Cryptocurrency is still in the early stage of mass adoption. Different banks, even countries have begun to realize the importance of these crypto tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum etc. However, universities accepting crypto such as Bitcoin is a less talked about subject.
Very early on, universities got a wind of the potential of cryptocurrencies and started accepting Bitcoin payments for tuition fees. The main reason for this adoption is to stay ahead in the race and sensitize students on the market trends. Another could be to ease the burden on international students who have to spend currency conversion fees.
Here’s the latest addition
The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the US’ premier business schools has joined the same bandwagon. It plans to accept cryptocurrency as tuition for its online blockchain and digital assets program. According a Bloomberg report,
“‘The Ivy League institution’s new executive education program will accept coins such as Bitcoin as one method of payment.”
However, the adoption is limited to its new online blockchain and digital assets program scheduled to start in January.
Penn's top Wharton business school will accept crypto as tuition for its online blockchain and digital assets program https://t.co/uIE3ywK2OX
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) October 28, 2021
The six-week program, titled Economics of Blockchain and Digital Assets, costs $3,800. The university expects to attract thousands of students each year. Meanwhile, to do so, Wharton will rely on Coinbase Commerce to process the payments. Guido Molinari, the managing partner at Prysm Group, who is working with Wharton to develop the program said in an interview,
“It’s a program about blockchain and digital assets, we felt that we talk the talk and walk the walk.”
Coinbase indeed has surfaced on top with different firms partnering up with the crypto exchange for their crypto-related requirements. Now, needless to say, such moves will aid in bringing crypto token payments into the mainstream. That too, not only in the US but across the globe.
Furthermore, the university in question has produced major leaders in the past. Many notable alumni are actively involved in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who graduated in 1997, has pushed the company, as well as his SpaceX, to buy Bitcoin for their corporate treasuries.
The business school made news earlier this year when it received a generous $5 million gift in Bitcoin. Over the years, there have been many university experiments with cryptocurrencies. Massachusetts Institute of Technology famously gave Bitcoin to its students in 2014. Other colleges have begun letting students use crypto to pay tuition fees, such as King’s College based in New York.
