Blockchain & Crypto Assets
The Institute For the Future at the University of Nicosia expands its focus within Blockchain and Crypto-assets to include a wide range of research areas. Our research initiatives examine the evolution and impact of decentralized technologies in a rapidly advancing digital economy.
UNIC IS THE 1st UNIVERSITY
TO ACCEPT BITCOIN FOR TUITION PAYMENTS
to offer crypto and web3 education
to publish academic diplomas on the blockchain
to publish blockchain-
verifiable academic certificates as NFTs
Research Areas
BLOCKCHAIN-BASED CERTIFICATION
Blockchain technology, known for its transformative role in finance, is breaking new ground in the realm of education. Traditionally seen as a foundation for cryptocurrencies, blockchain’s potential extends far beyond just a secure transaction ledger. At the University of Nicosia, we have embraced this revolutionary technology to reimagine how academic achievements are recorded, shared, and verified.
Blockchain skills development
The development of blockchain skills is paramount in today’s digital age, where the technology’s applications extend far beyond its initial financial use cases into sectors like supply chain management, healthcare, agri-culture and governance, among others. As blockchain technology continues to mature and integrate into various industries, the demand for skilled professionals who can navigate, innovate, and implement blockchain solutions is surging.
Blockchain Adoption
Despite the advantages of blockchain technology, its adoption is still limited, highlighting the need for research focused on its uptake. The shift towards extensive blockchain integration is a gradual process, fraught with numerous challenges. These obstacles impact both users and developers, necessitating concerted efforts to navigate them.
Decentralized social media
Decentralized social media represents a paradigm shift in how online social medial platforms operate, moving away from centralized control towards a model where power and data governance are distributed among its users.
Decentralized energy networks
Institute for the Future is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of distributed and decentralized energy networks. At the heart of our research is a commitment to exploring and developing innovative solutions that intertwine the potential of blockchain technology, smart contracts, peer-to-peer energy trading, smart grid technologies, local energy markets and the Internet of Things (IoT).
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF BLOCKCHAIN
The potential of blockchain technology to transform industries through increased efficiency, security, and transparency makes its industrial applications crucial and that’s why the adoption of blockchain across various industries is growing beyond the realms of finance. Industries including healthcare, banking and higher education stand to gain from the multiple benefits offered by blockchain technology.
Decentralized science
Decentralized science (DeSci) denotes a fundamental transformation in the methodologies governing scientific research, its dissemination, and validation. While conventional scientific practices tend to be centralized within specific institutions or overseen by a limited cadre of specialists, decentralized science endeavours to diffuse these responsibilities across a network of contributors. By removing centralized authorities, it advocates for collaboration, transparency, and inclusivity as foundational principles.
Benchmarking blockchain protocols
Blockchain Benchmarking Frameworks (BBFs) comprise of a set of tools designed to assess, compare, and analyse the performance of various blockchain protocols and networks. These benchmarking tools typically offer features such as configurable workloads, metrics visualization, and comparative analysis, enabling users to identify performance bottlenecks, optimize configurations, and make informed decisions when designing and deploying blockchain networks.
Unifying LLMs & Knowledge Graphs for GenAI
Knowledge Graphs are graph-based data strucures that model factual knowledge by interconnecting entities and their relationships. In brief, entities are represented as nodes in the graph strucure that represent real-world objects, concepts, or events, while edges denote the relationships between them.
Evolution of LLM agents
Large Language Models (LLMs) represent a significant advancement in artificial intelligence, specifically within the domain of natural language processing (NLP). These computational models are trained on extensive corpora of text data, encompassing a broad spectrum of internet-sourced documents.
Advising European commission
on accelerating the development
of blockchain within the EU
€8m+
grants
in competitive European Commission research grants since 2017
World’s
largest team
of faculty and staff focused
on crypto-assets and blockchains
100+
Joint research
organizations
FUnded Projects
University Blockchain Research Initiative
The University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) is an initiative launched by Ripple; a globally recognized blockchain-based digital payment network. Launched in 2018, UBRI has been central to Ripple’s efforts to stimulate research and development (R&D) in the blockchain industry. UBRI achieves this by forming partnerships with leading universities across the globe, providing funding and resources that support blockchain-related research projects. Its broader mission lies in fostering student engagement and driving critical blockchain R&D in academia.
Validators Dashboard
At IFF, we are recognized for our expertise in seamless node operations, supporting a variety of consensus mechanisms. Our technical prowess and adaptability make us a trusted partner for leading entities in the blockchain ecosystem. Visit our dynamically updated dashboard to see how we actively contribute to the growth and stability of blockchain networks.
European Blockchain Observatory & Forum
The European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum (EUBOF) is a European Commission initiative aiming to accelerate blockchain innovation and the development of the blockchain ecosystem within the EU, and so help cement Europe’s position as a global leader in this transformative new technology. IFF is responsible for helping the EUBOF in filling the gap that exists today between the supply of and demand for academic knowledge in the area of blockchain.
Submit a Research Proposal
Contribute to the forefront of transformative technology research by submitting your research proposal to the Institute for the Future at the University of Nicosia. We invite innovative thinkers and scholars to share their ideas and collaborate with us in exploring the potentials of blockchain, the metaverse, and forecasting. Join us in shaping the future by forwarding your proposals that can drive academic and practical advancements in these dynamic fields.
