University of Wyoming Launches Bitcoin Research Institute
Credit: Don and Melinda Crawford / UCG / Universal Images Group / Getty Images- The University of Wyoming launched a new Bitcoin Research Institute.
- Associate Professor Bradley Rettler, executive director of the new institute, underscored the importance of quality research into bitcoin on X, formerly Twitter.
- The Bitcoin Research Institute also hopes to incentivize research into the cryptocurrency.
- Wyoming has emerged as a leader in cryptocurrency education and also has a Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation.
The Cowboy State’s flagship university is extending its range within the “Wild West” of cryptocurrency with the launch of its new Bitcoin Research Institute.
University of Wyoming Associate Professor Bradley Rettler, executive director of the new institute, announced its creation on X, formerly Twitter. The new institute “aims to produce high-quality peer-reviewed publications about bitcoin from all academic disciplines,” Rettler wrote.
Rettler added that the new institute will look to incentivize quality research into bitcoin.
“Few advisors will let their advisees focus on bitcoin, so bitcoin projects must be side projects,” Rettler wrote. “And without advisor or community support, these projects are rarely taken on.”
Bitcoin is a prominent centralized cryptocurrency that operates on a blockchain, which acts like a public digital ledger of transactions.
But bitcoin has its own nuances, Rettler noted, such as its supply cap, and a lack of understanding in academic research can lead to a proliferation of mistaken information filtering out to the public.
The new Bitcoin Research Institute is housed within the University of Wyoming’s College of Arts and Sciences and “exists to output peer-reviewed academic research on bitcoin and contribute to curriculum in philosophy, economics, and interdisciplinary courses,” according to the institute’s website.
Wyoming Strengthens Position as a Leader in Crypto
The University of Wyoming has for years been a leader in incorporating cryptocurrency into higher education.
The university has one of the nation’s top blockchain programs, including its Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation. That center is a joint venture of the College of Business, College of Engineering and Applied Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the School of Energy Resources.
That includes a 15-credit-hour blockchain minor for students, which introduces key concepts about blockchain and also covers high-demand topics like supply chain and project management.
Part of the university’s success lies in Wyoming’s state legislative environment. Wyoming lawmakers have passed a host of crypto-friendly laws in the past few years in a bid to make the state a hub for the emerging technology.
A growing number of institutions are offering students options to study blockchain, cryptocurrency, and decentralized finance.
Some business schools, for instance, incorporate blockchain education into their emerging financial technology (fintech) curriculum. The Worcester Polytechnic Institute, for example, includes instruction about the business applications of blockchain in its new fintech undergraduate curriculum.