Draper University, San Mateo, CA, bills itself as an
“unconventional world-class boarding school,” so it probably shouldn’t come as
a surprise that it would accept unconventional forms of payment.
The school, which already allows barter, equity, profit
sharing, and advertising tradeout as forms of payment, is now accepting bitcoin
for tuition fees. The school has already processed its first bitcoin payment
for the summer session.
Bitcoin is cryptocurrency, peer-to-peer electronic cash
created and transferred through a computer or smartphone without an
intermediate financial institution. End users solve hash algorithms to generate
the virtual coins, which in the case of bitcoins are valued at around $100 per
coin, according to a report in Campus Technology.
“Some of the most forward-looking entrepreneurs are
active bitcoin traders. At Draper University of Heroes, we accept bitcoin
payment of tuition because it is a promising currency with appreciating value,”
Tim Draper, founder of Draper University, said in a prepared statement. “For
the time being, we still accept dollars, too.”
