Even if you don’t know what they mean, you’ve almost certainly heard terms like cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and blockchain. Yet many remain sceptical that this is anything but a passing fad.
However, in July, Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act, which provides regulation for banks and companies issuing cryptocurrencies, with a view to improving consumer protection.
In other words, crypto and blockchain technology are here to stay, and it is almost certain that many of the next generation will use them as part of their daily lives, alongside traditional forms of financing.
Is it not time, therefore, that we start teaching students about this brave new financial world?
A new area of financial literacy
At Aiglon College, we have been running a compulsory crypto course for Years 7 and 8 students for three years, aware of the need to ensure this nascent area of finance was not some unknown entity.
Financial literacy has always been a hot topic in the education world, and there are many resources claiming to give students a crash course in the competencies necessary to save, spend, borrow and trade responsibly.
That’s all well and good, but many teachers have been frustrated at the lack of deeper focus on the modern meaning of money, its purpose and its place in society.
Why do some countries have their own currency and others do not? How can banks print money seemingly out of thin air? What is inflation and how does it affect purchasing power? How are countries in debt, and to whom?
Understanding society
These are questions that my colleagues and I believe must be considered by all students - not just those who may choose to study economics before university. They help us understand the very foundations of our local, national and international societies, which can inspire reflection on inequality and how to reverse it.
This is why we launched our five-week micro-course on crypto, which delves into blockchain, cryptocurrencies and real-world assets.
We begin with the history of Bitcoin and its alternatives and, most importantly, how cryptocurrencies are minted (created).
When it is revealed that one Bitcoin is created as a result of a computer being the first to complete a set of complex mathematical problems, there is, without fail, outrage among students.
The phrase “money made out of thin air” is thrown around, and crypto is labelled as a farce. This sentiment increases tenfold when students hear about how 10,000 Bitcoin (then worth around US$41 but now worth some US$1,181,666,000) was famously used to buy a pizza in 2010.
The teacher, often on a journey of crypto discovery themselves, encourages the hype and hilarity, but also poses questions about traditional banking and finance.
Deeper questioning
Slowly but surely, students realise they have no idea whether each dollar on the screen of an online banking portal has any physical counterpart; what coins are made of; and why this material has any value at all.
Outrage turns to bewilderment. By the end of the first lesson, many students realise they have never truly questioned money on a conceptual level; its influence is so deeply ingrained that it often escapes genuine understanding.
Lessons move on to blockchain technology and its decentralisation from banks. The purpose is not to turn students away from traditional banking, but to encourage them to question the true purpose of an essential industry using this alternative as a conduit.
Pondering the financial scaffolding upon which we build our lives leads students to a “Plato’s cave” moment of realisation.
The course then flows into an exploration of saving, debt, loans, investing and interest as the bread and butter of traditional finance. Most importantly, however, it examines them from a Socratic perspective.
Our location means we are fortunate to be able to look at these developments in the real world, by visiting the Swiss city of Lugano, where locals can pay their taxes in crypto and use their own homegrown cryptocurrency, the , in shops across the city.
Students attend a talk in the town hall in which local politicians and the Plan ₿ Foundation, a crypto advocacy group, explain the city’s decision to become a crypto hub.
Early impact
Although it is too early to say whether this course will affect university choices, teachers across the school have been astounded by students’ sustained interest in crypto - and, indeed, traditional finance - years after the sessions.
Many students go on to take part in stock trading and finance-related extracurricular activities, and some report using their knowledge of the topic to convince people to diversify their portfolios into crypto.
For other schools keen to establish a similar initiative, it’s worth pointing out that only a basic knowledge of the crypto industry is required - the course encourages conceptual exploration, so teachers are invited to discover the answers to students’ questions as they do.
Ultimately, students may never use cryptocurrency, or it may become a field in which they end up working.
Either way, what’s important is giving them an understanding of what it is, how it works and how it fits in the wider economic landscape they will live and work in.
Jack George is assistant head at Aiglon College, Switzerland
Darren Wise is director of technology and digital strategy at Aiglon College, Switzerland
For essential weekly intelligence on the international schools sector, sign up for the
