Every hour a scientist spends trying to raise funds is an hour lost from important thought and research ~ Isaac Asimov.
Thanks to crypto firms - researchers and academicians can focus on research without the stress of funding.
What is happening?
To facilitate Penn's new Crypto Research Laboratory Fund, Crypto.com, the fastest growing cryptocurrency marketplace, made a two-year contribution commitment. Research in cryptography and coding will be supported by donations, which will help address real-world issues in enhanced privacy, reliability, and scalability of blockchains.
Using a two-year research grant, Professor Brett Hemenway Falk, a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science, will create an innovative lab at Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. This study will concentrate on two main areas: 1) privacy and security in digital contexts, and; 2) promoting openness and trust.
A major part of the research is a focus on turning mathematically solid, rigorous algorithmic breakthroughs into useful tools for resolving real-world issues. With this new relationship with Crypto.com, Prof. Hemenway Falk will be able to expand his work in identifying social issues that may be solved by computer science.
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Eric Anziani, Chief Operating Officer at Crypto.com, says:
The focus of the University of Pennsylvania’s crypto lab will be tremendously valuable for wider, real-life blockchain applications while also exploring new approaches to further privacy and security capabilities.
We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error ~ Tyler Winkelvoss.
What is Crypto.com?
Crypto.com, the world's fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform, was established in 2016 and now has operations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, serving over 50 million users. Cryptocurrency should be accessible in every wallet, according to the business. Crypto.com's objective is to ensure its platform's security, privacy, and compliance to assist the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs in building a more fair digital economy.
It is also worth noting that Crypto.com has its own in-house Research & Insights team, which produces open-access research every month on a variety of topics ranging from the growth of the crypto industry to assessments of crypto security.
Why Should We Care about Funding in Academia - Fostering Blockchain Innovation
Funding for scientific research requires much time spent preparing reports, grant applications, and other administrative tasks as per the research report on Blockchain Adoption in Academia. There has also been a decrease in financing for scientific research. Governments are rapidly shifting away from large-scale research financing, anticipating that business, industry, and private foundations will step in to fill the void. In order to acquire funding for their study, scientists must devote a large portion of their time to producing reports, grant applications, and other paperwork.
Finally, there has been a decrease in research spending. They hope that private foundations, businesses, and corporations will take up the financing of large-scale research projects. Due to this, companies like Crypto.com are funding academic research and innovation to help blockchain innovation and advance web3 adoption. The Secure Blockchain Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University and the Blockchain Association of Singapore are two such organisations that Crypto.com sponsors.
Academics are more interested in blockchain’s social aspects and impact on the traditional ecosystem and financial systems than the technology itself. As per Artyom, people have missed the analogy: “Scientific data lends itself ideally to the blockchain technology since it is a big, dynamic body of knowledge and data that is jointly generated, edited, utilised, and shared.”
How Does this Impact the Blockchain Industry
The funding and creation of a dedicated research centre at the University of Pennsylvania help foster academic research and innovation in various aspects of Web3, such as DeFi, NFTs and Stablecoins. Funding in DLT is directly related to higher research impact and allows for innovation in several disciplines of DeFi, Stablecoins, NFT and governance.
Knowledge-based societies rely heavily on scientific research conducted by universities and research institutes—the resulting knowledge fuels advancements in science and technology and the economy and society as a whole. The same knowledge-based funding helps blockchain and web3 applications to fuel and spill over to the economy and society.
Since computer science-based businesses and technologies such as DeFi and Stablecoins protocols are becoming more important, it’s essential to consider how scientific information is formed and whether public and private financing such as that of Crypto.com might speed up new the production and dissemination of new knowledge. Funding should be allocated to encourage the emergence of new ideas in web3 and the development of DLT advances and technological benefits.
Final Thoughts on Crypto.com Funding Academic Research
It is hoped that Penn's new Crypto Research Laboratory Fund will assist solve real-world concerns in blockchain privacy, dependability and scalability. The University of Pennsylvania's crypto lab's research will be very beneficial for real-world blockchain applications and innovative methods to enhance privacy and security capabilities - a step in the right direction for solidifying web3 in the academic circle.
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Image credits: Giammarco, Gabriel Ghnassia and Marie Bellando Mitjans.