The University of Wyoming plans to launch the UW Bitcoin Institute in August, aiming to provide "expert research" on Bitcoin. Bradley Rettler, a Bitcoin activist and associate professor at the University of Wyoming, announced the new institute on the X platform on July 28 and will serve as the institute’s director.
ANNOUNCEMENT: The University of Wyoming has established the UW Bitcoin Research Institute. https://t.co/qDuYZGmnxoThe BRI aims to produce high-quality peer-reviewed publications about bitcoin from all academic disciplines.First act: hiring @resistancemoney!1/
— ₿radley Rettler (@rettlerb) July 28, 2024
Bradley Rettler expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of research on Bitcoin, believing that it is of "poor quality" and emphasized that the industry needs more research by experts in the same field to ensure that the public can correctly understand the nature and operation of Bitcoin.
He specifically mentioned a 2018 study led by University of Hawaii professor Camilo Mora, which claimed that Bitcoin production alone could cause global temperatures to rise by 2 degrees Celsius by 2048. Bradley Rettler criticized the study for not taking into account difficulty adjustments and a lack of understanding of the block size cap. Bradley Rettler emphasized in an X tweet on July 28:
“These mistakes are carried into journalism and policy. Bitcoin is multifaceted in theory and even more so in practice. Journalists can’t be experts, so they rely on academics. But many academics have failed them.”
The Bitcoin Institute at the University of Wyoming will officially open at the start of the fall semester of the 2024-2025 academic year and will host annual summer workshops, offer academic awards and host weekly seminars. The institute will be established as a non-profit organization and accept Bitcoin donations to fund research. Bradley Rettler explains:
"We will allocate 4% of our funds to Bitcoin, so if you donate Bitcoin, we will not sell it."
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