Introduction to FinTech: CSIE5434 at NTU

Course website: Must Read

Homework 0 (“HW0”)

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1 What is HW0 and why you makers should go do HW0 now:
• Read the course website shown on the title page first. Otherwise you won’t know where to go pick up
the course registration code later. Besides, all administrative updates will go to the website. I shall
not update this latex document further, except if I notice a technical error. Again, course website is
for non-technical, administrative business.
• While reading through this document, you need to click on all the underlined texts above and below,
in order to learn about all the needed info that Professor Liao (liao@csie.ntu.edu.tw) provided for you.
• The purpose of HW0 is to facilitate the application process for the course. Please complete HW0 and
provide your basic information for course enrollment. Note: After you enroll, a variant of HW0 will
become HW1. So your endeavor NOW can still contribute to your final grade too, assuming you get a
course enrollment code.
• HW0 has Problem 1 and 2. We observe that the earlier Web3 billionaires from this class (We made it!)
are those who excelled in Problem 1. Those who fail Problem 1 are not hands-on. Instead of being
makers, they are talkers and distract other students from making progress/money. They demand
answers and spoon-feeding, instead of looking for answers themselves. So the purpose of Problem 1
is to find the makers and filter-out the talkers. In Web3, only makers can become money makers,
sustainably. We are FinTech, not financial theoretician. Makers can’t be cheated easily. We examine
and set up github stuff carefully, as we also try to filter out cheaters in Problem 1. We don’t want
cheaters to enroll. HW0 serves the purpose to filter out those with the loser mentality.
• Enrolling involves the following 3 tasks:
1. Finishing Problem 1 is a necessary but NOT a sufficient condition. Reason: At National Taiwan
University we are limited by the size of classroom, but more than 250 students want to enroll. As
Problem 1 only takes 30+ minutes, it will only serve as a low bar. You still need to complete the
following tasks.
2. Finishing Problem 2 (blockchain) will get you a higher priority of being enrolled. Doing smart
contracts and Foundry (Problem 1) require blockchain knowledge. Waiver for this task of finishing
Problem 2: By popular request, you can now show us your enrollment of CSIE5315 instead of
answering Problem 2. The 2 earlier requests to me show that some want to get enrolled right after
spending 30 minutes in doing Problem 1! Reason according to the requester: “I don’t want to
wait while the enrollment codes run out before I can finish Problem 2.”
3. Enrolling in the course ”Bitcoin in the Big Data Era (CSIE5315)” will get you first priority, as
that course covers the needed foundation in blockchain-related knowledge.
• CSIE5315 will be pre-recorded and you don’t need to come to the morning class, as there won’t be any
quiz or roll calls.
• Smart contract development is foundational to Blockchain FinTech. Our course has a specific
emphasis on EVM-based development of smart contracts.
1. Solidity has been chosen as the programming language, and Foundry as our designated testing
framework. Ensure that you can download and set up Foundry for this assignment.
2. If you encounter difficulties with programming, it is advisable not to proceed with this course,
as subsequent assignments will heavily involve exercises using this framework. There are many
financial theory videos online. But CSIE5434 is science and real. CSIE5434 is offered each Spring,
so you can come back when you become ready next year.
• The assignment comprises Problme 1 (a programming problem) and Problem 2 (3 research sub-
problems).
• In case you encounter technical issues with Homework 0, kindly consult online resources initially,
as most problems are likely related to your local environment. If challenges persist, reach out to
2b@csie.ntu.edu.tw following these guidelines:

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 1. Title your email [Fintech-HW0][Summary-Of-Your-Issue]. Please note that we will NOT re-
ceive emails in other formats as we have applied filters to our email system.
2. Provide detailed information about your computer, including the operating system.
3. Outline the methods you attempted previously, the resources you consulted, the steps you followed,
and the results of your efforts.
4. Note that ambiguous requests, such as attaching screenshots without proper descriptions, will not
be answered. Such emailing will lower your priority.
5. Because you haven’t enrolled yet, unfortunately we need to give priority to those who have enrolled.
Professor’s time is very limited, given 250 students. Most of problems can be solved on your own.
Our SPEC is already very clear. Don’t rush into Professor’s office without working hard on your
own first. Respect others’ time!

2 Preliminaries
• Git
• GitHub Account
• MetaMask Wallet (or your preferred Web3 wallet supporting the Ethereum network)
• Foundry

1. Install Foundry: curl -L https://foundry.paradigm.xyz | bash

1. The result will be similar to forge 0.2.0 (c312c0d 2023-12-22T00:20:29.297186000Z)

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3 Problem 1
In this problem, we will download a default Foundry project - Counter, and introduce the Foundry project
layout. Please follow the instructions below:

• Fork this repository.

• Attempt to run all the tests: forge test, the result should look like Figure 1
• Get familiar with other forge command specified in the cheat sheat.

Figure 1: forge test result

A Foundry project will have the following components:

• src: Contains the source code of your smart contract. Define and implement the functionality of your
blockchain application.
• test: Test cases for your smart contract. This includes both unit tests and fuzz tests.
• lib: Include libraries and dependencies that your smart contract relies on.

• script: Include deployment scripts and automation scripts, or any other necessary scripts.

We will attempt to interact with the Ethereum test network - Sepolia, using Foundry scripts. Please follow
the steps:

• Acquire some test ethers in the Sepolia network using the faucet.

• Create a project on Alchemy and obtain the HTTPS endpoint from the API Key section. Read the
tutorial for detailed guidance.
• Create a file named .env under hw0 folder with two variables: PRIVATE_KEY and SEPOLIA_RPC.
1. Ensure to include the .env file in the .gitignore file before pushing code to GitHub. Failure to
do so may result in the exposure of your private key, leading to potential loss of funds!
• Fill the variables with the corresponding values (Note, add ”0x” to your private key value if the prefix
is not ”0x”).
1. The result for the private key value will look like: PRIVATE KEY=”0x. . . ..”
2. The result for the RPC endpoint value will look like: SEPOLIA RPC=”〈your-rpc-endpoint〉”
3. Read the tutorial on retrieving the private key from your MetaMask account.

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 4. Exercise caution during the process, as leaking your private key can pose significant risks.
5. Note that the private key is distinct from your wallet account address.
• Execute the command to deploy the contract, check documentation for more details.
forge script script/Counter.s.sol:CounterScript --rpc-url $SEPOLIA_RPC --broadcast -vvv
• You will see a log value, and it will be your deployed contract address. The result will resemble the
Figure 2. Make sure to save the result as it is crucial for final submission.
• Paste the address into Sepolia Etherscan, the result will resemble the Figure 3.
• Generate a GitHub token if you don’t have one; it will be utilized for Git Actions later. Refer to the
documentation for detailed guidance.
• Push your code to GitHub. After pushing, navigate to the Actions section, where you should observe a
pipeline labeled Homework 0 Running by <Your-GitHub-Account>. The result will resemble the link.
1. Avoid pushing to the official GitHub organization, FintechIntro.
2. If the page displays the warning: Workflows aren’t being run on this forked repository,
Click the button with the caption: I understand my workflows, go ahead and enable them.
Afterward, push the code again.
3. Check the link and navigate to the Run Forge Result section. You will encounter a success
message similar to the local one. This information will be utilized to verify your completion of
homework in later assignments. You should encounter the same message in your CI/CD pipeline.
• Congratulations! You have successfully completed all the steps in problem 1. Please capture screenshots
similar to Figure 2 and Figure 3, then embed them in the README file within the repository.

Figure 2: The log value indicates the address of the deployed Counter contract.

Figure 3: Transaction success displayed on Etherscan in the Sepolia network.

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4 Problem 2
There are various problems covering different topics throughout this course; please strive to address these
problems with as much detail as possible. While you may refer to ChatGPT for guidance, ensure a thorough
understanding of the following concept. Otherwise, later assignments might be quite challenging for you.

1. [Blockchain Basics] Explain the mechanism of gas on the blockchain, and outline the purpose of
EIP-1559, specifying the problem it addresses and solves.
2. [Smart Contract Basics] Review the Solidity documentation to enhance your understanding of stor-
age layout, and illustrate the storage structure of the provided contract - gist. In your report, provide
the storage slot for each state variable (Preferred format: var1 - slot 0, ...). If a variable does not
occupy any storage slot, please use X.
3. [DeFi Basics] Explain impermanent loss in Automated Market Maker (AMM), detailing the issue,
and provide an illustrative example.

5 Submission
To turn in your homework, divide the content into two sections:

Part 1: Submission Instructions

• For Problem 1, include required screenshot in the README file of the repository, adhering to the
specified policy.
• Document the solution for Problem 2 in a single file named <Student-ID-HW0> (Ex: B09902000) and
attach it to the email.

Part 2: Email Content

• Subject: [Fintech-HW0] [Your-Name] [Your-Student-ID]. Please note that we will NOT receive
emails in other formats as we have applied filters to our email system.
• Repository Link: Provide the link to your Homework 0 repository

• Course Enrollment or Domain Knowledge: Indicate whether you are enrolled in the course ”Bitcoin in
the Big Data Era (CSIE5315)” or provide evidence of your domain knowledge in blockchain or DeFi.

Part 3: Complete the Google Spreadsheet to streamline the process.

Please send the email to 2b@csie.ntu.edu.tw; late submissions will not be considered. The course code will
be provided upon verification of the assignment.

6 History
Date Version Description
2024-02-19 1.0 Initial release

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