on Ethereum and later adopted by several other blockchain platforms. Move was originally designed for the (now abandoned) Libra/Diem blockchain, and it is currently used by Aptos, Sui and IOTA. Each language has its own strengths and weaknesses. Solidity is easy to learn and has a large ecosystem of development tools, but it is prone to quirks that can lead to vulnerabilities. Move, on the other hand, is designed to ensure the safe handling of assets, enforcing their conservation and preventing duplication through its linear type system, albeit at the cost of a more convoluted programming style. During this lecture we will illustrate Solidity and Move through a common set of use cases; in the meanwhile, we will discuss their design principles, programming style and security implications.

Andrea Pinna, University of Cagliari (IT) Alvise Spanò, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (IT)

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Protocols and their Compositions Decentralized finance (DeFi) builds on distributed ledger technologies (DLT) to offer services such as trading, lending and investing without using a traditional centralized intermediary. A range of DeFi protocols implements these services as a suite of smart contracts. In this lecture, we will explore the core components of the most relevant DeFi protocols, such as Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) and Protocols for Loanable Funds (PLFs). Next, we will discuss how they can interoperate. The fact that DeFi smart contracts can be "composed", i.e. utilize the functionalities of other protocols to provide novel financial services, introduces enormous technological and economic complexity that makes it increasingly difficult to assess the risks and potential of DeFi financial products.

Pietro Saggese, IMT Lucca (IT)

Securing Ethereum Contracts: Techniques and Tools (with a glimpse on AI) Ethereum smart contracts are self-executing programs with terms encoded on the Ethereum blockchain. By enabling decentralized applications (dApps), they revolutionize industries such as finance, supply chain, and real estate. However, the immutability of the blockchain amplifies the catastrophic effects of bugs or vulnerabilities in these contracts. In this lesson, we will explore some of the most common vulnerabilities and how, in some cases, they caused the loss of millions of dollars worth of ether. We will then examine the tools available to developers to detect these vulnerabilities before deployment, comparing methods using classical techniques like static analysis and modern approaches such as machine learning and AI.

Dalila Ressi, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (IT)

Preventing DeFi Bugs with Formal Verification Join us for an engaging workshop on the Certora Prover, a cutting-edge formal verification tool designed to uncover bugs in DeFi smart contracts. We will begin with a brief lecture introducing the fundamentals of formal verification, its underlying principles, and its unique advantages. The primary focus of the workshop will be a hands-on exercise, where participants will learn to write specifications in CVL, the Certora Verification Language. The participants will test smart contract code against their specification using the Certora Prover. This session is ideal for those looking to deepen their understanding of formal verification and smart contract security.

Pamina Georgiou, Certora

Programmable Cryptography on Ethereum: a Practical Overview Ethereum can now be programmed in innovative ways, thanks to the latest advances in cryptography. These new building blocks enable developers to incorporate advanced privacy features into their decentralized applications. However, the perceived complexity and misconceptions around cryptography and privacy can hinder its adoption. This lecture aims to demystify programmable cryptography, covering key concepts and practical applications. We will explore the next generation of cryptographic techniques, including Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP), Multi-Party Computation (MPC), and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). The second half will be a deep dive into Semaphore, a privacy-focused ZKP protocol, examining its design and concepts, libraries and applications; with an hands-on session.

Giacomo Corrias, Ethereum Foundation

IOTA Smart Contracts The IOTA DLT supports the execution of Move smart contracts on the Layer 1. In particular, the IOTA smart contract platform supports the Sui Move flavour. In this flavour the concept of Object is central, that is, the ledger is composed of a series of Objects defined by Move structs and indexed by a key. This allows to have so called ‘owned objects’, that behaves similarly to UTXOs, and shared objects, that behaves similarly to shared accounts. The Object-based ledger, thus, mixes the benefits of a UTXO-based model and a Account-based model.

Mirko Zichichi, IOTA Foundation

Building the Open Metaverse with NFTs and Blockchain Technology The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection. The term "metaverse" is often linked to virtual reality technology, and beginning in the early 2020s, with Web3. The term has been used as a buzzword by companies to exaggerate the development progress of various related technologies and projects for public relations purposes. Besides marketing purposes, there are real cases of the development of platforms that are actually used by hundreds of thousands of users, like The Sandbox. In this lecture, we will take an in-depth look at The Sandbox's platform by showing all the blockchain-based integrations that make it decentralised, starting with the proprietary token, the use of DeFi to incentivise holders, moving on to NFTs, the transition from L1 to L2, and ending with the DAO.

Luca Clementi, The Sandbox

Exploring the Dark Forest: An Introduction to Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) This lecture provides an introduction to Maximal Extractable Value (MEV), a critical and increasingly relevant topic in the context of blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi). MEV represents the potential profit that can be extracted by validators, miners, or normal users through their ability to reorder, include, or exclude transactions within a block. We will explore the foundational principles of MEV, its origins, and its implications for network participants, and the various strategies used to capture it. The session will not only provide insights into the mechanics of MEV, but it will also cover its implications for the fairness and efficiency of blockchain systems, and the associated ethical and technical challenges. The lecture will also highlight current mitigation strategies and ongoing research efforts aimed at addressing the complexities of MEV. By the end of the session, participants will have a solid understanding of MEV and its impact on the broader DeFi landscape.

Christof Ferreira Torres, University of Lisbon

CTF, Hackathon & Awards

Besides the lectures and lab sessions, the school will feature a CTF competition and an hackathon on IOTA smart contracts. Participants will be grouped by the school organizers according to their background and expertise. The groups, composed of 3 students each, will start their projects during the last two days of the school. Projects can be completed offline after the school ends.

Projects will be evaluated by the school organizers and the IOTA Foundation. The best three projects will receive an award in IOTA cryptocurrency. The amounts of the awards are the following:

Programme

Go to the programme page.

Scientific Committee

Organizing Committee

Past editions

Acknowledgements

The school is organised thanks to the economic and organising support of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Cagliari, of the SERICS project, and of the IOTA Foundation.

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