New York University has launched a course in blockchain technology, becoming the first such university in the United States to offer students the chance to major in the subject.

According to CBS New York, the course will be run by the NYU Stern School of Business, which already offers courses in blockchain and cryptocurrencies. While a number of other universities already offer courses of this kind, NYU’s blockchain major is a first of its kind.

The program is designed to help students ultimately secure employment in the emerging blockchain sector, which is doubling down on hiring new talent.

Professor Andrew Hinks of the NYU Stern School of Business said the program was designed to give students an understanding of both business and legal issues around cryptocurrency, to equip them for careers in the sector.

“We hope to establish a groundwork so that the students can understand what’s really happening under the hood, so that they can understand both the legal and the business implications, and prepare them to go out and tackle this new market,” Hinks said.

Over the last few weeks, crypto exchange and wallet Coinbase published research showing that over 40% of the world’s top 50 universities offer classes on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Of those, 15% were delivered through law, business, finance and economics departments, with 4% of courses led by social science departments.

For Coinbase’s Adam White, the NYU offering is an exciting time for students to get involved in blockchain, adding they will “…see the development, the birth of a new industry…in many ways, we look at things like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and blockchain as the internet 3.0.”

The launch of the blockchain technology major comes at a time of massive and growing interest in cryptocurrencies amongst students. According to a report published back in March, over 21% of students used part of their student loans to invest in cryptocurrencies, in the hope of eroding their debt with capital gains.

With the New York University blockchain major now on offer, students now have another opportunity to study this exciting space with a view to securing employment in the sector.

Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.

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