Free Blockchain Education for Everyone
Ready to learn more about distributed ledger technology but unsure where to start? How about completely free carefully curated courses from one of blockchain’s first ever registered educational charities?
Founding The Blockchain Institute
The Blockchain Institute was founded in Chicago, to promote the adoption, development, and encourage proper use of blockchain technology by providing free blockchain education to the public.
The Chicago Blockchain Institute was established by Hannah Rosenberg, prominent organizer of Chicago’s largest crypto community led group — The Bitcoin and Open Blockchain Meetup; Taylor Gerring, co-founder at the Ethereum Foundation; leading attorney Andrew Gordon; and Jason Kin Hoi Fang, managing partner at crypto VC firm Sora Ventures.
The Blockchain Institute is offering would-be students a range of courses, from Blockchain 101 to Bitcoin for Developers to Decentralized Storage.
In a recent press release, Rosenberg explained, “It can be difficult to find quality, reliable information on Blockchain tech and the crypto economy. As a non-profit, we provide resources without any hidden agendas.”
Instead, The Blockchain Institute are providing access to all their materials for free. Their 10 person strong team bring proven experience in the blockchain space, having worked in diverse roles and organisations such as the Ethereum Foundation, Sora Ventures, and consultancy firm Velas Commerce.
501c3 Charity Status
In a big step forward for The Blockchain Institute, they have just been granted their 501c3 charity status, which means that they are now in the position to accept a variety of cryptocurrencies, alongside USD, as donations.
As these donations are tax-exempt by proxy of The Blockchain Institutes charity status, the donations will significantly help further their mission.
The Blockchain Institute say that “ Every dollar we collect goes towards educating young software developers and entrepreneurs. Your donation could provide the resources needed to build the internet of the future.” So, those individuals or groups who donate will be directly helping the next generation of blockchain technology developers.
What Courses does the Blockchain Institute Offer?
There’s already a great range of courses on offer from the Blockchain Institute, from basic beginner style courses to Bitcoin for developers.
And, they’re all free. Inside each course, students will find a huge range of carefully curated course material.
Here’s a quick look at their current courses:
Blockchain 101 — The blockchain 101 course familiarizes students with the characteristics of blockchain technology, including its applications, from Bitcoin to smart contracts, decentralized networks, and consensus mechanisms.
Blockchain Security — A great course for those who want to find out what practical steps they can be take to secure themselves on the blockchain, or likewise the system they work on.
Bitcoin for Developers — A course designed to give developers the tools needed to understand how Bitcoin transactions work, how wallets work, Bitcoin scripting and how to integrate Bitcoin payments into existing platforms.
Decentralized Storage — A course to familiarize students with the basics of decentralized storage and why it’s needed.
Intro to Hyperledger — this course teaches students how blockchain’s can be applied in private ecosystems, exploring the benefits of private blockchain’s, and how Hyperledger combines the benefits of distributed ledgers with the predictability of enterprise software.
Intro to IPFS — The Interplanetary File System is a new way of sharing media over the internet. This course explores the basics of this new protocol and compares it to traditional options.
As you can see, there’s a huge amount of great content for users of all abilities to get started on, and more courses are sure to follow!
Likewise, The Blockchain Institute have also collected a large repository of invaluable blockchain related resources, which users can find here, alongside an extensive F.A.Q which walks beginner blockchain users through some of the most common questions you might have when you’re just getting started in crypto.
How can you help The Blockchain Institute?
Want to get involved with The Blockchain Institute, or are you a subject matter expert who would like to pass on your knowledge through a a tailored course?
Get in touch with the team at: info@theblockchaininstitute.org.
The Blockchain Institute is on track to make a huge difference to the education and knowledge base of the blockchain community, an industry which to date, has very limited options for formal education.
Disclaimer — The author has no affiliation with The Blockchain Institute, who are a charitable organization in the U.S., and run solely on donations from the public.
