Reports of colleges introducing courses teaching blockchain technology are starting to abound. This was to satisfy the increasing demand for knowledge in the sector. Now, colleges are putting real money in the sector as the Yale University endowment invests in blockchain.
A Friday report by Bloomberg suggests that Yale University is investing in two venture capital firms focused on blockchain. According to the report, the institution’s endowment “helped a new fund focused on digital assets, raise $400 million.” As per Bloomberg, the fund is a joint effort by three industry executives.
Startups on the spot as Yale university endowment invests in blockchain
Dubbed Paradigm, the fund will focus on “early-stage” startups in the line of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency exchanges. Bloomberg terms this an important step towards mass adoption of the assets that are seeing a worrying bearish run. In fact, CoinMarketCap indicates that most of the coins are tumbling with Bitcoin stuck below $7,000.
As per Bloomberg, the University will give about 60% of its investment capital to alternative investments. Particularly, the capital will go to hedge funds, venture capitals and leverage buyouts. All these will be complete in fiscal year of 2019.
Further, CNBC reports that the institution is having investment interests in another fund related to Andreessen Horowitz. Yale is part of the a16z fund that raised $300M in June which will also go towards investing in blockchain startups.
The CNBC report credits the University’s investments as a great vote of confidence in blockchain technology. The news outlet acknowledges that as much as colleges are offering courses catering to the blockchain sector, investment is crucial. Per the report, this is the biggest statement yet as Yale University endowment invests in blockchain. As a result, analysts predict an accelerated mass adoption of the technology.
Furthermore, Yale has an excellent return on its investments which averages 7.4%. This is a great effort by David Swensen, who is popular in the media circles as the Warren Buffett of Yale. Swensen is also popular for making huge bets that eventually pay up. Therefore, enthusiasts see the move as a new dawn for cryptocurrencies.
