Morgan State University Opens First HBCU FinTech Center

Morgan State University Opens First HBCU FinTech Center


Morgan State University’s Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management has announced the opening of its Center for the Study for Blockchain and Financial Technology, AKA the FinTech Center

The FinTech Center opened in 2019 and is dedicated to the study of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and the digital finance industry. The university partnered with Ripple, a Silicon Valley financial technology company to develop specialized curricula, expanding academic courses, and awarding scholarships to faculty and students pursuing a career in blockchain, cryptocurrency, digital payment, and other financial technology disciplines.

The FinTech Center is also hosting its inaugural Battle Of The Cryptos, a cryptocurrency trading competition for HBCU students. The FinTech Center will team up with Binance.US after last year’s pilot project was a success. During the event, students will also learn about cryptocurrency investing, trading, portfolio management, financial fitness and will have the chance to win up to $3,500 in cash prizes.

“The students participating will set up accounts with Binance, who will put cryptocurrency into those accounts, and the students have from March 1 to early May to trade those currencies. Those with the best portfolios at the end will win crypto cash to keep trading,” Judith Schnidman, program coordinator of the FinTech Center told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

Cryptocurrency has grown exponentially in recent years with Bitcoin being the most popular and Ethereum not far behind. Schnidman said allowing HBCU students to get a leg up on the next generation of currency is  significant.

“It’s really opening a lot of doors at a really interesting and critical point both with blockchain technology and with interest in becoming more diverse in high tech fields,” Schnidman added. “There’s a lot of interest in hiring our students, both on the computer programming side and the business marketing and finance side. So we work across all of those disciplines to help students find their place in this field.”

The Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management was named after the Morgan State alumnus and founder of BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine. Graves is known by many as the champion of Black business, founding the magazine in 1970 and turning it into the top source for Black business, finance, and entrepreneurial news. He passed away last year after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, but his legacy lives on through BLACK ENTERPRISE.


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