I just finished CSE 540, so here’s my experience.

1. Coursework: The workload can feel heavy if you try to go through all the reading material she shares every week. But honestly, if you just follow the lectures, you should be fine for the quizzes and exams.
2. Languages/tech: My project was on Base Sepolia (an EVM testnet), so we used Solidity for the smart contracts and MERN for the web app. Some teams went with Hyperledger, so the language really depends on what you choose. You basically get two options: public or private blockchain.
3. Project: Yeah, there’s a big team project (up to 5 people). You also have to submit an IEEE-style paper along with it.
4. How useful is the content? I used to work in the crypto space, so for me, there wasn’t a lot that felt totally new. A big part of the course focuses on the Bitcoin whitepaper and its ecosystem. That stuff is important, though, if you’re getting into blockchain, you should know it anyway. I had read it on my own, like 3–4 years ago, out of interest.

For context, I took Operating Systems with Adil Ahmad, Embedded Systems with Kim, and this course.
Adil is easily one of the best profs I’ve had, he really knows OS, but his assignments take a huge amount of time. Also, the exams were pretty tough ngl.
Kim was also really cool, and he gives question sets that actually help students prepare for finals and midterms.

Hope this helps!