Financing Higher Education: How Cryptocurrency is Altering Traditional Methods

Just recently, I read an article that discussed how bitcoin is altering college sponsorships. In it, the news of the agreement between UC Berkeley and FTX was shared, which will allow students to use a cryptocurrency token to pay for their tuition. The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University presented its graduating class of 2020 with non-transferable tokens. Moreover, the Wharton School now accepts cryptocurrency payments for its new blockchain credential program.

Recently, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania unveiled a new degree program in blockchain and digital assets. This six-week program is aimed at working adults and will be conducted in English. The event's main themes will include cryptocurrency, government oversight, and financial speculation.

This certificate program will set you back $3,800. Etherum, USD Coin, and Ether are just some of the cryptocurrencies accepted as tuition. Those who wish to enroll in the program may do so via the Internet.

The university will also provide a course on fintech and a cryptocurrency introduction for anyone curious about the subject. There will be a weekly requirement of eight to ten hours of work on assignments for this course.

The course will be held at Penn's Philadelphia campus, but students will be able to participate from anywhere with an internet connection. Case studies and guest lectures from corporate leaders will round out the curriculum.

The athletic programs at the University of California, Berkeley, are now sponsored by cryptocurrency exchange FTX as part of a $17.5 million contract. This agreement marked a first for the NCAA. However, FTX declared bankruptcy only a few short months later.

Branding rights at the Cal football stadium were exchanged for $17.5 million in cryptocurrency. Further, FTX has pledged $200,000 to help minority student organizations at UC Berkeley.

There was, however, much more to FTX than that. It formed alliances with the Golden State Warriors, Major League Baseball officials, MLB itself, and the TSM e-sports organization.

FTX also revealed an expansive partnership with Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which includes the Washington Wizards of the NBA, the Washington Capitals of the NHL, and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.

FTX bought the rights to name the Miami Heat's arena earlier this year. Also in this line, NBA team Team SoloMid broke ties with FTX.

FTX is still a part of Cal Athletics, but this is obviously an aberration. A spokeswoman for the university stated, "We haven't removed the FTX logo from the stadium."

There are 30 different varsity sports offered at this university, which competes in the Pac-12. In addition to the Golden Bears, UC Berkeley also has teams competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum network, is a major player in the cryptocurrency industry. He is such a major figure in the industry that he is the one to contact if you want to use cryptocurrency to pay for your education. His gift may be the first of its kind, but it isn't the only one of its kind.

Fundraising and transactional objectives are the most common uses of cryptocurrency. Relationships between current students and graduates are also being fostered through their use. The University of Maryland offered the first course of its kind this year to teach students about cryptocurrency.

Even if the University of Maryland has decided against making cryptocurrency donations mandatory, now is a good moment to think about doing so. Many of the roughly one hundred institutions that make up the crypto community at the time of this writing have established some basic guidelines for their donors.

The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University recently introduced a novel gift for its Class of 2020: non-fungible tokens. They exist as a type of encrypted digital asset. These tokens are available for purchase on the blockchain and are highly sought-after due to their rarity.

Each student in the course will receive the coin as a free gift. It's a replica of the actual 2020 Challenge Coin that will be given out at the graduation party for that year's graduates. A digital copy of the coin will be sent to each participant as well.

There are only 350 of these unique tokens in existence. Reservoir Interactive recreated the coin's appearance in 3D and published it on the Polygon Ethereum platform.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the man who established the Jesuits, is pictured on the coin. Grant thinks the currency will encourage people to keep studying for the rest of their lives.

In many ways, the NFT industry is only getting started. The value of these cryptographic digital assets, however, has been acknowledged by specialists. Technology is being used by many schools to strengthen ties with their alumni and increase donations.