Bitcoin has been around for about five years and was slow to catch on before becoming extremely popular with people who saw value in it. Its price has been highly volatile at times, but many people feel that it is a worthy alternative to fiat (paper) currencies.
Experiences with the use of Bitcoin have been varied since its inception.
Online Purchases with Bitcoin
The use of Bitcoin is slowly becoming more common, particularly with online purchases. Whilst the mainstream hasn’t really caught on with the need to accept Bitcoin in local stores, online sites are another matter entirely.
PC maker Dell now accepts Bitcoin, as does Microsoft for adding credit to a Microsoft account. Popular web software WordPress accepts it and the Planetary Society also accepts donations in Bitcoin.
Retail Stores Accepting Bitcoin More Readily
U.S. retailers are beginning to catch the trend and support Bitcoin at store chains like Sears, Target, Staples, and even Victoria’s Secret.
Do Any Universities Accept Bitcoin?
The University of Nicosia became the first university of note to accept Bitcoin for payment for degree courses, the Simon Fraser University in Canada accepts Bitcoin for book purchases and in its dining room (not with tuition fees), and Cumbria University in the UK accepts Bitcoin for two limited courses on current innovation and sustainability. Few American colleges or universities have signed up with a Bitcoin exchange to begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for classes. One of the notable exceptions has been the The King’s College in New York which has been accepting Bitcoin since 2014.
Degree Course on the Bitcoin Crypto-currency in the Future?
At the present time, the best that universities and colleges are managing is to do is add the subject of crypto-currencies including Bitcoin on to the curriculum of relevant degree courses. These could be ones on business, marketing, economics, or healthcare like this online health science degree course.
How Could Bitcoin Studies Actually Work?
The general subject of Bitcoin and what its place may be in the online and offline business world can be studied in many different relevant courses without the need to actually understand the technology behind the currency itself. Therefore, a broad teaching about Bitcoin is possible at colleges and universities.
Any degree course in crypto-currency or Bitcoin specifically would need to delve into the technology behind it. As such, it is more likely to come with a number of prerequisites for enrolment and be only taught at the Master’s Degree level.
The advance of Bitcoin as a viable currency continues. The main issue has been the difficulties that the laymen has in understanding Bitcoin, its proper usage, the role of Bitcoin exchanges, and how to protect a digital wallet containing Bitcoins.
With the increasing acceptance of Bitcoin as a payment method with major e-commerce websites, more consumers will get on-board with using Bitcoin. When this happens, colleges and universities will come under increasing pressure from students who wish to pay with Bitcoin and could eventually lose prospective students to rival educational establishments that have already embraced the digital currency.