Crypto Firms Urge Top U.S. Universities to Add DeFi to Curricula

Decentralized finance, or DeFi, uses blockchain-based smart contracts to provide services such as trading and lending and is moving from a technical experiment into mainstream finance. Institutions including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and JPMorgan are developing related applications, while Wall Street demand for legal, compliance and business professionals is rising. Universities’ ability to align their curricula with industry practice has therefore become critical to developing talent.

On March 18, 2026, 1inch launched “1inch Forward” and joined 20 other organizations, including Aave Labs, the Blockchain Association, the DeFi Education Fund and Messari, in issuing an open letter calling on U.S. business and law schools to incorporate blockchain, digital assets and hands-on on-chain training. A campus tour will begin at the University of Pennsylvania on March 27. 1inch’s cumulative trading volume is approaching $797 billion.