UNIC&#8217;s Fall 2026 blockchain MOOC to offer 1,000 hardware wallets, €37K in scholarships

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The University of Nicosia (UNIC) has announced the Fall 2026 edition of its flagship Free MOOC on Blockchain and Digital Assets, the first university course of its kind globally. Since its launch in 2014, the MOOC has attracted more than 150,000 learners from over 120 countries, making it one of the largest university-led blockchain and digital asset learning initiatives worldwide.

The course is offered through two learning tracks: a free Introductory Track (Weeks 1–8) and an Advanced Track (Weeks 9–12) at €199, featuring advanced content and exclusive student benefits, including hardware wallet rewards, scholarships towards UNIC’s MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency, and student-access sponsorships for the Advanced Track.

The MOOC is taught by UNIC faculty, including Professor George Giaglis, Dr Apostolos Kourtis and Dr Lambis Dionysopoulos, with contributions from leading industry experts including Garrick Hileman, Jeff Bandman and Punk6529. The Fall 2026 edition will also feature industry-led guest sessions with John Greene, Technical Writer at the Cardano Foundation; Patrick Tobler, Co-founder of Masumi Network and Founder and CEO of NMKR; Brandon M. Procak, Director of Stablecoin Strategy & Operations at Ripple; Lucien Bourdon, Bitcoin Analyst at Trezor; and Luke Martinez, Head of Global Operations at Team1 (Avalanche).

“We launched this course back in 2014 because there was nowhere in the university system to learn about Bitcoin properly,” said Professor George Giaglis, Executive Director, Institute For the Future (IFF), University of Nicosia.

“Twelve years later, the subject has a regulatory regime, an institutional market and a serious research literature, and the curriculum has had to keep pace with all three. What has not changed is that the first eight weeks are free to anyone with an internet connection, and they always will be.”

Two Learning Tracks and Student Benefits for Fall 2026

The curriculum, assessment and certification remain under UNIC’s academic direction, with industry-led guest sessions integrated into the course as part of its broader academic programme.

Free Introductory Track (Weeks 1–8)

The Introductory Track provides free access to:

Full eight-week access to the curriculum, covering blockchain foundations, Bitcoin and digital money, Ethereum and programmable blockchains, wallet security and privacy, decentralised finance, prediction markets, the geopolitics of cryptocurrency and tokenisation and stablecoins

Weekly quizzes, live Q&A sessions and a final exam

Certificate of Completion

Access to UNIC’s global student community

Entry into a draw for 50 Trezor Model T hardware wallets, drawn on-chain from the pool of students who pass the final exam

Advanced Track, Weeks 9–12, €199

For students seeking deeper coverage, verifiable certification and a pathway towards postgraduate study, the Advanced Track includes everything in the Introductory Track, plus:

Four additional weeks covering non-fungible tokens and digital ownership, the regulation and policy of digital assets, blockchain scaling and design trade-offs and the convergence of blockchain with AI and IoT

25 student-access sponsorships by Cardano for the Advanced Track, valued at €199 each

A Trezor Model T hardware wallet for every student who successfully completes the track

Five 50 per cent Ripple scholarships towards UNIC’s MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency, valued at €7,400 each

Blockchain-verifiable Certificate of Completion

Extended access to course materials and archives

Global student community access with dedicated networking channels

Daily crypto market briefings

Students already registered for the Introductory Track can now upgrade to the Advanced Track.

Further information, including the course description, weekly outline, learning outcomes, instructor profiles and student perks, is available on the official Free MOOC on Blockchain and Digital Assets course page.

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