Upcoming New York Mayor advocates cryptocurrency training in schools
Eric Adams, the future mayor of New York City, thinks that schools should integrate bitcoin and blockchain technology in the curriculum as part of his goal to turn the city into a crypto hotspot. For a long time, bitcoin experts have been emphasising the need of Cryptocurrency training, and even politicians have jumped on board.
According to Eric Adams of CNN's "State of the Union," bitcoin is the "new method of paying for items and services all across the globe," and schools "must" educate the technology as well as "this new way of thinking."
"Cryptocurrency is a new method for individuals to pay for goods and services," Adams says. "We must open our schools to educate technology as well as this new way of thinking about paying for goods and services."
Cryptocurrency education in schools is not a new concept, with students ranging from local high schools to university-level students starting to include crypto topics into their studies. Adams did not specify at what grade level he would want to see crypto introduced into the curriculum.
The campaign for a more crypto-friendly New York City, on the other hand, is not without its sceptics. In a tweet, Jason Furman, a Harvard professor and former member of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, called Adams' crypto concept a "bad economic plan for NYC."
"There looks to be a conflict of interest as well," Furman noted. "It's the equivalent of a mayor stating, 'I'm going to acquire a lot of Amazon shares and then pass legislation that favour Amazon.'"
Adam's remarks on crypto in schools came just a few days after he promised crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano in a Twitter thread that he would take bitcoin for his first three payments as mayor. Adams sought to outdo Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who recently declared that he would take his next salary in bitcoin as part of his continuing quest to make New York City into a hub for innovation and cryptocurrencies.
Adams also responded to a question on whether he would urge New York City merchants to begin accepting cryptocurrency payments by stating, "We'll look into it and proceed with care. We'll get it right this time."
Understanding Cryptocurrency
One unanswered question is what Adams means by "opening our schools to crypto."
While cryptocurrency remains mostly the province of speculators, programmers, and a few extreme internet devotees, there are precedents for teaching cryptocurrency to the general public, most notably in higher education.
Columbia University, for example, already offers a course called "Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, AI, and Beyond," which aims to teach the principles of decentralised finance and crypto to those who are already interested in the future of finance and technology.
Another way to boost public awareness of cryptocurrencies is to develop a municipal cryptocurrency, such as MiamiCoin, which debuted this summer on the nonprofit and community-run CityCoins platform.
When Adams told Bloomberg earlier this month that he was dedicated to competing with Miami for the title of crypto-hub, the CityCoins organisation was deciding where to launch its next currency.
It is critical that everyone get bitcoin training today, since the world is progressively transitioning towards a new financial dynamic. Enroll in a bitcoin certification course to begin your adventure in this rapidly changing industry.
