Key Takeaways
- Aiglon College has taught a compulsory crypto course to its youngest students for three years.
- The 5-week course introduces the basic concepts of crypto and traditional finance.
- The Swiss city of Lugano launched its own stablecoin, which allows citizens to pay taxes, fees, and make purchases with it, USDT, or BTC.
In Switzerland, certain academic institutions have recognized the profound role cryptocurrency will play in the future, making crypto education mandatory for students.
For the past three years, one college has been preparing students for the digital future with a compulsory crypto course for its year 7 and 8 students, aged 12 to 13.
Compulsory Crypto
Switzerland’s affluent academic institutions are known for offering students a world-class education in economics. And Switzerland’s non-profit international boarding school, Aiglon College, has taken an ambitious approach.
In an article co-authored by the college’s assistant head, Jack George, and its director of technology and digital strategy, Darren Wise, explain why.
To begin with, financial literacy is an essential in the 21st century, but the current systems don’t explore deeper concepts such as the “modern meaning” of money and its role in society.
It looks to answer questions such as how banks create more money, why some countries have currency and others don’t, and so on.
The college created a 5-week crypto micro-course, which starts off by giving kids an intro to the history of Bitcoin, its altcoin cousins, and how these tokens are created (minted).
A “Plato’s Cave” Moment
The article notes that students often react with outrage upon discovering that a Bitcoin is created by a computer winning a mathematical problem race.
It’s creating “money from nowhere,” the students will claim. At this point, the teachers redirect them to the traditional financial system.
Suddenly, the students realize they can’t be sure if the money in a banking app has any real backing or why coins have value.
It allows them to begin questioning the idea of money, a concept that is so deeply embedded in us that its workings are easily overlooked.
The article notes it’s a “Plato’s cave” moment.
In addition, Aiglon students are fortunate to live near Lugano, a Swiss city that has established crypto as legal tender.
The initiative that allows citizens to pay taxes or buy goods from shops using Bitcoin, Tether (USDT), and its own local stablecoin, LVGA.
Eddie is a gaming and crypto writer at CCN. Covering the often weird and wonderful world of Web3 with an adoring, but skeptical eye.
Prior to CCN, Eddie has spent the past seven years working his way through the crypto, finance, and technology industry. He began with PR and journalism with Bitcoin PR Buzz and BitcoinNews.com, eventually working his way to become a copywriter with a dozen firms, including the likes of Polkadot before returning to journalism in 2023.
Having studied Radio production and journalism at University in the UK, Eddie spent a few years making podcasts and presenting on a local London radio station as he built up his writing chops.
A lifelong skateboarder, Eddie can often be found at the skatepark or touring the streets looking for something new to try. That, or kicking back playing JRPGs on his original PSP.
