DTC CS 1 - Verification of Bitcoins and other Cryptocurrencies.

This project would connect well with research by Pedro Helles in the School of Law on smart contracts and cryptocurrencies. While there has been a lot of interest in the media in Bitcoins, with the price for Bitcoins increasing from 1003 US-$ on 1/1/2017 to 8155 US-$ at time of writing, there exist no formal proof yet that the protocol is actually correct, which is worrying, since Bitcoins rely entirely on the algorithm with no human organisation mediating it. The goal of this project is to fix this gap, and to formally verify the Bitcoin protocol and protocols of other cryptocurrencies in the interactive theorem proving tool Agda.

Entry requirements

Candidates must have a minimum of an upper second class honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject, or an appropriate Master’s degree (with Merit). Informal enquiries are welcome by emailing the project supervisor.

For candidates whose first language is not English, we require IELTS 6.5 (with 6.0 in each component) or equivalent. Please visit our website for a list of acceptable English language tests. We prefer candidates to have already met the English Language requirements at the point of application, although this is not a requirement.

How to apply

Visit our webpage for details - http://www.swansea.ac.uk/science/research/dtc/biosciences-projects-2018-19/

Please include the project ID and title in your email subject header (eg. DTC BIO xxxxxx)