Recently, the Philadelphia Business Journal penned a story which highlighted that the University of Pennsylvania will be the first Ivy League university to accept cryptocurrency as a method of tuition payment. Cryptocurrencies accepted will include, at least, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Coin. Wharton follows the example of King’s College in New York, which was the first American college to accept the new form of payment back in 2014.
“While it is being limited to students taking an online course on the Economics of Blockchain and Digital Assets through the Wharton School of Business, it still puts the university miles ahead of others in terms of financial modernization. First it was the hedge funds and mainstream investment firms, then it was governments interested in establishing their own digital currencies, and now, even the Ivy League is beginning to accept what many of us have known for quite some time: digital assets are here to stay,” said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.
“I think the college chose a smart program in which to roll out crypto-acceptance,” opined Gardner. “Making it available to those studying the economics of digital assets was a wise move, as many of those students are going to be existing professionals who are broadening their scope of knowledge with the course. Many probably already have cryptocurrencies in their portfolios. But, overall, the statement is worth more than the dollars and cents collected. An Ivy League institution, with all the history and excellence that goes with that title, is embracing cryptocurrencies. That’s the headline here.”
Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Modulus has provided its exchange solution to some of the industry’s most profitable digital asset exchanges, including a well-known multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable institutions, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.
“While there are still some naysayers out there, the momentum is with cryptocurrencies. It isn’t even about the market cap of crypto or the price of Bitcoin. The train has left the station in terms of the technology. So many mainstream institutions have begun to accept that digital currencies are real. They’ve incorporated them into their business models. El Salvador went so far as to make Bitcoin a legally recognized currency. There’s simply no room to backtrack. You will most definitely see digital assets become further familiarized over the next few years, particularly as central banks release their own digital currencies,” said Gardner.
“In general, this speaks to the power of the blockchain. This is financial technology so powerful that it will fundamentally change how the world interacts with money. Yet, at the same time, it is completely changing how companies engage in logistics and operations management. There are so many practical applications to the financial technologies behind Bitcoin. So many people think that Bitcoin is the headline, but, truly, it is the blockchain,” said Gardner.
