Accelerated Research Program

Crypto Assets: Fundamentals, Price History, and Investing Strategies

Faculty Advisor: Research economist, Central Bank of Mexico

What is an Accelerated Research Program?

Our Accelerated Research Program combines recorded and live sessions with the Faculty Advisor. It allows students to achieve tangible outcomes and potentially earn a letter of recommendation in a shorter period of time.

Research Program Introduction

In November 2021, the crypto market reached a value of 3 trillion, exceeding the market cap of Apple, the most valuable company in the world.

How did crypto come this far? Should you invest in them? In this program, students will learn the fundamentals, price history, and investing strategies for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In particular, they will understand What BTC is. Why does it have value? What are smart contracts? What is the price history of BTC and ETH? What are the risks associated with crypto assets? Students will also learn how to construct trading and investing strategies on crypto assets from the ground up.

The faculty advisor will guide students on which topic they should choose for their final project. Students will have access to a combination of videos, notes, and project topics that they can pursue for their final projects. 

At the end of the program, each student will complete a concise 3 to 5-page research paper or proposal and submit it to the faculty advisor for a final review. 

(Disclaimer: This program is purely for educational purposes. It is not to give financial advice on personal financial investments.)

Possible Topics For Final Project:

  • Identify the past bull and bear cycles in crypto assets and some of their causes. 

  • A brief history of NFTs. What are they? What are the most valuable ones? Why do they have value?

  • What are halvings, and how do they influence prices? 

  • Analyze a specific company building a decentralized application on Ethereum. What is the product they are making? What is their token useful for? 

  • Analyze the token price and products the top crypto gaming companies offer. 

  • Describe Decentralized Finance (Defi) in simple words and explain the most successful working Defi applications.

  • Other professor-approved research topics in this subject area that you are interested in

Program Details

  • Cohort size: 2 to 5 students

  • Duration: 4 weeks

  • Target students: 7 to 12th graders interested in applied math, finance, economics, statistics, actuarial sciences, data science, and computer science who wish to complete a research project with a prestigious professor rapidly to boost their research experience and obtain deliverables for college applications and other programs.

Program Structure

  • Week 1: Students and the faculty advisor will discuss the available project topics in a live session and agree on project goals.

  • Week 1 to 3: Students will complete an extensive recorded video research program, including core videos that must be completed and optional advanced videos for students with higher aims.

  • Week 4: Students will complete their research project and submit it for review. They will also have a second live session with their faculty advisor to ask questions, discuss their findings, and conclude their research experience very positively.