Top Blockchain University: ETH Zurich

Coming in at 10th on the list, ETH Zurich’s Blockchain Initiative serves as a meeting hub for some of the best minds in blockchain.

Updated Apr 10, 2024 at 2:56 a.m. UTC

ETH Zurich is an institution primarily focused on science and mathematics, located in one of the world’s financial centers. That background makes it a perfect setting to study blockchain and crypto technology.

10
New
ETH Zurich Total Score
75.0
Regional Rank
3
Courses
5

ETH Zurich offers courses clustered around the technically advanced end of blockchain studies. Study programs that touch on blockchain include “Randomization and Dimensionality in Risk Modeling” and “From Traffic Modeling to Smart Cities and Digital Democracies.”

The university has a Blockchain Initiative that hosts the co-operation of interested researchers from across different disciplines and specialties. For instance, one participant is Hans Gersbach, an economics professor and head of the scientific advisory board to Germany’s economy and energy ministry. Another is Ueli Maurer, an information security professor engaged in long-term research into the mathematical foundations of cryptography.

ETH Zurich alumni have stepped confidently out of the institution and into the blockchain industry, both in Switzerland and beyond. One alumnus is a core tech engineer at blockchain developer Blockstream, another is a developer at decentralized ecosystem TOR-X Network, while another has founded a blockchain environmental non-profit called GainForest.

As a major financial center, the city of Zurich is increasingly filled with blockchain and crypto enterprise. The Crypto Valley Association, with government support, is working to push Switzerland into the position of a global leader on this technology. Hundreds of blockchain firms have put down roots in the Zurich area. The country is also famous for its laissez-faire regulatory environment, which can foster entrepreneurship.

ETH Zurich was ranked the sixth-best university in the world overall in 2021, according to the 2021 QS university rankings. It was ranked second in Europe after the University of Oxford. Some of the best-known pioneering scientists in history have been affiliated with the institution, Albert Einstein and John von Neumann among them.


This article was originally published on Nov 24, 2021 at 5:09 a.m. UTC

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