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NYU to launch Web3 learning workshop in partnership with NEAR protocol

The course is exposing students to the technology underlying the industry, the industry at large and hands-on experience working with Web3 tools.

Education is a well-known barrier to entry for many when it comes to crypto and Web3 space. This is particularly true when it comes to understanding the underlying technology that powers these new innovations. 

Joining in on the effort to spread crypto awareness, on Feb. 8, the New York University School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) — one of the schools and colleges that compose New York University — announced a partnership with the NEAR Foundation to introduce a new “Web3 Learning Workshop” for students and faculty, along with partners in the industry.

The course comes out of NYU SPS Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport. The workshop will have a specific angle looking at the intersection of Web3 and blockchain technologies and the sports industry.

Angie Kamath, the Dean of NYU SPS, said that universities have a responsibility to prepare their communities for “success in every industry.”

“Web3 and blockchain technologies will have a large role to play, not just in the sports industry but in every industry that touches our lives.”

The course is said to touch on the basics of blockchain and digital assets and its utility in the sports world. Those involved in the course will be exposed to hands-on experience, taught by co-founder of the NEAR ecosystem Michael Kelly.

Related: Binance Charity to provide over 30K Web3 scholarships in 2023

Additionally, students involved in the NYU SPS will be eligible for new NFT rewards via a Dapp on the NEAR platform. While NYU is not the first school to introduce a curriculum on blockchain and Web3 technologies, it is one of the top universities in the United States. 

Educators in Australia recently came out with a statement saying that there is a global lack of “qualified people'' with education in the Web3 industry. 

The Blockchain Academy International’s Huxley Peckham highlighted that already 60 industries have implemented blockchain technology in some way and that blockchain education is important for “the next generation of strategists and consultants.”

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Ether is a better commodity than Bitcoin, says NYU Professor

One crypto critic thinks Ether, not Bitcoin, has a better chance of becoming a commodity in a possible blockchain-based future.

Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, has tipped Ether (ETH) as having a better chance of becoming a commodity than Bitcoin (BTC).

Speaking to CNBC, the NYU professor argued that Ethereum’s upside potential outweighs that of Bitcoin in a possible future paradigm dominated by blockchain-based technology.

According to Damodaran, ETH will trump BTC as a better lubricant for blockchain commerce. As for Bitcoin, the NYU professor said that the premier crypto was a speculative play, adding:

“All that bitcoin bulls seem to talk about, their biggest sales pitch for bitcoin is: ‘Look at how much money I’ve made on bitcoin.’ That’s it, that’s the end of the sales pitch. That’s not a sales pitch. That tells me nothing about the substance here.”

Indeed, decentralized finance as an emerging market segment has grown massively on the Ethereum network. According to DappRadar, the adjusted total value locked in ETH-based DeFi protocols is above $65 billion as of the time of writing.

Earlier in May, Uniswap — an ETH-based decentralized exchange — flipped Bitcoin on daily revenue indicating the scale of the transaction volume disparity between Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Damodaran’s Bitcoin critique is not new as the NYU professor called BTC an “inefficient currency” earlier in May. Back in August 2017, Damodaran, popularly dubbed Wall Street’s “dean of valuation” described Bitcoin as a “pricing game with no good ending.”

The NYU professor of finance also called for a more nuanced crypto nomenclature that better captures the differences among existing cryptocurrencies. According to Damodaran, “I think we need to start to separate the crypto space into those cryptos that are trying to be currencies, those cryptos that are trying to be collectibles — millennial gold — and those cryptos that are actually commodities.”

As previously reported, the crypto market is in the middle of a massive downtrend with Bitcoin dipping more than 30% in the last eight days. The total market capitalization has also taken a huge dent, losing over $800 billion within the same period.

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