University of Cincinnati adds teaching Bitcoin and crypto to curriculum

As the cryptocurrency space expands and digital assets become more adopted as a legitimate alternative to traditional assets, educational institutions are becoming increasingly interested, with the University of Cincinnati (UC) in the U.S. state of Ohio even launching related programs as part of its curriculum.

Indeed, the UC is planning to launch two new programs that will teach students about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and new financial technologies, Cincinnati local news outlet WLWT reported on June 22.

According to the report, the programs are funded by longtime supporters Dan Kautz and Woodrow (Woody) Uible and will be offered through the UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business. The donation also covers the establishment of a public-private lab space within the new Digital Future building, set to open in fall 2022.

Commenting on this development, Dean Marianne Lewis, Ph.D. stated:

“Thanks to Dan and Woody, our students will gain hands-on, experiential education in this new frontier of financial technology. (…) Our students will learn how to manage cryptocurrencies and how such digital assets impact our economy, positioning UC as the regional leader and among the top universities nationally with this kind of program.”

Crypto in education

Interest in crypto education has been on the rise lately, especially among marginalized communities, as the market provides opportunities to create, innovate, earn, and thrive for people around the world. 

To help such communities access these opportunities, rapper Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z and Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) co-founder and its former CEO Jack Dorsey have joined forces to fund The Bitcoin Academy, a program for residents of Mary Houses – a public housing complex in Brooklyn, New York, where Jay-Z grew up.

Meanwhile, other higher education institutions have also shown interest in crypto, albeit in different ways to that of UC. In mid-May, Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, announced it had started to accept tuition payments made in Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and USD Coin (USDC).

On top of that, Finbold reported in late March that the Citizens School in Dubai, which will officially begin operating in September 2022, has become the first school in the Middle East to accept tuition payments in Bitcoin and Ethereum.