ECON 454Introduction to Cryptocurrency Finance
Economics · 1 to 4 units · Graduate professional courses (400-499)
Limited to Master of Quantitative Economics students. Introduction to financial concepts in cryptocurrency industry. Addresses regulatory issues around crypto currencies with institutional infrastructure that is starting to be built around this space. In-depth exploration of the historical performance and valuation of cryptocurrencies, with analysis of risk associated with the price. Examination of the development of the crypto derivatives market, both with futures and options. Discussion of centralized finance, staking, and decentralized finance space. Introduction of concept of security tokens and tokenization of hard assets and digital assets. Covers emerging field of non-fungible tokens (NFT). Introduction of both asset and wealth management in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space relative to materials covered, including the instructor's field experience.
Letter grading.
When it runs
- Spring 2026
- Spring 2027
Scheduled, not typical — from UCLA’s Schedule of Classes, which publishes Fall 2025 through Spring 2027 and nothing before it.
Requisites
Official UCLA wording
Requisite: course 409 or 432.
Requires
Everything that has to come before this course, not just the courses named in the requisite above.
Unlocks
What this course is a requisite for, and what those courses lead to in turn.
No course in the catalog lists this as a requisite.