Jan 16, 2017 05:53 AM EST By Amanda Foster, UniversityHerald Reporter

Bitcoin is still a relatively new term. And it is being used by some for financial transactions. But not a lot of people understand what it is. Bitcon is a cryptocurrency and a payment system created by Satoshi Nakomoto. It is considered to be the first decentralized digital currency.

Through the years, Bitcoin has already earned its popularity and has already been used by several merchants online.

For those who want to better understand what Bitcoin is about there are university courses available, in the United States and abroad, that can help students understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The University of Nicosia

This Cyprus school offers a course in Digital Currency. An online course is also available, as reported by The Merkle. There are already 5,000 students enrolled and the university expects it to grow in number.

New York University

NYU has opened classes since 2014. The university focuses on the legal aspect of Bitcoin at first. They also have a course focusing the "Revolution in Money and Payments," as reported by NYU Stern School of Business.

Stanford University

Stanford has launched courses on Bitcoin and block chain technology a few years ago. This is a full time Bitcoin course and one of the fewest available. It focuses on the bitcoin applications as well as other programs associated with the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Princeton University

The course in Princeton, titled "Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technology" can be taken through Coursera. It also has a book available on Amazon. For those interested to take the course on Coursera, a new class will start on Jan. 23.

Duke University

Duke is one of the first major American universities to offer a course on Bitcoin in 2014. The course is titled "Innovation and Cryptoventures." The course ran in 2015 and 2016. Schedules for 2017 have not yet been released because the school is still studying the demand for it.

Watch the video below for an introduction to Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies:

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