A growing number of universities are happily welcoming cryptocurrency and blockchain as a course of study. Despite some controversies that surround this particular financial technology, it is glaring how much positive effort is being put to understand the rather complicated new digital means of payment.
Amusingly, the latest crypto-friendly university member is the alma mater of President Donald Trump: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
If you have been following the latest crypto news, you would agree that President Trump is not crypto’s biggest fan. As a matter of fact, he is no fan of Bitcoin(BTC)trade, Facebook Libra, or any other cryptocurrency. And he doesn’t fail to let the world know how much he detests digital currencies.
A case in point will be seen in one of his many anti-crypto tweets where he categorically stated:
“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….”
Well, it seems the president’s alma mater does not really buy into his anti-crypto stance. Wharton, which is famed as the oldest collegiate business school in the world, did not only prove it believes in the digital payment technology, but it is also ready to prepare others who wish to learn and practice it.
As of November 22, 2019, students are allowed to enroll in the crypto class tagged ‘Managing Disruptive Change: Cryptocurrencies’ (PDF).
The Crypto Course
According to the course description, the crypto class is set to last for seven weeks and it is designed to explore the technology’s recent history together with some related businesses that make use of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.
The objectives of the class include providing students with a framework for analyzing current topics in business, helping students to contextualize crypto in a more practical framework, and enabling students to learn from the experience of industry leaders.
Additionally, the course description shows that the crypto class will be led by high profile guest lecturers. The classes will be rotated in such a way that it creates a good blend of theory and instructions from industry leaders. Just what anyone needs to understand blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.
In conclusion, the course description gives some details of what is expected from the students. Apparently, students are expected to put whatever they have learned into practice and come up with a 2,000-word paper on any of the given topics, which include the crash of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange in 2011; Technology / innovation companies utilizing cryptocurrencies (Ripple, Coinbase, Circle); Central Bank investigations into government-issued digital currencies (Sweden, Uruguay); and Analysis of laws and regulations pertaining to cryptocurrencies.
