The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been one of the most accepting universities when it comes to Bitcoin for some time now. The on-campus Bitcoin Project is very active and the Kendall Square Bookstore already features a Bitcoin exchange inside the store but now also accepts Bitcoin as payment through BitPay. Earlier this year the Bitcoin Project announced a plan to give every MIT undergraduate $100 in Bitcoin. This new arrangement with the CO-OP will now give the students a handy place to spend those free Bitcoins and save money on books and materials at the same time.
Jerry Murphy MIT CO-OP President said that:
“The MIT COOP is the first campus-based business to respond to this student-led adoption, continuing its reputation as a cooperative by students and for students. MIT has a reputation of being on the cutting edge of a lot of things, and the student body has an interest in Bitcoin. All these factors came together and we said, ‘let’s give it a shot and see if it makes sense. Once we decided to add bitcoin to our bookstore, we turned to BitPay to make it happen.”
The payment processing services offered by BitPay will allow students to integrate Bitcoin easily and receive daily statements and once set up with the CO-OP they will be able to buy textbooks and other needed materials. The MIT store said that this addition was a symbol of their commitment to serving a student culture of leaders and thinkers from all over the globe and using this technology can help lower student costs. Tony Gallippi, BitPay’s Executive Chairman and Co-Founder said:
“Students are the next generation technology leaders and we expect them to be at the forefront of new technology adoption like bitcoin. As MIT and The COOP are two of America’s most historic examples of innovation, the adoption of bitcoin continues this tradition.”
- Tony Gallippi
The Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society (The CO-OP) was founded more than a century ago as a cooperative but now has a total of five regular stores and an online store. This makes it one of the largest University CO-OPs in the country. The CO-OP is the first university bookstore to accept Bitcoin but there have already been several universities to begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for tuition, including Simon Fraser in Canada and Kings College in New York.