The liberal arts college in New York City’s financial district became the first accredited U.S. college to accept Bitcoins for tuition bills, donations and other expenses.
The King’s College, a Christian liberal arts college located in financial district of New York City, has announced that it partnered with merchant processor Coin.co to accept bitcoin for tuition, donations, and other expenses.
The King’s College became the first accredited college in the country to accept bitcoin. The announcement follows the decisions from the University of Nicosa in Cyprus last year and more recently the University of Cumbria in the UK.
The institution commented: “As the first institution of its kind to make this move and accept digital currency, The King’s College will signal to other institutions that Bitcoin acceptance is not simply for technology companies.”
“Much like the first universities or businesses to obtain email addresses, The King’s College is standing at the forefront of change,” it added.
Even though Draper University, an online and residential school based in California, announced its plans to accept bitcoin last year, the King’s College decision to enter the bitcoin ecosystem is more notable as it is private institution with a long past, having been opened since 1938.
“The King’s College seeks to transform society by preparing students for careers in which they help to shape and eventually to lead strategic public and private institutions,” said Dr. Gregory Alan Thornbury, President of The King’s College.
“Allowing Bitcoin to be used to pay for a King’s education decreases our costs while simultaneously allowing our students to be a part of this exciting new technology.”
Dr Gregory Thornbury, President of The King’s College, said that the decision to accept bitcoin is similar to his school’s core values:
“We have a strong emphasis on the founding documents of the US, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which are very individual based. Bitcoin represents that, it’s the empowerment of individuals.”
Moreover, Mr. Thornbury suggests that this idea is worth considering by other universities: “Adopting or taking seriously disruptive technologies in the delivery of the educational program is something that everyone needs to be studying, and I think [bitcoin] is one aspect of that.”
Furthermore, it is also a significant announcement for New York-based merchant processor Coin.co, that have Matthew Mellon in its board of directors, the former chairman of New York’s Republican Party Finance committee.
Mr. Mellon said that his company, led by CEO Brendan Diaz, believes that it would be wise to focus on spreading bitcoin awareness.
Brendan Diaz added, “Over the past year, the Coin.co team has led the effort to enable U.S. colleges, universities and other major institutions to accept Bitcoin without incurring any currency risk. Coin.co is proud to be working with The King’s College, and to be a part of pioneering the use of Bitcoin for education.”
Konstantin has always been at the forefront of the global virtual currency scene since first discovering cryptocurrencies the same year that Satoshi Nakomoto created bitcoin in 2009. Konstantin is the owner of a number of small businesses in trucking and mobile development, and co-founded CoinSpeaker in 2014. He graduated from Belarusian State University in 2009 with a degree in Mathematics and Mechanics. You can contact Konstantin via [email protected]