Blockchain Secondary Concentration

Blockchain. In short, it's a technology that allows people who don't know each other to trust a shared record of events. It's also a fast-growing technology that has the potential to affect business sectors as diverse as banking, energy, music, and nonprofits, and is connected to headline-grabbing cryptocurrencies and NFTs. With thousands of blockchain-related jobs available in New York City alone, candidates who can use the technology to improve a company's performance are in high demand.

Fordham is ranked #3 for blockchain-related education in two separate rankings: TechGuide's "Best Blockchain Master's Degree Programs in 2024" ranking and Successful Student's 2024 "Best Colleges for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Education" ranking. Fordham's leadership in blockchain education has been highlighted in Fortune magazine twice (in an article about MBA programs and in an article about how to build your knowledge about cryptocurrencies) and its faculty includes an inducted fellow of the British Blockchain Association.

The secondary concentration in blockchain gives Gabelli School graduate students the opportunity to master the skills needed to stand out in this space. Students will learn the fundamentals of blockchain, examine the role of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange and as a store of value, explore the legal and regulatory issues surrounding the field, and learn how to build their own decentralized application (DApp).

Graduate students who pursue the secondary concentration in blockchain are encouraged to join the Fordham Fintech Network or participate in one of the numerous meetups on blockchain and cryptocurrencies taking place around New York City.

In addition, students have the chance to attend conferences with industry leaders without leaving campus. Fordham has been host to the Blockchain Disruptor Conference (hosted by the Gabelli School), the Humanitarian Blockchain Summit (hosted by Fordham's Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs), and the Blockchain Regulatory Symposium (hosted by the Fordham Law School). Recent events include DEFICON, the NFTs: Welcome to the Metaverse panel co-sponsored with the Museum of American Finance, a Gabelli+ educational event with Fordham alumnus Joshua Q. Israel Satten (who built out the first middleware blockchain solution for the U.S. government), and the Fordham Finance Society's 7th Annual Trending in Finance Conference on Financial Technologies and Transactions in a Post-COVID World.

To earn this secondary concentration, students must earn 9 credits of courses from the list below. 

Courses in this group have the ABBC attribute.

Alumni

Several Fordham alumni are experts in blockchain across the spectrum of careers:

• Boris Alergant, Executive Director and Head of DeFi at Ripple (https://www.linkedin.com/in/borisalergant/)
• Anthony Apollo, Executive Director of the Wyoming Stable Token (former Co-Founder & CEO of Rensa Games; former Co-Founder and Operations Lead of ConsenSys Sports and former Universe Architect of Cellarius, two ConsenSys spokes; Former Co-Founder and Operations Lead at Saffron Solutions LLC (Project lead on Spencer Dinwiddie Professional Athlete Investment Token (PAInT) launch); https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-apollo/)
• John Belitsky, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Balcony Technology Group & President/CEO of Abraham + Martin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbelitsky/)
• Michael Bucella, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Neoclassic Capital, Member of Board of Directors at TeraWulf (former General Partner at BlockTower Capital; https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bucella-3021137/)
• Brian Farber, Deputy General Counsel at Highgate (former General Counsel at Securitize; former Legal Counsel at ConsenSys; https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-farber-1bab7558/)
• Daniel Hodd, Co-Founder & Venture Partner at IDEO CoLab Ventures and Co-Founder & General Partner at Digital Asset Investment Company (former Project Lead & SME in Blockchain & Digital Assets at Citi; https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielhodd/)
• Jean-Philippe Innocent, Chief Commercial Officer at Who’s Holding Co. (former Global Blockchain Business Council Ambassador to Haiti; former Conseiller Spécial Blockchain for the Haitian Ministry of Commerce and Industry; former Co-Founder & COO of Artbit; (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jinnocent/)
• Joyce Lai, Founder & Creator of the Charisma Social Project; Strategic Advisor at XvsX Sports; Founding Member of Ready Player DAO; Strategic Advisor at EthTrust Inc.; Co-Founder of the Fordham Law Blockchain Regulatory Symposium; Former Law and Technology Counsel at ConsenSys; https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-lai-a907647/)
• Sean O'Connor, Chief of Staff at Blocknative Corporation and Board of Advisor Member for NiftyApes (former Product Lead of ConsenSys Sports and former Director of Marketing of Cellarius, two ConsenSys spokes; Former Co-Founder and Product Lead at Saffron Solutions LLC, former Project lead on Spencer Dinwiddie Professional Athlete Investment Token (PAInT) launch; https://www.linkedin.com/in/aseoconnor/)
• Amy Oldenburg, Managing Director & Head of Emerging Markets Equity at Morgan Stanley Investment Management; Independent Director at Abhi (YC S21) (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyoldenburg/)
• Erica Palaia, Senior Counsel of Partnerships at Paxos (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericampalaia/)
• Mateusz Plaza, Co-Founder at Fennel Labs (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateusz-p-6b126424/)
• Donna Redel, CEO Founder of Strategic 50, Board Member of New York Angels and The Wall Street Blockchain, Advisor to Securitize, Member of The Digital Chamber of Commerce (former Managing Director at the World Economic Forum and former Chair of The Commodity Exchange; https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-redel-92652653/)
• Michael Rinko, Research Analyst at Delphi Digital (former investment analyst at Pervalle Global; https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrinko)
• Joshua Q. Israel Satten, Senior Director – Global Client Partner at Cognizant (former Senior Director - Blockchain Partner, Service Transformation (CTO Office) at Wipro Ltd. and former Senior Managing Director – Head of Operations at Protego Trust; https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-q/)
• Brett Shear, Managing Partner at PTC Crypto, a venture capital fund investing in the decentralized creator economy (Co-Founder & COO at Fleek, a modern web development platform for building sites and apps on IPFS; Former Co-Founder & Strategic Director at Balanc3, a ConsenSys spoke; Former Co-Founder & President of Fordham FinTech Network; https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-shear-8b553199/)
• Markus Veith, National Leader, Digital Assets, Blockchain & web3 Industry Practice and Partner-in-charge of the Northeast Financial Institutions Practice at Grant Thornton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-veith-b666931/)
• Gregory Xethalis, General Counsel (and former Chief Compliance Officer) at Multicoin Capital; Director at Association for Digital Asset Markets (ADAM) (former Partner at Chapman & Cutler LLP; https://www.linkedin.com/in/xethalis/)

Faculty

• Benjamin M. Cole, Ph.D. is the William J. Loschert Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, an Inducted Fellow of the British Blockchain Association, Advisory Council Member of the CNBC Disruptor 50, “Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor” Designee by Poets & Quants, and Advisor to Rensa Games and Fennel Labs (Former Co-Founder and Education Lead at Saffron Solutions LLC, Former Advisor on Spencer Dinwiddie Professional Athlete Investment Token (PAInT) launch, Former Advisor to ConsenSys spokes Cellarius and ConsenSys Sports, and Former Organizer of the Blockchain Disruptor Conference)  (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminmcole/)
• Robert Chiang, Ph.D. is the Area Chair of Information, Technology and Operations (former Manager/Consultant at Accenture; https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertchiang/)
• Paul Johnson is Managing Director at Nicusa Investment Advisors, Senior Research Advisor at FinTech Think Tank, Senior Advisor at Harbor Peak, Economic and Strategic Advisor to SolarCoin, Tsar of The Jesuit Token and Member of the Board of Advisors to The People’s Currency Foundation (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauljohnsonnia/)
• Peter Mueller, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Finance & Business Economics whose research interests lie primarily in the area of blockchain economics and decentralized finance (https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-mueller-1284072ab/)