UW Bitcoin Research Institute

ANNOUNCEMENT: Submissions for the first UWBRI Workshop are now open, and they close Dec 1. See the BRI Workshop Call for Abstracts (pdf).

 

The UW Bitcoin Research Institute, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, exists to output peer-reviewed academic research on bitcoin and contribute to curriculum in philosophy, economics, and interdisciplinary courses. The Director of the institute is Dr. Bradley Rettler, Professor of Philosophy. 

 

You can help further the work of the Bitcoin Research Institute today by making a gift. Click the button below to make an impact on academic bitcoin research. 

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Events

 

The Bitcoin Research Institute will run the following events. Particular event details will be posted here.

• Annual Summer Workshop

  • Call for Abstracts open Oct 1-Dec 1, 2025. Workshop dates July 13-17, 2026.

• Paper Prizes

  • Student Paper Prizes deadline September 30, 2025. Winners to be announced soon!

• Weekly Reading Group

  • Reading group has started! We meet 10-11am on Fridays. Email bitcoin@uwyo.edu if you're interested in joining!

• Public Writing Prizes

• Public Outreach Events

  • Join Dr Rettler at BOCES in Pinedale on October 23!

• Weekly Seminars

• Special Issues of Academic Journals

• Book Workshops  

 

 

Publications

Books

• • Resistance Money: A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin (Routledge)

Academic Papers

• • Money Without State (Philosophy Compass)

  • The Moral Landscape of Monetary Design (Philosophy Compass)

  • Carbon neutral bitcoin adoption for nation states (Financial Cryptography and Data Security) [video presentation]

  • Greening Bitcoin With Incentive Offsets (whitepaper)

  • Bitcoin is King (Cryptocurrency Concepts, Technology, and Applications)

  • Digital Value (Philosophy & Digitality)

Educational Videos

• • An Introduction to Bitcoin (for the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Project for Wyoming public schools)

  • Panel Discussion at Bitcoin Policy Summit: What Makes Bitcoin Special

  • Where Bitcoin Fits

Op-eds

• • Bitcoin Can Protect Freedom and Help Win Elections (Newsweek)

  • Bitcoin is for Anyone, Left or Right (USA Today) [PDF] [archive]

  • Governments should invest in the bitcoin network (Newsweek)

  • The U.S. Needs Digital Cash, not Digital Money (Barron's)

  • Why Privacy Matters for Digital Money (RealClearPolicy)

  • Bitcoin and Financial Injustice (Institute of Art and Ideas) [PDF] [archive]

  • Philosophy and Bitcoin (American Philosophical Association blog)

  • Is bitcoin really a bubble? (CogX)

  • Bitcoin's Halving is a Major Spectacle -- that's the whole point (Blockworks)

  • Why Bitcoin Needs Philosophy (CoinDesk)

  • Another Way to Think About Bitcoin's Value (Bitcoin Magazine)

  • An Orange New Deal [German translation here] (Bitcoin Magazine)

  • Hard Forks Are Fan Fiction (CoinDesk)

  • Mine Your Values (CoinDesk)

  • Bitcoin stands apart (CoinTelegraph)

  • Neutral Money (Bitcoin Policy Institute)