A major Chinese research university has launched a blockchain research scholarship with the support of Ripple, according to a press release published on Jan. 18. In collaboration with blockchain payments firm Ripple, the Institute for Fintech Research at Beijing’s Tsinghua University (THUIFR) has announced the Blockchain Technology Research Scholarship Program (BRSP). The program reportedly intends to bring together the best graduate students in China in 2019 to study global blockchain regulations and industry development. Participants in the new educational program will reportedly have access to advanced knowledge in the blockchain space, as well be able to take part in corporate …

The University of Bahrain will issue diplomas on the blockchain, English-language local media Trade Arabia reports on Jan. 13. According to the aforementioned article, the university employs the Blockcerts open standard in partnership with Learning Machine, a startup providing a system to issue verifiable official records using a blockchain-anchored format. As Cointelegraph reported in September last year, the government of Bahrain has stressed the importance of blockchain technology for the country’s economy while urging cybersecurity vigilance. Abdulhussain Mirza, Bahrain’s minister of electricity and water affairs, declared: “Blockchain’s ability to protect user’s data is a true mark of progress, especially due …

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced that it is opening its Blockchain Center in Manhattan, Bloomberg reports today, Jan. 10. The organization told reporters that the center is part of a partnership with international trade organization Global Blockchain Business Council and affiliates of New York-based venture capital fund Future Perfect Ventures. Located in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, the 4,000-square-foot center will reportedly offer blockchain-oriented educational services to the general public, such as programming classes to lectures for software developers. Ana Arino, chief strategy officer at the NYCEDC, told Bloomberg in a phone interview that the …

Jameson Lopp — a crypto industry figure and self-proclaimed professional cypherpunk — described Bitcoin (BTC) as the first step in a broader transition to an anarcho-capitalist society. Lopp’s comments were made in an interview on the Stephan Livera Podcast, published Dec. 29. According to Lopp, Bitcoin is an experiment that — if successful — could make the transition to an anarcho-capitalist society possible: “I believe that Bitcoin is a very interesting experiment that if is successful in the long run could not only revolutionize money, but revolutionize how we think about governance.” Lopp explains further that a “more self-sovereign, anarcho-capitalist …

Security and “systemic risk” will form the focus of the third Stanford Blockchain Conference at Stanford University on Jan. 30 - Feb. 1, organizers have revealed. Continuing the institution’s ever increasing interest in blockchain technology, the three-day event will see presentations and discussions on a variety of technical issues. Chaired by Stanford professors, among others, the event will see contributions from multiple cryptocurrency businesses, with input from names such as Blockstream, ConsenSys and Polychain Capital. Talks will come from representatives of industry businesses including Stellar-focused startup Interstellar and smart contracts platform Chainspace. The conference, which first ran in 2017, “will …

Major United States-based crypto wallet provider and exchange service Coinbase has launched an educational project that lets users earn cryptocurrency as they learn about it. The program, dubbed “Coinbase Earn,” was announced in an official blog post Dec. 19. Coinbase Earn has launched in an invite-only mode, with an initial focus on one digital asset, the ERC-20 token 0x (ZRX). The central idea, the post outlines, “is for users to understand more about an asset’s utility and its underlying technology, while getting a bit of the asset to try out.” Coinbase continues to explain that having conducted a survey among …

Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has updated its crypto-related fraud blacklist to include a new total of 113 sites, in a fresh alert posted Dec. 18. The authority states that “despite” its prior warnings, it continues to receive complaints from defrauded investors. The newly added platforms are all allegedly run by “fraudsters [...] who are using cryptocurrencies to swindle consumers,” with the FSMA starkly reiterating: “The principle remains the same: they offer you an investment they claim is secure, easy and very lucrative [...] They claim to have specialists who will manage your investments for you. You are …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has launched a collection of educational content comprising almost 500 articles in order to provide “unbiased” information about crypto and blockchain, a press release confirmed Dec. 12. Binance, which regularly tops the list of the world’s largest exchanges by volume traded, will initially support 15 languages via the project. The launch and development is a product of Binance Academy, the exchange’s dedicated education arm which itself began operating in August. “Education is the integral pillar to proliferating crypto and blockchain usage,” Ted Lin, chief growth officer at Binance commented in the release. Lin noted: “With Binance Academy, …

The graduate school for the U.S. Air Force has developed a educational tool on blockchain for supply chain management, U.S. business journal Modern Materials Handling (MMH) reported Dec. 3. The move comes in the form of a live application, together with a set of tutorial videos to educate defense professionals, released by the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). The report proposes that “blockchain will revolutionize [...] the digital infrastructure for future supply chains,” which it suggests, in particular, can translate into “better visibility” for the military’s “extremely complex logistics network.” AFIT states that blockchain’s “potential opportunities” can be …

The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) is launching what it claims to be the country’s first “Blockchain Academy,” according to an announcement published Nov. 26. The BIBF was established in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1981 by approval of the Specific Council for Vocational Training. The institute is an unregistered non-profit semi-government entity that provides training in the financial sector. The establishment of the Blockchain Academy purportedly marks the country’s first blockchain professional qualification program offering. The training program is designed to prepare participants to earn the international qualification of Certified Blockchain Professional C|BP and was developed by …

Multisectoral blockchain company Bitfury has partnered with the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics to create an accelerator for blockchain projects, Russian crypto news outlet Forklog reports Nov. 21. In addition to supporting the development of blockchain projects, the university will provide courses and additional education dedicated to “training specialists who are able to create innovative projects using digital technologies in a short time.” This will enable specialists to “bring [the projects] to market amid the new industrial revolution,” Dmitry Ufaev, the head of Bitfury Russia, told Forklog. According to Forklog, the project will be backed by Russia’s Ministry of Digital …

The University of Tokyo will launch a blockchain course following a donation of nearly $800,000 from several companies, including Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui (SMBC) and the Ethereum Foundation, Cointelegraph Japan reports Nov. 21. In a Nov. 20 press release, SMBC lists five more contributors, apart from itself and the Ethereum Foundation, who contributed to the donation: Good Luck 3, JSS, Zipper, Hotto link, and Money Forward. The banking group does not disclose the details of 90 million yen donation, nor did it reveal the main contributor. According to the press release, the education course, dubbed “Blockсhain Innovation Donation Course,” …