University professor on Bitcoin course: We are on the cusp of a monetary revolution, and education needs to keep up with the times

Words: Stan Reeves

Compilation: Luffy

I received a simple, but unexpected, message from a student: “Are you doing any kind of independent research on cryptocurrency or related fields?” I have no intention of teaching a cryptocurrency-related course, but I have considered offering a course on Bitcoin.

As a college engineering educator and Bitcoin enthusiast, I am acutely aware that Bitcoin education is essential to reaching its full potential. Bitcoin’s intrinsic properties make it a solid foundation for a new monetary system. However, before it can challenge the status quo, its emerging characteristics must be widely accepted, and acceptance will only increase as education becomes more widely available. Bitcoin is still new, unfamiliar, and confusing to most people. We need to find people who are curious, who are willing to put in the effort to understand it, and then pass on their understanding and confidence to those around them.

When I consider the requirements of the students and the importance of Bitcoin education, I consider whether I should have a course on Bitcoin. And what better way to popularize Bitcoin than to get people into the audience for the whole semester, to get involved in tuition and grades? I had some probing with other students and got a positive response.

Bitcoin Course Overview

I started looking for a curriculum model, and in the process I made an amazing discovery. While a large number of courses at major universities involve Bitcoin, most courses don’t focus on Bitcoin. These courses are often referred to as “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency,” and they treat Bitcoin as another cryptocurrency. The “Bitcoin and Blockchain” course abstracts blockchain from Bitcoin as a truly important innovation.

Other courses, such as the one developed by Korok Ray at Texas A&M University, delve into the technical aspects of Bitcoin and require programming as an important part of learning. This method is valuable for tech-minded students, but it may not appeal to students who don’t have a coding drive. (Professor Ray is now working on a more general course for business students.) ）

I’ve found a small number of courses that focus on Bitcoin, but are not primarily technical-focused, are as follows:

• “The Philosophy and Economics of Bitcoin,” taught by Andrew Bailey, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Yale-NUS
• “Bitcoin and the Future of Money,” taught by Craig Warmke, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Northern Illinois University
• “Bitcoin and Digital Assets,” taught by Nik Bhatia, Adjunct Professor of Finance and Business Economics at the University of Southern California

Obviously, there is a great need for general courses that are specifically around Bitcoin in college.

Course Philosophy

I chose to offer a course that was non-technical, but specifically focused on Bitcoin. I call it “Exploring Bitcoin”. I discussed other cryptocurrency projects, but to distinguish Bitcoin from other cryptocurrencies. I want students to understand that Bitcoin is an innovation that has the potential to change the world. Although some crypto projects may have functional value other than currency, they should not be placed on the same level as Bitcoin and do not deserve the same level of attention. I think there’s engineering a layered approach to building functionality on Bitcoin, and the efforts made by Lightning, Rootstock, and Liquid are good examples. Trying to build protocols that do everything at the same time is not good engineering practice.

My course covers technical and engineering details that are easy to understand, but it focuses equally on the economic, financial, and social aspects of Bitcoin. I have deliberately designed this course so that students of any major can take it from scratch. I want the audience to be as wide as possible because Bitcoin is for everyone.

I felt some resistance to this decision. Students are generally curious about cryptocurrency, but also accept my views on the priority of Bitcoin. Others questioned how the focus on Bitcoin reflects academic value such as research, analysis, and experimentation. My answer is that Bitcoin was the original cryptocurrency, which is the root of absolute scarcity. It solves the fundamental problem of money, its market cap is equal to the sum of all other crypto assets, and its network effects dwarf other assets. It makes more sense to delve into the most important things than to superficially cover a thousand less important things.

Learning Experience

I believe this approach is the right one and maintains the academic values that challenge students’ thinking, advocate for time-tested design principles, and focus on fundamental issues. One student said after the course, “Before this course, I thought I knew enough about Bitcoin, but this course made me feel humbled and changed some of my perspectives. Most importantly, the course helped me understand why Bitcoin should be separate from other cryptocurrencies, which is the message I plan to convey when introducing Bitcoin to others.”

Because my goal is to accommodate a wide variety of students and interests, I ask each of them to design and execute an important, semester-long individual project. The project may involve hardware, software, case studies, or dissertations. By giving them the flexibility to choose topics with my consent, this course adapts to their personal interests, strengths, and career directions. Topics range from the study of Bitcoin educational challenges to the hardware implementation of simple mining equipment.

The final assignment requires students to use all the knowledge they have learned in the course to create an informative and persuasive presentation about Bitcoin. They want to make a good case for why everyone should (or shouldn’t) care about Bitcoin and present it to at least three people. (I’m happy to say that all students chose to do a demonstration in support of Bitcoin.) The students’ approach was very creative. A student asked all the audience to pull out their phones, open an account on an exchange, and buy $10 in Bitcoin. He led them through the process, and they all received a bit of Bitcoin. Now they’re in the middle of it and have reason to know more about Bitcoin.

Some students were frustrated to find that some of their audience were adamantly opposed to Bitcoin (usually “cryptocurrency”), and the students’ attempts at persuasion did little to change the views of the naysayers. Bitcoin education is challenging! I hope this experience will be the beginning of learning and working to educate others about Bitcoin. By the end of the semester, more than 70% of students said they planned to find ways to introduce Bitcoin to others.

Students’ reactions

Overall, I believe this course is very effective in educating students about Bitcoin and helping them continue to advance Bitcoin in their own decisions and conversations with others. Judging by the data, almost half of the students signed up not because they were interested in Bitcoin, but because “it is the only course that is relevant”. Just over a quarter of students have ever dabbled in cryptocurrency. The change in the distribution of interest in Bitcoin technology is shown in the chart below.

! [University professor on Bitcoin course: We are on the cusp of a monetary revolution, and education needs to keep up with the times] (https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-69a80767fe-e4c3d2996e-dd1a6f-cd5cc0.webp)

Student feedback in other areas is also telling, as shown in the table below.

! [University professor on Bitcoin course: We are on the cusp of a monetary revolution, and education needs to keep up with the times] (https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-69a80767fe-169424ad55-dd1a6f-cd5cc0.webp)

Students are involved in all aspects of the Bitcoin topic we cover. They were fairly neutral at first for each subject area I investigated, but their interest in each topic ranged between high and very high. They asked some pointed questions and found some of their own answers online.

Student feedback indicates that they want to practice as early as possible. One student put it this way, “The way I approach a problem is usually to find a solution that works, and then I study it and figure out how it works.” While I asked students to make Bitcoin and Lightning Network transactions, I didn’t ask for it very early. I’ll make this request at the beginning in the future and maybe even offer them some small Bitcoin rewards. This will provide them with more practical background for subsequent discussions, specifically security, blockchain, mining, and scaling. They will immediately have some bitcoins to motivate their studies. It will establish a culture of self-research for the course, which is essential for Bitcoin enthusiasts.

Essentials

This course confirms that Bitcoin education in a university context holds great promise. It highlights a more general strategy that Bitcoin enthusiasts should employ: use existing channels to spread the word about Bitcoin. One of my students did a project on the Bitcoin Education Challenge, and this principle was one of his main takeaways. We don’t have to develop entirely new avenues for Bitcoin education, many of which already exist. Community colleges, for example, often look for interesting topics to serve the community in the form of short courses. Some communities and universities have special programs for retirees, including guest lectures and hot topics. High schools that teach economics courses may sometimes welcome guest lectures on topics such as Bitcoin. There are many quality resources available for these efforts, such as my first Bitcoin course. Use your imagination and you’ll find plenty of these opportunities.

There are a number of challenges that must be overcome to develop Bitcoin education in a university setting. First, more college professors need to embrace Bitcoin and recognize the need for Bitcoin education. Those who can listen to the course should strive to make them understand the transformative nature of Bitcoin. It is important to advocate for Bitcoin in an academically rigorous manner. But a little-known secret is that professors are also human beings and are sometimes influenced by everyday conversations with non-academics.

Second, Bitcoin is a highly interdisciplinary discipline, and professors from multiple disciplines need to embrace the opportunity to teach Bitcoin. Bitcoin as a class topic may encounter resistance in some ideologically controversial sectors, such as philosophy or economics. In my field (engineering), the bigger challenge is convincing non-engineering students to take courses that are listed as engineering. This may require engineering professors to improve our marketing skills.

Third, due to the interdisciplinary nature of the Bitcoin curriculum, it may spark some academic turf battles. A strong argument needs to be made that Bitcoin is not a perfect fit for a particular department or university. As long as some aspect of the course requires expertise in the department, the professor who created the course can teach in the department.

Final Thoughts

Introducing a Bitcoin course during a bear market may seem like a foolish thing to do. But the college courses established before the next bull run have fueled interest in Bitcoin education, and now is the time to work towards that goal.

We are on the cusp of a monetary revolution, but that requires education. Bitcoin education in colleges doesn’t just provide a way to educate students about Bitcoin. It also provides a way for these students to become educators of the next generation of Bitcoin adoption. College students are often curious, energetic, and influential, and it is this type of person who is able to effectively introduce Bitcoin to others. As education around Bitcoin continues to evolve, so does trust. This will open the door to the widespread adoption of Bitcoin that we have poured our heart and soul into.