College students enrolled within the class “Introduction to Cryptocurrencies” at Turkey’s Kadir Has College had been the sudden winners of Uniswap’
College students enrolled within the class “Introduction to Cryptocurrencies” at Turkey’s Kadir Has College had been the sudden winners of Uniswap’s UNI token distribution on Sept. 17. İsmail Hakkı Polat, certainly one of two lecturers of the category, informed Cointelegraph Turkey that each one college students who, as a part of a category undertaking, participated in itemizing and swapping a token on Uniswap acquired 400 UNI. In Turkey’s native forex, it was valued at roughly 12,000 liras, or round $1,570, which accounts for practically half the yearly schooling price for some college students.
Taught by Polat and Tansel Kaya, two well-known names in Turkey’s cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem, Introduction to Cryptocurrencies has for the final two years been included as a obligatory course for college kids learning new media at Kadir Has College. Polat defined that there are additionally engineering, regulation, administration data programs — or MIS — and enterprise administration college students who take it as an elective course.
Token hunt on the academy
In response to a tweet by Kaya, as a part of the course taught in fall 2019, an ERC-20 token referred to as KHAS was issued to permit college students to straight expertise token buying and selling. The scholars created a MetaMask pockets to buy the token, which was listed on decentralized alternate Uniswap.
One of many potential use circumstances recognized for KHAS was as a voting app for scholar president elections. Nevertheless, as a result of coronavirus pandemic within the spring, the research had been interrupted halfway. The incident that reminded the course’s lecturers and college students of KHAS was the Uniswap’s token distribution, throughout which 1000’s of pockets house owners acquired 400 UNI. Polat acknowledged that the category designed a real-world use case for the KHAS token, which was developed as a part of the course. Noting that they gathered enter from college students on this subject, Polat mentioned:
“We acquired concepts resembling the college’s park, cafeteria, scholar president elections and the merchandise retailer. We put certainly one of these use circumstances into observe in per week and supplied it to the category in a quiz format.”
College students of the “Crypto 101” course discovered how the KHAS tokens can serve eight use circumstances devised by the group. The lecturers arrange a QR code for the college’s merchandise retailer to obtain funds by way of KHAS, however they didn’t clarify which campus retailer accepted the token. As an alternative, they created a “token hunt” sport, the place the primary scholar to transact by way of KHAS tokens can be the winner and obtain two further factors on their grade.
400 UNI, however no gasoline?
The winner of the token hunt was Barış Öztürk, a third-year MIS scholar who selected to take the category on account of his curiosity in cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Calling Crypto 101 “the very best class he ever took,” Öztürk elaborated to Cointelegraph that he usually will get bored throughout lectures, “However in Introduction to Cryptocurrencies, I by no means skipped a lesson. I even attended after-class discussions with lecturers.”
All the college students who attended the Introduction to Cryptocurrencies course in fall 2019 and transacted with KHAS tokens on Uniswap awoke on Sept. 17 with 400 UNI of their Ethereum wallets, due to Uniswap’s distribution of its tokens.
Öztürk claimed his 400 UNI tokens with the assistance of Kaya. As a result of he emptied all of the Ether (ETH) in his pockets instantly after the undertaking was accomplished final 12 months, his MetaMask pockets was left unable to pay for the gasoline wanted for the token switch. Kaya despatched him about $75 price of ETH to pay the gasoline price and guided him via the UNI reward declare steps.
After seven hours of nervous ready in entrance of the pc display on account of congestion on the Ethereum community due to a “UNI reward declare rush,” Barış was capable of get his 400 UNI and commerce them for fiat. “I by no means imagined I’d land over $1,500 for being a scholar in a classroom,” Barış mentioned. “The subsequent morning was the primary time in my life that my dad despatched me a textual content message saying ‘Good morning, my expensive son.’”
Token-based election undertaking sustained on account of COVID-19
In response to Kaya, Turkey must cease being only a client within the decentralized finance area and begin making its personal initiatives: “The blockchain and crypto business desperately wants a certified labor pressure. Offering schooling on this subject allows entry to many world initiatives for the younger inhabitants.” Discussing the necessity for the youth to think about the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a profession area as a substitute of a option to make a quick buck, Polat mentioned:
“Cryptocurrencies and blockchain stimulate a brand new career in all occupational fields. In tomorrow’s world, a financier must know decentralized finance, and a lawyer must know good contracts. Whereas educational schooling is on the best way to an interdisciplinary and interprofessional construction, blockchain serves as a palpable case research on this transition. That’s why it’s vital, particularly for the youth, to have a grasp of the brand new technology monetary…