Wall Street demand drives push for DeFi education programs

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Yaroslav Dmytrenko

18.03.2026

Wall Street demand drives push for DeFi education programs — Crypto firms urge colleges to add DeFi to curricula

More than two dozen crypto companies and industry lobby groups have signed an open letter calling on U.S. colleges to include DeFi in their curricula. Signatories, including 1Inch, the Blockchain Association, Aave, and Messari, argue that Wall Street will see massive demand for crypto specialists.

Highlights

Crypto firms urge U.S. colleges to add DeFi education
Wall Street demand for blockchain and DeFi talent surges
Industry calls for practical, hands-on crypto training programs

Theory is not enough — practice is needed

According to Cointelegraph, the campaign to promote DeFi education in colleges is led by decentralized protocol aggregator 1Inch. Other signatories include the Solana Policy Institute, Blockchain Association, DeFi Education Fund, and crypto platforms such as Aave, MyEtherWallet, Delphi Digital, and Messari.

“The goal of this letter is simple: to respectfully urge higher education institutions across the United States to further integrate digital assets, blockchain, and decentralized finance into their business and law curricula,” the letter states.

While 1Inch acknowledges that DeFi is already taught in some institutions, it argues that current programs are largely theoretical, whereas students need practical exposure to what it calls a “critical part of the global financial ecosystem.”

The campaign’s organizers highlight the societal benefits of DeFi, including stablecoins that simplify cross-border payments and lending protocols that provide investors with yield while giving businesses access to capital.

The letter calls for expanding existing programs and transforming them from electives into core courses. Suggested curriculum topics include automated market makers, liquidity provision, decentralized autonomous organizations, and smart contract risks.

Wall Street needs talent

One of the key arguments for expanding DeFi education is growing demand from major financial institutions. Firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley have recently posted job openings related to DeFi.

According to 1Inch, Google search interest in “blockchain jobs” grew by 84% between 2024 and 2026. Even more specialized roles, such as “DeFi developer,” surged by nearly 270%, reaching 246,000 searches.

Some Ivy League universities have already introduced limited DeFi-related content. Harvard Extension School offers courses on blockchain innovation, while Texas A&M University introduced a “Bitcoin Protocol” course for business and engineering students in 2023.

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Prominent Bitcoin educator Michael Saylor is also contributing to the development of future talent. On Tuesday, he announced that the Florida Department of Education approved the creation of Saylor University, a nonprofit educational platform evolving from Saylor Academy. The initiative will allow students to earn free master’s degrees, including programs focused on Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

Crypto could reshape core financial education

Overall, the initiative reflects a growing gap between the pace of technological innovation and the adaptation of educational systems. While universities update curricula slowly, the market already demands professionals with hands-on experience in protocols, smart contracts, and on-chain analytics.

In this context, integrating DeFi into core education may become not just an academic update but a necessary step in preparing talent for a new financial infrastructure.

Moreover, rising interest from major Wall Street players signals the gradual institutionalization of DeFi. If banks and investment firms continue adopting blockchain solutions at scale, demand may shift toward hybrid professionals who understand both traditional finance and decentralized systems.

This could ultimately lead to a new educational standard, where DeFi becomes as essential as corporate finance or derivatives in modern curricula.

As we wrote, Wall Street institutions sell over $200M in BTC, ETH

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