Stanford is joining NYU and Duke University in offering a course on bitcoin – kicking off with a free security webinar tomorrow. The college’s new course, Crypto Currencies: Bitcoin and Friends, launches on 21st September. Besides Stanford students, it will be open to professionals completing their graduate certificate in cyber security. Computer Science professor Dan Boneh, an expert in applied cryptography, will lead the course – which tackles security across the entire bitcoin ecosystem. In a release he said: “The technology behind bitcoin and other crypto currencies can be an indispensable tool for protecting information.” While the introductory webinar is free, tuition for the remainder of the sessions clocks in at $3,960 (a $600 discount for attendees from one of Stanford’s member organisations). To complete the certificate, which requires four modules in total, will cost between $13,440 and $18,480. Founded in 1885, Stanford frequently ranks in the top five universities in the US, only 5.7% applicants who apply are accepted. While not the first, it is the most prestigious school to offer bitcoin tuition. When asked why bitcoin hasn’t taken off as an online cash, Pete Rizzo argues it’s become conventional wisdom to blame ease of use as the issue. Civil and criminal lawyer Jared Marx explains how US law applies to non-US cryptocurrency companies. The head of the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has called for balanced regulation for financial technology such as bitcoin. Three US universities are set to conduct research on cryptocurrencies using roughly $3m in grant funding from the National Science Foundation. If you have a news tip, please email us at [email protected]. Interested in guest writing? Please email your idea for a guest article to [email protected].