The Best Online Courses To Improve Your Crypto Knowledge

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Over the recent handful of years, there have been few terms that have become as widespread online as “The Blockchain”. They’ve managed to work their way into virtually every aspect of the modern internet. While the main uses for blockchains continue to be largely financial, many other industries are waking up to the potential of this new technology.

The blockchain was created to allow seamless instant payments from anyone to anyone in a completely public and decentralized manner. This level of access and accountability revolutionized the financial industry overnight and isn’t going away anytime soon. This has proven to be a perfect fit for iGaming and the online crypto casino landscape, where things like timeliness, accuracy, and transparency are vital. All of the biggest iGaming sites have begun accepting crypto deposits and many no longer even accept fiat currencies. Today, most financial institutions operate on the blockchain as do an increasing number of universities and manufacturers. Outside of the obvious financial uses, the blockchain is finding increased use for records-keeping in the healthcare and education sectors. While most of the biggest uses for blockchains today are largely behind the scenes, there are still several areas where an average user can get the most of them such as investing, collecting, and even purchasing media. Many recording artists have begun launching their collections on the blockchain as NFTs.

Getting started on the blockchain can be a daunting task. Terms like DeFi, ERC-20, minting, and HODLing are all widely used in the industry but remain virtually unheard of outside of niche circles. To help get students up-to-date on the most recent job opportunities, over 70% of top US schools currently offer some sort of blockchain course and there are countless other free and paid online courses available.

With that range of choices, picking the best course for you can be tricky. Of course, you want to know you’re making the best choice, so here are some of the very best choices for a blockchain education.

Digital Currency Initiative – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

If you’re going to be talking about technology and classes, you need to start with MIT. Easily ranking among the world’s most well-known and well-respected educational institutions, the labs at MIT have given birth to many of the 20th century’s most revolutionary technologies. From RADAR to the internet, much of what makes the modern world go ‘round can be traced back to the big brains in Cambridge. With a reputation like that, it should come as no surprise that they’ve also been a leader in the development of the latest blockchain technologies.

The Digital Currency Initiative at MIT offers more than 10 different blockchain courses to “create a future in which moving value across the Internet is as intuitive and efficient as moving information.” To that end, they’ve been working on collecting the most forward-thinking talent at MIT into one place to further the development of the blockchain.

But arguably the best part of the DCI is that anyone can take part in it for completely free. Yup, that’s right; MIT has long advocated for free education, and two of their online programs—Cryptocurrency Engineering and Design & FinTech: Shaping the Financial World—can be taken by anyone online at no cost.

The Cryptocurrency Engineering & Design course covers everything from how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies function in practice, to cryptography, game theory, and network architecture. Additionally, the FinTech course is designed for students who want to explore how new technologies are disrupting the financial services industry. The course goes over AI, deep learning, blockchain technology, and open APIs to provide students with an understanding of the key technologies, market structures, and regulations being brought about by FinTech.

The only downside of the MIT open courseware program is that it doesn’t offer any sort of formal certification. The philosophy is that knowledge is your reward. If you’re looking to get something more tangible, you might want to consider a paid course.

It’s also worth pointing out that these are both graduate-level courses that aren’t really ideal for beginners. If you’re just getting your feet wet, the next course might just be the best for you.

Blockchain Basics – University of Buffalo (via Coursera)

It can be hard to know where to start with understanding the blockchain. There is simply so much information out there and most of it seems to require that you already understand what’s going on. Making sense of everything can be a real headache. Luckily, the fine people at the University of Buffalo in New York have put together the ultimate free online course for a crypto noob.

This online class gives students a general overview of the most necessary ideas behind blockchain technology. Learners start by exploring the Bitcoin protocol before moving on to Ethereum. In this class, students learn to create nodes on their personal Ethereum blockchain as well as how to create & unlock accounts, mine & transfer Ethers, and check balances.

This online-only course lasts a total of 16 hours over four weeks and includes a shareable certificate of completion. If you enjoy the course, you can go on to complete the next three courses in the specialization track; Smart Contracts, Decentralized Applications (Dapps), and

Blockchain Platforms.

Professional Certificate in Blockchain Fundamentals – UC Berkeley (via edX)

If you’re looking for something a bit more in-depth that will also count toward some college credit, the edX courses from the University of California at Berekely just might be your best bet. This course lasts three months and typically requires about 3-5 hours of work per week. All deadlines are flexible and the work is self-paced so it’s absolutely ideal for self-learners.

The Blockchain Fundamentals was created by Blockchain at Berkeley student club in conjunction with faculty from the school’s premier Computer Science department. The Blockchain Fundamentals Professional Certificate program is a fully comprehensive overview of the most important topics in cryptocurrency.

Unlike a few other courses that aim at simply providing understanding, these courses focus on practical job skills to give anyone the critical skills needed to future-proof their career.

This program is designed to be accessible to anyone, with any background. Students can enter this course with absolutely zero crypto background knowledge and emerge ready to make their next career move as a blockchain developer, crypto trader, data analyst, researcher, or consultant. The Blockchain Fundamentals Professional Certificate is easily one of the best ways to get up to speed.

After completing the course, students will have a better understanding of the blockchain, which can then be used to create their own informed blockchain models, hypotheses, and use cases, as well as crypto’s real-life applications.

Certified Cryptocurrency Trader – Blockchain Council

OK, you’re an established pro in the scene who’s been around the block a few times. You’re looking for a course to turn your hobby into your next career step. We hear you and we’ve got you covered. The Certified Cryptocurrency Trader (CCT) course is perfect for crypto traders of any skill level as well as crypto enthusiasts, value investors, day traders, and crypto analysts.

This course was designed to get you ready to start investing and trading in no time and lasts only six hours. That might not sound like a lot, but they really do make the most of the time. This course is highly accelerated and gets straight to the point.

Topics covered include risk management, the crypto market, the trade process, fundamental and technical analysis, derivatives, margin trading, taxation, and more. This course functions as an essential guide that even experienced traders will walk away from having learned something.

But the best part about the CCT course is that it gives students the confidence necessary to step into the crypto space.

Increasing Your Potential

Whether you’re just curious about crypto or you’re a seasoned pro trying to take the next step, there’s a course out there that’s right for you. Most of the courses on today’s list are totally free and have no obligation so you have nothing to lose by signing up today and seeing just how far you can go with your crypto education.