Why crypto’s next breakthrough could start in the classroom — Animoca’s Yat Siu

Ripples $25 million donation to a crypto education fund has reignited conversations about how blockchain projects are building influence through academiabut in the latest episode of Byte-Sized Insight, Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu says that money alone isnt enough.Instead, real-world use cases like student loans backed by DeFi may be cryptos most convincing value proposition to date.DeFi student loansOn April 30th, Pencil Finance, a project supported by Animoca Brands and its education arm Open Campus, announced a $10 million student loan financing initiative aimed at providing cheaper, blockchain-backed loans. Siu believes this type of infrastructure investment goes further than symbolic funding.What our industry needs a lot more is these kinds of positive-sum use cases that everyone else understands, Siu said in the interview. If students can receive better, cheaper and more effective opportunities and interest rates through crypto student loans, what happens? Theyre going to be more pro-crypto.Related: The Giving Block starts disaster fund for California wildfire victimsUnlike a one-time donation, the Pencil Finance model integrates crypto directly into the financing mechanismleveraging blockchain rails to make lending more transparent, efficient, and accessible.While money has influence, it doesnt necessarily change the system for the better per se. The technology actually provides a way we can onboard people into that.Crypto in the classroomSiu said the crypto industry still suffers from a perception problem, especially among those unfamiliar with financial tools or blockchain-native culture. Thats why educational use cases need to move beyond highbrow NFT art or meme coins and offer something universally relatable.When youre sitting at the table and someones saying, What is crypto really good for?what do we say? he asked. Memecoins? Or do we say student loans? Thats something everyone understands.Siu also emphasized the long-term impact of onboarding students earlyboth for growing crypto literacy and building a foundation for adoption. You want to onboard them at the earliest levels and let them understand whats going on, he said. Thats what Apple did with education discounts. It wasnt about profit at firstit was about future influence.Ripples donation may be a step forward for awareness and much-needed funding support in the education sector, but Animocas approach aims to make crypto indispensable, not just visible, in education systems around the world.We have to show what [crypto] is good for. Weve got to start from the grassroots.Listen to the full episode of Byte-Sized Insight for the complete interview on Cointelegraphs Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And dont forget to check out Cointelegraphs full lineup of other shows!Magazine: 6 Questions for Alex Wilson of The Giving Block