Algorand Foundation Partners Italian University to Launch a Cryptocurrency Research Center 

Popular blockchain project Algorand Foundation has announced that it has partnered with the Università Bocconi to establish the Algorand Fintech Lab, an initiative that will focus on the study of several crypto-related topics.

Algorand announced today that the three-year partnership is part of the Algorand Global University Program that requires participating schools to suggest technical research efforts and also support the decentralized Algorand platform.

The partnership will enable the Università Bocconi to establish and operate the research lab in the next three years. In addition, the lab will be situated in the Bocconi Baffi-Carefin Research Center and will be run by Professor Claudio Tebaldi.

Commenting on the development, Hugo Krawczyk, principal researcher at Algorand Foundation, said some of the research lab activities will include organizing seminars, submission of papers from interested people, and the creation of important data sets.

“We’re excited to support Università Bocconi in setting up the Algorand Fintech Lab, which has the mission of developing and disseminating knowledge in the area of fintech technologies, with a focus on the crucial challenges in the crypto-finance area while promoting blockchain literacy and social innovation,” Krawczyk added.

Notably, the lab will initially focus on the potential of four previous crypto-related research studies that were carried out by different Bocconi groups in the past.

The four main lines of research the lab intends to start with include cryptocurrencies and the financial markets, the impact of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) on monetary systems, decentralized finance (DeFi) and fintech, as well as the societal use of blockchain.

Professor Bruno Busacca, Dean for Fundraising and Alumni Engagement, stated that the new lab will work on a frontier topic combining data science and finance, and stating the implications for financial institutions monetary policy, adding:

“The collaboration with Algorand Foundation will allow a continuous exchange between academic and applied research in a field that is increasingly impactful for society.”