UW Blockchain and Bitcoin Programs Topic of Wyoming Blockchain Stampede Program Sept. 18

Blockchain and bitcoin programs at the University of Wyoming will be the topic of a session at the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede Wednesday, Sept. 18.

Bradley Rettler, a UW philosophy associate professor, is director of the university's new Bitcoin Research Institute (BRI). Rettler will discuss the new book he co-wrote, "Resistance Money: A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin," at 1 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Ballroom. The book makes the case that bitcoin empowers ordinary people to resist authoritarians, inflation, surveillance, censorship and financial exclusion.

Rettler will be joined by Steve Lupien, the Ada Lovelace Director of UW's Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation (CBDI), to discuss UW's leadership in blockchain and bitcoin education.

Established this past summer with the support of a major gift from Mark Casey, an equity portfolio manager at Capital Group, the BRI is the first university institute dedicated to the study of bitcoin.

The CBDI was established in 2020 and features an interdisciplinary approach among UW colleges -- including the College of Business, the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, and the College of Law -- as well as the School of Energy Resources (SER) and the state's community colleges. The center focuses on fostering innovation; applied research and education; technology development; economic development and job growth; and corporate engagement.

Lupien says the BRI and the CBDI complement each other in UW's mission to help Wyoming meet the opportunities established by the more than 30 digital asset laws passed by the state Legislature over the past six years.

"Digital assets continue to expand across campus," Lupien says. "We now have programs in arts and sciences, engineering, agriculture, business and, with the arrival of a new dean (Julie Hill), in the College of Law. This is highlighted by expansion of programs in the CBDI, such as the Wyo BEE (Blockchain Education for Everyone) program that is aimed at educating high school, community college and university students, as well as the general public, about blockchain and other innovative technologies, including bitcoin."

Lupien says bitcoin is a form of digital currency that aims to eliminate the need for central authorities, such as banks or governments. Instead, bitcoin uses blockchain technology to support peer-to-peer transactions between users on a decentralized network.

There can be blockchain without bitcoin, but there can't be bitcoin without blockchain, he says.

Lupien encourages UW students and faculty members to attend events during the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede Sept. 16-21. The tentative schedule is:

-- Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 16-17: Wyoming Legislature's Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology meeting in Room 506 of Coe Library.

-- Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 17-18: UW College of Business Career Fair in the College of Business Building's atrium.

-- Wednesday, Sept. 18: Wyoming Blockchain Stampede panels and workshops in the Wyoming Union Ballroom. Luncheon speaker is Chuck Gray, Wyoming secretary of state.

-- Thursday, Sept. 19: Wyoming Stable Token Commission meeting in Room 506 of Coe Library.

-- Thursday and Friday, Sept. 19-20: The second Wyoming Computing Symposium: "Data Analytics and Computing Advances for Drone Applications" in the Wyoming Union Ballroom. Thursday's luncheon speaker is Gov. Mark Gordon.

-- Friday, Sept. 20, noon-6 p.m.: Stampede eSports Meetup, featuring a variety of digital, board and card games, at Pokes Pub and Game Room in the Wyoming Union.

-- Saturday, Sept. 21, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.: Cardano Day activities in Room 251 of the Engineering Education and Research Building.

-- Saturday, Sept. 21, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.: Stampede eSports Competition, featuring high school and community college esports teams competing against the UW Rocket League team, at Pokes Pub and Game Room.

The Wyoming Blockchain Stampede is free and open to the public. It is presented by the CBDI. Input Output Global is the title sponsor. Other sponsors include Custodia Bank, Aleo, Block Time Financial, CleanSpark, OwlTing, SER, the College of Business, the BRI and VMAccel.

For more information and to register, visit www.uwyo.edu/stampede or email [email protected].

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