South Korea’s regulations prohibiting corporations from opening virtual asset exchange accounts are making it impossible for local universities to liquidate their large cryptocurrency donations. Financial authorities cite money laundering concerns as the reason for maintaining the ban. Education Ministry and Financial Intelligence Unit Favor Maintaining Ban South Korean universities are reportedly unable to convert cryptocurrency […]
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Tunisian Universities’ Hackathons to Boost Understanding of Distributed Ledger Technology
Two Tunisian universities working in collaboration with the blockchain company Dar Blockchain and the Hashgraph Association are set to hold three-day hackathons. Hackathon participants are set to learn how decentralized finance (defi) can help revolutionize and make financial services widely available to Tunisian and African communities.
Driving the Youth’s Adoption of Web3
Two Tunisian universities, ESPRIT University and SUP’COM University, are set to hold concurrent hackathons from Jan. 26 to 28. The objective of the hackathon is to boost the adoption and understanding of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). The hackathons are a collaborative effort between the two universities, the Tunisian company Dar Blockchain, and the Hashgraph Association.
According to a press statement released on Jan. 8, the two events will provide participants with a platform to learn, collaborate, and contribute to the transformation of industries. Mohamed Mnif and Jaafar Saied, the co-founders of Dar Blockchain, said they expect the hackathon to help drive the adoption of Web3 by Tunisia’s youth.
“We are proud to be launching the first Hedera Hackathon at two reputable universities as part of our aim to set up chapters in local universities and offer training as we lay the foundation for a real understanding of DLT and blockchain. Tunisian youth and university students will be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to foster Web3 adoption, not only in MENA but globally,” the two co-founders said.
Empowering Future Generations
According to the statement, participants in the hackathon will learn how decentralized finance (defi) can revolutionize and make financial services available to Tunisian and African communities. They will also learn about decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Participants will be grouped into teams of 3 to 5 members whose applications must be submitted no later than Jan. 20, 2024. However, the statement specifies that at least one team member must be a certified Hedera developer.
Commenting on the announcement, Kamal Youssefi, President of The Hashgraph Association, said: “Through the utilization of the Hedera Network and distributed ledger technology we can empower future generations to build enhanced economies, technologies, and societies.”
Youseefi stated that his organization feels privileged to work with the two higher learning institutions, which he described as “future-driven universities.”
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Ripple Announces University Blockchain Research Initiative Parternships with Kyoto and Tokyo Universities
Blockchain firm and creator of the XRP digital currency, Ripple, has announced that its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) has partnered with two Japanese higher education institutions. With the inclusion of Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo, the initiative is now 33 strong.
The aim of UBRI is to further academic research into blockchain technology. Ripple is hoping to equip the developers and computer scientists of tomorrow with the necessary knowledge to support its vision of a future digital economy.
Ripple Spreading Blockchain Education in Japan with UBRI
According to a press release by Ripple, the firm’s University Blockchain Research Initiative has just expanded into Japan. The enterprise’s latest partnerships, Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo, are the first higher education institutions from the nation to join the group.
The release details that the latest UBRI partners have already been collaborating with Ripple across all levels of study. The Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability at Kyoto University has held workshops as well as fund-raised for research projects exploring blockchain’s application in addressing various global issues. These relate to diverse fields of study such as engineering, business, and public policy.
Specific topics studied include how blockchain could overhaul current remittance services, digital identity management systems for refugees, and supply chain management.
![ripple blockchain university](https://www.newsbtc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Blockchain-University.jpg)
Ripple believes blockchain will be a vital technology in the future and is investing heavily in education.
Meanwhile, the University of Tokyo’s Department of Economics will host public seminars focusing on blockchain and settlement, along with various professor-organised research projects. These will focus on the evolving financial system and regulatory approaches to it. The institution will also be awarding scholarships to students partaking in blockchain research.
Eric van Miltenburg, SVP of Global Operations at Ripple, commented on the partnerships with the Japanese high education centres:
“University partners will continue to increase positive awareness of the transformative impact that blockchain technology will have across various industries. As the industry matures, the academic community plays a pivotal role in paving the road for innovative companies and entrepreneurs leveraging blockchain technologies and digital assets.”
The UBRI has so far partnered with numerous top universities from around the world. Its membership currently boasts a total of 33 institutions from 14 nations. The press release states that each of the universities partnering with Ripple’s blockchain education initiative are free to determine their own research topics and key focus areas. It states that Ripple provides financial services to help promote blockchain education at the institutions, as well as direct collaboration with expertise and technical resources when they are needed.
The Senior Director of Global Operations at Ripple, Emi Yoshikawa, also provided comment on the UBRI and its decision to expand into Japan:
“Japan is quickly becoming a leading force in crypto assets and blockchain. The region has always been forward thinking and exploring ways to improve the current financial system.”
Related Reading: Ripple Execs Begs US Congress for Lenient Crypto Regulations
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Malaysian Government, Universities Team to Put Degrees on a Blockchain
Malaysia’s education ministry has formed a new consortium of universities to issue and verify degrees on the NEM blockchain.
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More Universities Forced to Grapple with Logistics of Accepting Crypto Donations
As more and more graduates of prestigious universities go on to make a name for themselves in the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency space, the institutions where they learned their skills are increasingly on the receiving end of donations made using digital assets. However, many universities are completely clueless as to what to do with the funds gifted to them.
Are Cryptocurrency Donations More Trouble Than Their Worth?
The list of higher education institutions receiving donations in digital assets such as bitcoin continues to grow each year. However, not all universities are keen on accepting unfamiliar assets. Whereas you or I would be eternally grateful for such a gift, most endowment managers have no idea how to handle cryptocurrencies.
Firstly, there is the matter of setting up a suitable wallet to accept digital assets. Then there is the issue of selling them as quickly as possible. The volatility associated with crypto markets is something many endowment managers seek to avoid. Rather than grapple with these relatively basic facets of digital currency use, donations are frequently rejected.
According to a report in Bloomberg, in the US the University of Puget Sound, the University of California at Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Cornell University have all successfully taken undisclosed numbers of donations in cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, the highly prestigious Harvard University is yet to accept gifted digital cash. Nor have fellow ivy leaguers Yale – although a spokesperson for the institution did state that it had tested the process but it was an idea not being actively pursued.
One of the earliest known examples of a higher education institution accepting a cryptocurrency donation was that of blockchain wallet service provider co-founder Nicolas Cary. He gifted Puget Sound 14.5 BTC in 2014. After a change of their endowments policy and several lengthy conversations about the logistics of accepting such an unconventional donation, the university relented and took the bitcoin. They, of course, quickly liquidated it quickly and missed out on around ,000 at today’s prices.
That said, it seems curious that Yale has turned down donations made via digital assets. Its highly successful endowment manager, David Swensen , has been linked with investments in two funds focused on cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
It is not at all uncommon for universities to reject non-conventional donations. Bloomberg state that all manner of weird and wonderful gifts have been turned down over the years. These have included timeshares, paintings, and even areas of wetland. If the process of liquidating the asset is not quick and familiar, the endowments manager will simply deem it more trouble than it is worth. Evidently, some institutions feel that this is the case with bitcoin, ether, or any other digital coin they might receive.
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Almost Half of the World’s Top Universities Offer Cryptocurrency or Blockchain Courses
According to new research conducted by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and research firm Qriously, 42% of the world’s top 50 universities are now offering at least one course in the realm of blockchain or cryptocurrency. The interest in these classes spans across majors and countries.
The report, which was posted on Coinbase’s Medium page, crystalized the results from Qriously’s surveys of 675 U.S. university students, 50 international universities, and interviews with professors and students. One such university that is offering a significant amount of cryptocurrency and blockchain courses is New York University (NYU), who is ranked 30th in universities in the U.S. according to U.S. News and World Reports.
The first NYU course on cryptocurrencies was offered in 2014 by the finance department chair, David Yermack, who enrolled a total of 35 students. In the years since, it is no secret that interest in cryptocurrency has grown greatly, and this growth is reflected in the enrollment numbers for the same class. For the Spring semester of 2018, the same class saw enrollment of 230 students, a significant increase.
Yermack spoke to Qriously about the importance of the class, saying: “A process is well underway that will lead to the migration of most financial data to blockchain-based organizations. Students will benefit greatly by studying this area.”
Cryptocurrency Interest Spans Across Academic Disciplines
Interestingly enough, interest in blockchain and cryptocurrency spans across academic disciplines and majors, ranging from computer science to anthropology.
The report also found that students in all types of majors were interested in studying the technology. Dawn Song, a computer science professor at UC Berkeley, spoke about the widespread interest in crypto, saying:
“Blockchain combines theory and practice and can lead to fundamental breakthroughs in many research areas. It can have really profound and broad-scale impacts on society in many different industries.”
Students Showing Great and Growing Interest in Cryptocurrency
According to the Coinbase survey, 9% of current college students have already taken a course on blockchain or cryptocurrency, which is a relatively small number. Part of the reason the number of students have taken a crypto course is due to limited offerings, which are likely to grow in the coming months and years.
The survey also found that 26% of students want to take a cryptocurrency course, and 18% of college students already own cryptocurrency. The ownership in cryptocurrency spans across majors, with the highest ownership by major falling into those in the medicine field at 19%, followed closely by computer science at 18%.
Part of the widespread interest is due to the number of job offerings available to graduating students with knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrency. While speaking about the amount of crypto-related law jobs, Campbell Harvey, a Professor of international business at Duke University, said:
“If you’re graduating from law school it’s a tough market these days. However, the law students that are trained in blockchain, they don’t need to apply anywhere. People are just asking them to join their firms.”
This sentiment was shared by Benedikt Bunz, a doctoral student at Stanford focusing on cryptocurrencies. He said that “if you’re an expert in cryptocurrencies and cryptography you’ll have a difficult time not finding a job.”
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US Universities Are Investing in Cryptocurrency Hedge Funds
A lawyer specialising in cryptocurrency hedge funds has said that some universities have been making small investments into digital assets. John Lore claims that crypto hedge funds are proving an attractive opportunity for academic institutions on the east coast of America.
Universities Are Some of the First Institutions Investing in Crypto Hedge Funds
For now, cryptocurrency investment seems to represent too much of a risk for most institutions. There’s still scant regulation over the industry and the lack of proven success of many of the existing funds in the space also puts them off. However, a lawyer at the Capital Fund Law Group, a New York-based law firm, claims that some universities are now starting to take up small positions.
John Lore spoke to Business Insider about the interest he’d noticed amongst certain academic institutions.
“I can’t say the names of [the academic institutions] because that’s attorney-client but we have people mostly on the East Coast that have begun doing investments in this space on a fairly modest basis.”
The Capital Fund Law Group are emerging as specialists for the cryptocurrency investment space. They’ve already advised around 30 digital currency hedge funds. The firm has helped potential providers navigate the space that still suffers from a lack of regulation. Lore commented that most of the investment that he’d seen in crypto hedge funds was coming from ‘high net worth individuals and, on a very limited basis, family offices.’
This corroborates the research conducted by the deVere Group recently. The global independent financial consultancy group surveyed their high net worth clients last month. They found that a massive 35% of them had already, or planned to invest in cryptocurrencies by the end of the year.
Lore went on to state that these individuals were still only prepared to risk a tiny fraction of their net worth on cryptocurrency hedge funds:
“Yes there are investors but at this point, investors are putting in very small percentages of their net worth as we would expect and as I believe is appropriate.”
He highlighted that the trend amongst the universities he’d worked with was something of an exception:
“We see academia as a tie between these somewhat young and enthusiastic fund managers and capital raising.”
It’s not just the investment side of cryptocurrency that interests universities, however. Here at NewsBTC, we’ve reported on several different higher educational institutions offering their own courses on the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other digital assets – the blockchain.
In addition, the Ripple Foundation have just donated million to universities. This will help them further develop their own blockchain development courses. The University Blockchain Research Initiative will initially benefit 17 prestigious schools around the globe.
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Chinese Universities to Build Blockchain DAO for Affordable Education
A group of top-tier Chinese universities plans to build a distributed organization to make educational resources more accessible and affordable.
CoinDesk
Chinese Universities Are Pursuing Blockchain Patents
Universities in China are joining the country’s private sector in an effort to patent blockchain solutions, new filings reveal.
CoinDesk
Elite Universities in U.S. Offering More and More Cryptocurrency Courses
Several elite universities in the U.S. have added — or are rushing to add — cryptocurrency courses that teach about Bitcoin and associated record-keeping technologies.
This semester, graduate-level courses are available at Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Maryland, among other schools. This helps highlight public interest in the technology across several academic fields, as well as the assumption that it will outlast the current speculative price bubble.
David Yermack, a business and law professor at New York University, began offering one of the first for-credit courses on the topic back in 2014: “There was some gentle ribbing from my colleagues when I began giving talks on Bitcoin,” he said. “But within a few months, I was being invited to Basel to talk with central bankers, and the joking from my colleagues stopped after that.”
Last month, students packed in to hear the first lecture of “Blockchain, Cryptoeconomics and the Future of Technology, Business and Law,” which considered the development of Bitcoin against the history of money. For his class this semester, Mr. Yermack originally booked a lecture hall that could fit 180 students, but he had to move the course to the largest lecture hall at N.Y.U. when enrollment kept going up — he now has 225 students on board.
“This is a very precious opportunity for you to be able to sit in this class,” Dawn Song, a computer science professor, told the students. “There are a bazillion other students who are waiting for your spot.”
The 75 spots in the Berkeley class were divided evenly among the law school, the business school, and the engineering department, and faculty from the three departments are teaching the course together. Ms. Song said she had around 100 students vying for the 25 places set aside for her department.
Because developments in the field are moving so fast, business school professor also teaching the class, Greg La Blanc, said the students would have to forgive the teachers if they got things wrong on occasion. “We aren’t waiting until we perfect it,” he said. “Don’t compare it to the perfect blockchain course. Compare it to having no blockchain course at all.”
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