As our KUBI community continues to grow, we realize how important it is to document the history and journey of this growth and preserve everything we've learned for the leaders that come after us.

From October 16th to the 21st, the University of Kansas Blockchain Institute was able to bring 13 students to San Francisco, California. The purpose of this trip was to tour leading tech organizations such as Google, Ripple, and the Internet Archive. These tours provide an opportunity for students to learn from industry leaders in blockchain, fintech, and digital archiving. KUBI also attended ETHGlobal San Francisco 2024: a blockchain hackathon bringing together developers, engineers, and innovators from around the world to collaborate on building decentralized applications, tools, and protocols.

This October, part of KUBI's core leadership team traveled to Zurich, Switzerland for Ripple's University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) Connect Conference. UBRI Connect, hosted by Ripple, brings together scholars, researchers, and thought leaders from across the globe to showcase and celebrate exceptional blockchain research and innovation.

This year, the leadership team of the KU Blockchain Institute launched the Kansas Blockchain Fellowshp: a seven-week experiential learning-intensive, scholarship program, and talent incubator to prepare students in Kansas for careers in blockchain and web3.

You can watch our full Program Recap here

The program is designed to give exceptional students in the Midwest deep knowledge and experience around blockchain, digital assets, and web3. It is a professional experience crafted to either accompany or replace a summer internship.

In February 2024, the University of Kansas Blockchain Institute was able to take eleven members to ETHDenver: a Community Innovation Festival offering a unique opportunity to explore blockchain technology with education, #BUIDLing, showcases, and special events.

This blog post by Grant Henry explores the potential of Bitcoin to revolutionize financial systems by acting as a decentralized alternative to traditional currency, backed by blockchain technology. It delves into Bitcoin's properties as money, its challenges in volatility and adoption, and the broader implications for industries beyond just finance.

In "The Future of Finance" by Tristan Miller, the blog post imagines a hypothetical bank with ideal financial conditions, using this vision to showcase the transformative potential of blockchain technology in creating secure, efficient, and equitable financial systems.

This blog post examines the current landscape of data privacy and the transformative potential of zero-knowledge proofs to enhance security and trust without sacrificing personal information. It highlights the work of the KU Blockchain Institute in developing blockchain technologies that could lead to a society where personal data is protected and verified through innovative cryptographic methods, promoting a shift from a zero privacy to a zero-knowledge society.

This blog discusses the potential of blockchain technology to revolutionize supply chain management, particularly in ensuring food safety by enabling traceability from farm to fork. It highlights the challenges of adopting this technology, including resistance from entrenched players and the need for scalable solutions.