FTEC5640 Decentralized Finance / Fall 2026

Course Description

This course provides a foundational introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi) with an aim to bridge decentralized/ distributed computing and finance. Students will learn about decentralized systems, distributed consensus, blockchains, smart contracts, and the contrast between DeFi and traditional finance. The course starts with a brief review of the notion of money, conventional banking and payment systems. It then proceeds to cover different DeFi assets including cryptocurrencies, tokens and stablecoins.
Various DeFi infrastructure technologies such as Decentralized Exchanges (DEX), Automated Market Maker (AMM) protocols, Decentralized Lending/ Borrowing protocols, and Oracles are also discussed. The course concludes with decentralized governance, DeFi risk management and best practices for DeFi security. By exploring the intricacies of DeFi ecosystems, students will gain a better understanding of the opportunities, challenges, and systemic risks associated with this emerging field.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the operating principles and concepts underlying various DeFi services.
2. Explain how cryptocurrencies, tokens, and smart contracts can be used to implement different financial services.
3. Evaluate various DeFi services by analyzing their strengths, limitations, potential applications and risks.
4. Assess the potential impact of different DeFi services on the financial industry and the society.

Full course outline: FTEC5640 Course Outline (2026-27 Term 1)

Please check Blackboard for important announcements, assignment submissions, grades, and the course discussion forum.

Course Assessment

• Assignments/Labs (4-5 sets): 25%
• Project: 10%
• Class Participation: 5%
• Final Examination: 60%

The final exam of the course is scheduled on Dec 15 (Tue), 3:30pm to 6:30pm. The exact venue will be announced later.

Late Submission

NO late submission will be accepted for assignments/labs and the project.

Absence from Examinations

For examinations:

• Absence due to medical reasons on the exam/test day: submit valid medical proof issued by a registered medical doctor in Hong Kong to the course instructor within 2 calendar days after the exam/test date.
• No make-up exam or special arrangements will be arranged if the above requirements are not met.
• Final decision will be made by the course instructor.

Student/Faculty Expectations on Teaching and Learning

https://mobitec.ie.cuhk.edu.hk/StaffStudentExpectations.pdf

Academic Honesty

You are expected to do your own work and acknowledge the use of anyone else’s words or ideas. You MUST put down in your submitted work the names of people with whom you have had discussions.

Refer to https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty for details, and https://www.erg.cuhk.edu.hk/erg/AcademicHonesty for the Faculty of Engineering guidelines.

When scholastic dishonesty is suspected, the matter will be turned over to the University authority for action.

You MUST include the following signed statement in all of your submitted homework, project assignments and examinations. Submission without a signed statement will not be graded.

I declare that the assignment here submitted is original except for source material explicitly acknowledged, and that the same or related material has not been previously submitted for another course. I also acknowledge that I am aware of University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and of the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations, as contained in the website https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

Only the final version of an assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide. Note that your work may be investigated by AI content detection software to determine originality.

Academic Honesty Slides from Associate Dean of Faculty of Engineering

AI Tools Policy

You are NOT allowed to use any AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) in this course UNLESS the instructor has explicitly granted permission for specific parts or question(s) of an assignment. Anyone who uses AI tools to complete homework without explicit permission from the instructor will be treated as cheating.

Where use is permitted, Section 14 of the course outline sets out the conditions and shows how to acknowledge and cite AI-generated content.

Previous Offerings

• Spring 2026