A university on the small European island of Cyprus says it will now allow students to pay tuition and other school fees in Bitcoin. The University of Nicosia, with some 8,000 students enrolled, says it’s the first university in the world to accept the digital crypto-currency in order to make it easier for foreign students to pay for its programs, the Associated Press reports.
If the whole concept of a digital crypto-currency still seems a bit hazy, New York magazine’s Kevin Roose has a thorough explainer up today. Here’s also a starter course.
If Bitcoin still seems a bit like a foreign language, you may want to consider enrolling at the University of Nicosia because along with accepting the currency, the university is also going to offer a Master’s degree in Bitcoin.
The move to use the currency comes as Cyprus continues to reel from an EU bailout earlier this year that imposed strict austerity measures and forced many in the country to take huge losses on their bank deposits, causing foreign investors to run for the hills. The country’s financial situation may have been the impetus behind the Bitcoin move, the Los Angeles Times reports, as the “university also plans to encourage the Cyprus government to develop the country into a hub for Bitcoin trading, processing and banking.”
