Crypto firms’ open letter urges top US colleges to teach DeFi
Twenty-one crypto organizations have signed an open letter urging US colleges to incorporate decentralized finance (DeFi) into their curricula to better prepare students for the changing financial landscape.
“Our purpose with this letter is simple: to respectfully urge higher education institutions across the United States to integrate DeFi into their standard academic curricula,” the letter stated.
The campaign was spearheaded by decentralized protocol aggregator 1inch, with signatories including the likes of EigenLayer, Injective, Lido, and several others.
While 1inch acknowledged that DeFi is taught in some schools, it argued that current curricula treat it as a “sub-topic” or elective rather than a core component of modern finance.
“It is wrong to think, as some do, that DeFi and crypto technologies lack practical uses or are some passing fad,” the letter added.
> “The theoretical phase is over. Ideas have already become infrastructure.”
In comments to Cointelegraph, 1inch said it is pushing for more DeFi courses to be taught in the classroom because the industry is rapidly moving from a niche hobby to a professional career path.
“It’s no longer just hoodies; it’s suits and ties too,” 1inch said, noting that Wall Street firms like BlackRock and Fidelity are now actively seeking DeFi expertise.
> “The aim is to build on top of these greater DeFi understanding and practical knowledge, not just a theoretical one.”
The open letter asks for more “foundational education” in blockchain architecture and DeFi as a core financial subject, including topics like automated market makers and liquidity provision to decentralized autonomous organizations and smart contract risks.
1inch also suggested that students engage with DeFi systems directly to “gain a real-world understanding of how these protocols function.”
The biggest Wall Street firms are seeking DeFi experts
BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were recently seen putting out job listings for roles that require knowledge of DeFi and blockchain technology.
This has also been reflected in Google search statistics, said 1inch, showing that Google search volume for “DeFi Jobs” has increased significantly over the past year.
More specialized roles are accelerating even faster, with “DeFi Developer Jobs” increasing nearly 200% year-over-year.
DeFi has had limited exposure to some US Ivy League colleges in the past.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ran an “MIT Digital Currency Experiment” in 2014, which involved distributing Bitcoin to students, while it later offered courses touching on blockchain ethics and distributed ledger technology.
Harvard’s extension school also offers a blockchain innovation course, while Texas A&M offered a “Bitcoin Protocol” course to business and engineering students in 2023.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor said the Florida Department of Education approved Saylor Academy — a non-profit education platform — to receive university status—marking a major milestone in our mission to provide free, world-class higher education to all.
The move enables students to receive tuition-free master's degrees, which include programs that teach DeFi and blockchain technology.
