One of the world's most prestigious business schools - the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania - could become the next major organization to accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.
The initiative will reportedly be available from early 2022, as the university will use Coinbase Global Inc. to facilitate crypto payments.
Cryptocurrencies invade the education sector
A Bloomberg report on Oct. 28 informed that students at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School will have the option to pay for their $ 3.800 online blockchain course in digital assets, including bitcoin. Guido Molinari - Managing Partner of Prysm Group, who is working with Wharton on the development of the program, commented: “It is a program based on blockchain and digital resources”.
However, the move is still in the planning stage and will be implemented no earlier than January next year with the help of Coinbase. Molinari stressed that the trading venue has 68 million verified users, a solid factor that guided the university's decision to choose it as a partner.
In addition to being one of the best business schools in the United States, Wharton University is known for its prominent graduates. Some of them have engaged with the cryptocurrency industry in recent years. One example is BitMEX CEO and co-founder - Arthur Hayes.
Probably the most famous person who studied at Wharton is the richest man in the world Elon Musk. The entrepreneur graduated in 1997 and today heads several giant companies, including the leading electric car maker, Tesla (Tesla shares - TSLA ticker).
His company began accepting cryptocurrency payments in early 2021, but suspended it several months later for environmental reasons. However, more recent reports have suggested that the company may change its mind again.
Universities find cryptocurrencies interesting
Wharton isn't the only American premium school that has jumped on the digital asset bandwagon. As reported in June, Harvard, Yale, Brown University and the University of Michigan bought cryptocurrencies for their multi-billion dollar endowments.
A person familiar with the matter then informed that some universities had entered the market two years ago, saying that schools had probably already started in 2019. By then, they must have bought cryptocurrencies at a really discounted price, given what is happening today.
And what do you think of the involvement of these schools in cryptocurrencies? What if your university offered you this possibility? Would you also pay in cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below.
