Open Certificate · Policymakers Pathway

Introduction to
Blockchain

The accessible entry point for founders, policymakers, and non-dev professionals who need to make informed decisions about blockchain without writing code — from why centralised systems fail through to applications, ethics, and the multichain future.

~12 hours
Free to Learn
Certificate fee: $100
Skills you will gain
Explain why decentralised systems exist
Describe blockchain as ledger + consensus
Explain keys, signatures, hashing — no math
Evaluate DeFi, DAOs, identity, and NFTs critically
Read tokenomics and incentive design critically
Reason about governance and the multichain future
Instructors (12)
G
Gavin Wood
Polkadot vision and high-level architecture
C
Chen Da Liu Zhang
Cryptography — digital signatures and cryptographic keys
A
Andrew Burger
Hash functions, Merkle trees, and the evolution of blockchains
A
Alexander Popiak
Blockchain architecture and state machines
T
Thibaut Sardan
Consensus and blockchain fundamentals
M
Maciej Kris Zyszkiewicz
System chains and hybrid consensus
A
Alfonso Cevallos
Economics, game theory, and mechanism design
J
Jonas Gehrlein
Tokenomics and economic incentives
K
Kian Paimani
Staking, NPoS, and interoperability
T
Tommi Enenkel
Polkadot OpenGov and governance mechanisms
T
Tara Merk
Blockchain governance concepts
B
Bill Laboon
Blockchain governance
Lessons in this certificate
01 Why Blockchain Exists
02 Blockchain in the AI Era
03 How Blockchain Works
04 Cryptography Without the Math
05 Smart Contracts
06 Governance in Decentralised Systems
07 Tokens, Incentives, and Economic Security
08 DeFi, DEXs, and Global Payments
09 DAOs, Identity, Supply Chain, NFTs
10 Privacy with Zero-Knowledge Proofs
11 The Multichain Future and Case Studies
Why take this program?
  • Build practical knowledge with a clear learning structure
  • Learn from people building the technology
  • Study at your own pace, from anywhere
  • Strengthen your foundation for what comes next
Instructors
PBA-X Faculty
Course content is drawn from PBA-X lessons across the Blockchain, Cryptography, Economics, Polkadot, and Governance modules — see the full list above.
Continue

Complete all 11 lessons to earn your certificate

Start today

Ready to upgrade your blockchain knowledge?

All course content is free. Unlock your certificate with a real-world assessment when you're confident.