Digital Gurukul becomes Asia’s first edtech institute to accept crypto for fee payment

Amid wide uncertainties and controversy on banning crypto in India, in a surprising move, edtech platform Digital Gurukul will begin allowing its customers to use some cryptocurrencies for payment of fees from June 2021, becoming Asia’s first edtech company that has embraced digital tokens.

“We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Digital Gurukul will start supporting select cryptocurrencies for payment of fees,” said Dr Raj Padhiyar, Founder & CEO – Digital Gurukul.

Earlier, Tesla revealed a $1.5 billion bitcoin investment and said it would soon begin accepting the token as payment for its products. Digital Gurukul already allows its customers to pay the fees with easy EMI options, interest freee loan, Study now & Pay later & reward points in association with Cashfree and Kunal Shah’s CRED. But now, the company aims to support cryptocurrency by allowing many more students to avail this service.

Digital Gurukul said it will not support all cryptocurrencies for payment of fees as of now, as many of them need to tighten their compliance measures. “We will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on consumer protection and compliance,” the company said.

Bitcoin has drawn enthusiasts for its scarcity and security, but the volatile digital currency still is not widely used to pay for goods and services. It’s mostly been a store of value, like gold, with some limited merchants accepting bitcoin for payment. But it’s the rarest instance that any edtech company around Asia has integrated crypto payment in their payment portfolio.