What You Didn’t Know About Blockchain & Academia
Blockchain and academia are two words that don’t necessarily belong in the same sentence. They are a juxtaposition of sorts, given that prior to the mainstreaming of bitcoin as an investment instrument, blockchain was the almost-exclusive arena for the underworld. Despite the latest unprecedented highs (at time of writing), Bitcoin and other well-known crypto offerings are still overshadowed by what is accepted as legal tender, and continue to perch on the tipping point of mainstream popularity.
Academia therefore is understandably slow to jump on the blockchain bandwagon. One of the first academic institutions to recognize the value and the importance of blockchain technologies was The University Of Nicosia. They took the bold step of introducing blockchain courses, and even a full accredited MSc degree in Digital Currency, and continue to pioneer innovations in the blockchain-academic field. A partnership with the university was a natural fit for the trade.io team, who have long term plans to invest in top-tier blockchain education and pioneering technologies. Whilst both sides will benefit from this marriage of minds, the research being delivered will extend into the community as a whole and will likely set new precedents in distributed ledger technologies.
So, what exactly does this partnership entail?
As a first step, trade.io have committed to sponsoring two post doctoral research positions at the University of Nicosia. The two researchers will work on:
1) Sidechains and cross-chain interoperability.
2) Smart token corporate governance best practices and implementation.
In practice what this means is that trade.io will be providing the funds and wages for two post-doctoral researchers to undertake in-depth research on the above subjects for a minimum of two years. In return, the university will manage the recruitment process for the researchers and will provide the equipment, support and environment in which the researchers will undertake their work. The call for post-doctoral researchers under this program is open at: www.digitalcurrency.unic.ac.cy
Whilst trade.io already offers a range of industry-leading services and products to its early adopters, the company may choose to utilise and integrate the fruits of this research into its own products and services. The research being undertaken will help the board and management of trade.io to fulfil their ambition of bringing a) positive change and b) a fairer and more transparent financial ecosystem for clients, for token holders, and for all and any participants of the financial markets. Additionally, the partnership acts as a kind of extension to the development team of trade.io, and supports the company’s goal of making a meaningful long-term contribution to the future of the field.
At the same time, UNIC can continue its good practice of setting precedents in blockchain. Even though it has already established its reputation, the University believes that the partnership provides added value. More than 15,000 people have enrolled for the free Introduction to Digital Currencies MOOC course at UNIC and were the first to have their academic certificates published on the blockchain. Where academic institutions would be understandably reluctant to forge public alliances with private companies, UNIC has taken a different approach and is working with industrial partners to instigate positive change in both worlds of blockchain and finance. For the first time, the best, brightest and most talented minds in the field are being financially remunerated for researching and developing state of the art distributed ledger technologies that have potential to entirely change the global financial ecosystem.
The trade.io ICO was completed on 4 January 2018 and raised over $31 million from 15,000 contributors worldwide. The Trade Token (TIO) will be listed on major exchanges including EtherDelta, HitBTC, OKEx and others from the week commencing 8 January, onwards.
