This course is talking about public key encryption/decryption, e.g. RSA, and how that's used to share a secret key. This and the public key signing algorithm (ECDSA - for signing only, not encryption/decryption) are quite different technologies (although you'd probably find both interesting).
I'd look for some sort of introduction to elliptic curve cryptography.
I've started it as it seems a bit more general (plus I'm starting late, so I thought the sooner I start the sooner I can catch up). I guess I'm letting go my initial requirement of focussed on bitcoin only.
Cryptography is an indispensable tool for protecting information in computer systems. This course explains the inner workings of cryptographic primitives and how to correctly use them. Students will learn how to reason about the security of cryptographic constructions and how to apply this knowledge to real-world applications. The course begins with a detailed discussion of how two parties who have a shared secret key can communicate securely when a powerful adversary eavesdrops and tampers with traffic. We will examine many deployed protocols and analyze mistakes in existing systems. The second half of the course discusses public-key techniques that let two or more parties generate a shared secret key. We will cover the relevant number theory and discuss public-key encryption, digital signatures, and authentication protocols. Towards the end of the course we will cover more advanced topics such as zero-knowledge, privacy mechanisms, and other forms of encryption. Throughout the course students will be exposed to many exciting open problems in the field.
The the follow-up course also cover ECC.
https://www.coursera.org/course/crypto2Cryptography is an indispensable tool for protecting information in computer systems. This course is a continuation of Crypto I and explains the inner workings of public-key systems and cryptographic protocols. Students will learn how to reason about the security of cryptographic constructions and how to apply this knowledge to real-world applications. The course begins with constructions for digital signatures and their applications. We will then discuss protocols for user authentication and zero-knowledge protocols. Next we will turn to privacy applications of cryptography supporting anonymous credentials and private database lookup. We will conclude with more advanced topics including multi-party computation and elliptic curve cryptography. Throughout the course students will be exposed to many exciting open problems in the field. The course will include written homeworks and optional programming labs. The material is self-contained, but the course assumes knowledge of the topics covered in Crypto I as well as a basic understanding of discrete probability theory.
