Bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrencies

BITCOIN, BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Julian Kanjere, lecturer, University of Cape Town; senior blockchain engineer, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Saturday 31 January  10.00 am–12.00 pm  COURSE FEES R230; Staff and students R115

A cryptocurrency is a digital currency that functions as a medium of exchange, akin to the South African rand, but is mathematically secured and not issued by a central bank. An example is Bitcoin, which is the world’s most recognised and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. However, Bitcoin and blockchain are sometimes mistakenly considered to be synonymous, although they are distinctly different. Blockchain technology is the underlying technology that allows low-cost and high-speed digital payments (value transfer) between transacting parties via cryptocurrencies, without a centralised intermediary as is the case of traditional financial services.

This double lecture provides an overview of how the traditional and centralised financial system works – the participants, frictions, intermediaries and regulatory guardrails. It then looks at advances in technology that have given rise to blockchain technology, and how blockchain powers a new financial system that is decentralised, underpinned by code and secured by cryptography. This is followed by a look at Bitcoin and crypto markets and concludes with an overview of the cryptocurrency ecosystem (for example, cryptocurrency exchanges) and the unfolding regulatory landscape. At the end of the lecture participants will understand cryptocurrencies and their role in the emerging financial system, and the difference between Bitcoin and blockchain.

Recommended reading

Aquilina, M, Cornelli, G, Frost, J and Gambacorta, L. 2025. Cryptocurrencies and Decentralised Finance: Functions and Financial Stability Implications, Bank for International Settlements Paper No 156. https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap156.htm

Milne, A and Lawack, V. 2024. Digital Assets in Payments and Transaction Banking, South African Reserve Bank Working Paper Series WP/24/20.

Tapscott, D and Tapscott, A. 2016. Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business and the World. Penguin.

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Julian Kanjere is a recognised technology innovator with global experience in leading technology start-ups, managing enterprise software implementations, and driven to advance society using technology to create impact in emerging markets. He is a Senior Technology Specialist at the Centre for Robotics and Future Production (CRFP) at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa where he leads blockchain technology research and implementations. He also lectures on Financial Software Engineering and Blockchain Technology at the University of Cape Town’s MPhil in Financial Technology degree and speaks regularly on applications of emerging technology in emerging economies at technology conferences and business schools around the world. He has delivered guest lectures at institutions such as the University of Zurich Blockchain Centre, University of Johannesburg Blockchain Centre, Stellenbosch Graduate School of Business, and École Polytechnique Féminine (EPF) Graduate School of Engineering.