Two executives at Coinbase and Ripple are leading a push for smart regulations and transparency in the crypto-sphere that would arguably drive adoption and take blockchain technology mainstream. 

Market integrity must improve

The Market Integrity Working Group’s co-chairs want regulators to grasp how they can advance the cryptocurrency industry. In an official company statement, Coinbase senior director and associate general counsel Rachel Nelson, in conjunction with Ripple’s head of global institutional markets Breanne Madigan, wrote: 

“To improve market integrity and provide consumers the confidence they deserve, Congress may need to enact legislation to support the orderly and secure functioning of crypto markets.”

Projecting wider regulations, they added: 

“Such legislation could expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) authority to include the regulation and oversight of digital commodity exchange markets.”

The need for a regulatory framework

The Working Group, which officially launched on Jan. 23 2020, outlined the problems that saddle exchanges. According to this organization, state-specific regulations are to blame: 

“Consumers and cryptocurrency exchanges deserve a clear regulatory framework, the establishment of which would ultimately enhance market integrity and drive consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies.”

The co-chairs argue that new exchanges face byzantine burdens while existing exchanges struggle against compliance requirements. But a regulatory framework would bolster market integrity and encourage consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies.

It can be a challenge to find accessible information about cryptocurrency and blockchain tech―which sites offer the best guides and tutorials?Learning about blockchain can be a chore: the crypto world is full of information, and navigating that material is no small task.

Until recently, there were very few comprehensive resources―instead, information was scattered across project documentation, wikis, and forums. This uncoordinated approach was not very convenient for newcomers.

However, there are now a number of projects and companies that have taken it upon themselves to create educational blockchain websites. These websites generally cover a broad range of topics, keep up to date with the latest changes, and collect everything together in one place. Let's take a look at five of the most significant education sites.

Coinbase Earn

Coinbase is one of the most popular crypto exchanges, and it's making an effort to ensure that its investors are informed about trading. Since May, Coinbase has been paying users to study major cryptocurrencies through a subsite called Coinbase Earn.

The site covers several notable coins, including EOS, 0x, Zcash, Dai, Stellar Lumens, and Brave's Basic Attention Token.

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Coinbase Earn merely scratches the surface of these topics: after viewing each brief tutorial, you'll be able to complete a quiz. In return, you'll typically earn $10 of crypto, total―though you can earn $40 more if you invite other users.

Overall, Coinbase Earn is a good site for beginners, as it covers recognizable cryptocurrencies, not in-depth technical concepts.

Binance Academy

Binance is another major exchange with its own educational initiative. Unlike Coinbase, Binance Academy doesn't cover any particular coins, and it won't pay you to participate.

Instead, it offers encyclopedia-like coverage of various technical topics. In fact, Binance Academy offered 450 different articles as soon as it went live in December 2018―and it's adding more each day.

The site covers topics of all complexities, from basic blockchain overviews to more thorough explanations of security, cryptography, and economics. Binance Academy also has several side features, such as a glossary, quizzes, and tutorials.

Plus, the site is available in fifteen different languages, which means that Binance's efforts are incredibly inclusive and accessible.

Lisk Academy

Lisk Academy has been active since March 2018, and despite its name, it covers far more than Lisk itself. Rather, it covers blockchain topics in general through two main modules: one half of the site is dedicated to general users, and the other half is devoted to business users.

Together, these categories cover several topics, including P2P networking, cryptocurrencies, and ICOs.

Lisk's website boasts over 69,000 words of text, making it a fairly in-depth resource. It is, however, quite simple as well: Lisk's original announcement claims that just ten minutes of reading will give anyone the ability to understand and explain blockchain technology.

There is even a small section targeted at children, using an "explain like I'm five" conversational style.

District0x

District0x is a network for decentralized marketplaces, but it also has a secondary purpose. Since August 2018, District0x has been running its own educational portal. This collection of resources is partially devoted to District0x itself, but the main attraction is the site's extensive coverage of the Ethereum blockchain.

Right now, the site is fairly small, with about two dozen topics―roughly on par with Lisk Academy, but not nearly as large as Binance Academy. However, District0x plans to grow the site, and it is publishing new entries each month. District0x also makes learning fun with eye-catching pictures, engaging videos, and other media.

Tari Labs University

Tari Labs is an initiative co-founded by Riccardo Spagni, one of Monero's lead developers. The project is primarily tasked with creating the Tari protocol, which Monero will use to handle special digital assets in the same vein as CryptoKitties.

Additionally, Tari Labs also offers an educational site called Tari Labs University, which went live in October 2018.This site doesn't focus on any particular cryptocurrencies, but it does cover some basic topics, such as blockchain consensus and scalability.

 It also covers some cutting-edge privacy coin topics, such as bulletproofs and Mimblewimble. Although TLU covers topics at every level, some of its articles are fairly advanced, and prior knowledge is often necessary.

Before You Go

Before you check out the sites listed above, consider our own educational resources as well. Bitrates offers a wide selection of guides and tutorials, as well as in-depth series on special topics such as zero-knowledge proofs, IOTA, and Ethereum's Plasma ecosystem. We don't offer as much as you will find on a full-fledged academy site, but our resources are a good crash course.

On top of that, every website discussed in this article is a valuable resource. Each site is freely accessible, much like Khan Academy and various online coding boot camps.

One of the central values of the blockchain community is accessibility and financial inclusion, and free information can facilitate that―nobody should need to spend money to learn about their options.Additionally, these sites help promote development.

Since there are no formal blockchain education standards, it's up to the community to spread knowledge―and nobody is in a better position to do this than industry leaders. It's not just a chance for leaders to promote themselves: it's also a way for them to give back to the crypto community at large.

Disclaimer: information contained herein is provided without considering your personal circumstances, therefore should not be construed as financial advice, investment recommendation or an offer of, or solicitation for, any transactions in cryptocurrencies.

• A Brazilian University has launched the world's first Master's Degree in cryptofinance. 
• The course's students are et to analyze cryptocurrency markets from an objective, academic perspective, as opposed to a speculative one.

Yesterday, various news outlets reported that it is now possible to get a master's degree in cryptofinance. The gist of these reports was that Brazilian University Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), also known as the Sao Paulo School of Economics, claimed that it is offering the world's first master's degree in cryptofinance.

Although universities have been offering courses in blockchain and cryptocurrencies as early as 2014 -- when NYU Stern School of Business became the first major university to launch such a course -- a master's degree solely focused on cryptofinance is unique.

A look at the relevant section of the university's website, shows that FGV has a Master's Program in Economics (MPE) that offers specializations in one of four subjects: Portfolio Management, Risk Management, Data Science, and Cryptofinance.

In the second semester of this four-semester program, those specializing in Cryptofinance must take the following courses: "Cryptofinance"; "Cryptoeconomics"; and "Laboratory of Cryptofinance and Economics".

Ricardo Rochman, the program’s coordinator, claimed it was born out of a need for specialized education in the cryptocurrency industry. Per his words, it is a “market with a profound lack of people with expertise.” Students are set to study the markets from a more objective, academic perspective, as opposed to a speculative one.

Michele Araujo, a 26-year-old economics student at FGV noted that learning about cryptocurrencies can be beneficial:

"There is a conceptual gain of knowing both the practical applications of the technology and cryptocurrency as an alternative investment.”Michele Araujo

Universities in Brazil, the country with the largest crypto market in South America, are seemingly responding to the huge amount of interest in cryptofinance, while refusing to be discouraged by what Ilan Goldfajn, the governor of Brazil's central bank, said about Bitcoin last October:

“The bitcoin is a financial asset with no ballast that people buy because they believe it will appreciate. That is a typical bubble or pyramid [scheme]…The central bank is not interested in bubbles or illicit payments.”Ilan Goldfajn, governor of Brazil's central bank


https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2018/04/a-master-s-degree-in-cryptofinance/

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