Section recap

An expert walkthrough to Practical Gas Optimization Techniques - Compare inefficient vs. optimized ERC20 airdrop code to pinpoint common gas traps developers encounter. Learn key savings techniques like batching transfers, using `calldata`/`immutable`, and applying `unchecked` math to significantly cut contract costs.

1. Introduction to DAOs
A critical primer to Introduction to DAOs and Web3 Governance - Explore the concept of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, addressing why they exist and the governance problems they aim to solve, including plutocracy. Contrast on-chain (Compound) and off-chain (Snapshot) governance, analyze voting mechanisms, and understand the underlying trade-offs. Duration: 19min
2. DAOs tooling - Introduction to Aragon
An accessible introduction to Creating Your DAO Without Code Using the Aragon App - Discover how to easily create and deploy a DAO using the Aragon App's visual interface. Learn about Aragon's architecture, configure membership/voting rules, and launch your own decentralized organization without writing code. Duration: 6min
3. Project setup
A practical guide to Building Your First DAO with Foundry: Project Setup and Target Contract - Set up your Foundry environment, discuss the ERC20 governance model (including its pitfalls), and create a basic `Box.sol` target contract. Implement access control using OpenZeppelin's `Ownable` and compile your initial setup. Duration: 5min
4. Governance tokens
An efficient guide to Creating a Governance Token with OpenZeppelin Wizard and Foundry - Learn how to rapidly generate a foundational ERC20 governance token using the OpenZeppelin Wizard and integrate it into a Foundry project. Understand the included features like Permit (EIP-2612), delegation, and checkpointing for robust DAO voting. Duration: 4min
5. Creating the governor contract
A detailed breakdown of Understanding the Governor Contract: The Brain of Your DAO - Delve into the Governor contract, the heart of DAO governance, using OpenZeppelin. Understand its components, configuration options, and the essential TimelockController for proposal execution safety. Duration: 15min
6. Testing the governance smart contract
An end-to-end walkthrough to Testing Your DAO: An End-to-End Foundry Guide - Simulate the entire DAO proposal lifecycle (propose, vote, queue, execute) in Foundry, using cheat codes to test the interaction between Governor, TimeLock, and target contracts. Duration: 24min
7. Section recap
An expert walkthrough to Practical Gas Optimization Techniques - Compare inefficient vs. optimized ERC20 airdrop code to pinpoint common gas traps developers encounter. Learn key savings techniques like batching transfers, using `calldata`/`immutable`, and applying `unchecked` math to significantly cut contract costs. Duration: 6min
8. Quiz 24 Quiz
Questions: 8

Course Overview

About the course

What you'll learn

Advanced smart contract development

How to develop a stablecoin

How to develop a DeFi protocol

How to develop a DAO

Advanced smart contracts testing

Fuzz testing

Manual verification

Course Description

Who is this course for?

  • Engineers
  • Smart Contract Security researchers

Potential Careers

Web3 Developer Relations

$85,000 - $125,000 (avg. salary)

Web3 developer

$60,000 - $150,000 (avg. salary)

Smart Contract Engineer

$100,000 - $150,000 (avg. salary)

Smart Contract Auditor

$100,000 - $200,000 (avg. salary)

Security researcher

$49,999 - $120,000 (avg. salary)

Meet your instructors

Patrick Collins

Patrick Collins

Founder at Cyfrin

Web3 engineer, educator, and Cyfrin co-founder. Patrick's smart contract development and security courses have helped hundreds of thousands of engineers kickstarting their careers into web3.

Ciara Nightingale

Ciara Nightingale

Developer relations at Cyfrin

Guest lecturers:

Juliette Chevalier

Juliette Chevalier

Lead Developer relations at Aragon

Vasiliy Gualoto

Vasiliy Gualoto

Developer relations at ThirdWeb

Nader Dabit

Nader Dabit

Director of developer relations at EigenLayer

Ally Haire

Ally Haire

Developer relations at Protocol Labs

Harrison

Harrison

Founder at GasliteGG

Vitto Rivabella

Vitto Rivabella

CPO at Cyfrin

Last updated on June 6, 2025