Princeton University, one of the oldest universities in the US, is launching an initiative to study blockchain in depth and its impact on social institutions, as well as to find new applications of the technology.
According to Bloomberg, former students at Princeton University donated about $20 million to the project, including Peter Bridger of Fortress Investment, ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin, Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead, and Galaxy Digital founder Michael Novogratz.
The project aims to explore how modern technologies, in particular blockchain, can influence and change social norms, as technologies such as the printing press and the Internet did in the past. The project will involve scholars from various disciplines to understand the potential advantages and disadvantages of blockchain, as well as its potential for “decentralization of public power.”
It also plans to explore new ways to apply the technology to finance, voting, news and other areas, according to the university’s official statement. The Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will take over the new initiative led by Professor Jaswinder Pal Singh.
In early March, it became known that the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, together with leading banks, public and private organizations, would launch a project to study cryptocurrencies.
