Coinbase, known for their prowess within the cryptocurrency exchange industry and now it seems, for their prowess as a research group, one that has unveiled some interesting data with regards to the future of cryptocurrency in education, which in turn could have a big impact on cryptocurrency adoption in the future.
According to a new report, Coinbase have partnered with Qriously, a renowned research team in order to gain an insight into how cryptocurrencies are impacting higher (university level) education. The research simply asks a number of students in the United States (sample size = 675) about their thoughts on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Their justifications for this?
Cryptocurrency popularity within students is on the rise, and Coinbase want to know why.
Key findings by Coinbase
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- “42 percent of the world’s top 50 universities now offer at least one course on crypto or blockchain.”
- “Students from a range of majors are interested in crypto and blockchain courses — and universities are adding courses across a variety of departments.”
- “Original Coinbase research includes a Qriously survey of 675 U.S. students, a comprehensive review of courses at 50 international universities, and interviews with professors and students.”
It’s clear that blockchain education, focusing on cryptocurrencies is on the rise, which as we know is a good thing. If blockchain education soars, more people will enter the industry with a high base level of knowledge, allowing for a more skilled workforce which in itself brings a bunch of intrinsic benefits.
Plus, if we are now educating students on blockchain and crypto, they will become far more likely to invest in the future.
The Coinbase research relies on some evidence from the New York University Stern School of Business, one of the first institutes to offer a course in this field, according to Coinbases’ findings:
“When David Yermack, the finance department chair at New York University Stern School of Business, first offered his course on blockchain and financial services in 2014, 35 students signed up, eight fewer than the school’s typical elective. By spring 2018, the number of enrolled students climbed to 230, forcing Stern to move the class to its largest auditorium. This academic year, Yermack will teach the blockchain course both semesters to meet interest from students.”
Yermack added:
“A process is well underway that will lead to the migration of most financial data to blockchain-based organisations. Students will benefit greatly by studying in this area.”
Infographics
Within their report, Coinbase have included a few infographics that do well to highlight the full scale of this boom within blockchain and cryptocurrency education, not just in the United States, but worldwide.
Worldwide, this form of education is making an impact
According to the Coinbase research:
“The analysis found that 42 percent of the top 50 universities offer at least one class on blockchain or cryptocurrency, and 22 percent offer more than one. Expanding the results to include longstanding foundational classes on cryptography, 70 percent of universities offer at least one crypto-related class.”
There is an awful lot to learn about this industry
Indeed, these courses aren’t just teaching the basics about Bitcoin and the premise of the blockchain, they are offering rich, in depth and detailed studies, here are a few examples of the courses being taught across the United States according to Coinbase:
“Johns Hopkins University offers a business course on blockchain, where students learn about its security features. At Princeton, students can take an information-security class focused on secure computing systems, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and related economics, ethics, and legal issues.”
Moreover:
“Cornell offers the highest number of classes when including cryptography, cryptocurrency, or blockchain. The 28 courses include Anthropology of Money and Introduction to Blockchains, Cryptocurrencies, and Smart Contracts, which covers the cryptocurrency bitcoin and the technological landscape it has inspired and catalyzed, according to the course description.”
Why is this important?
Cryptocurrency adoption is the goal for many a crypto fanatic. By ensuring that people are educated on the technology and the industry, we are ensuring that there will be a population of ‘crypto ready’ people who will help drive the adoption of this technology forward and most importantly, we will have a population of people ready to teach the next generation.
We, at the moment are at a disadvantage as we are discovering and learning about this technology ourselves, in 10, 20 years time though we will have a population that is ready to teach this technology, meaning new generations will be learning from experts. Only then will the true potential of blockchain technology be revealed.
According to Coinbase:
“Academia isn’t known for moving quickly. But professors say that the maturation of blockchain and cryptocurrency and their adoption by businesses and other groups over the last few years has made it clear that it’s a field with the potential for wide-ranging impact. And that’s causing universities to take it seriously.”
This isn’t a process designed to research and discover new blockchain technologies, this can be left to projects like Stellar and IOTA. Instead, this is a process that is trying to institutionalise cryptocurrencies and blockchain, in order to help produce a new blockchain ready population. Education is key and receiving this education at a high level will only go on to inspire more people to seek a career within the blockchain industry. It’s vital that universities are taking this stance and thus, in a few years time we should expect that each and everyone of the top 100 Universities will be offering these sorts of courses.
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