This is an open letter from Dan Boneh (Stanford University), Joseph Bonneau (New York University), Giulia Fanti (Carnegie Mellon University), Ben Fisch (Yale University), Ari Juels (Cornell Tech), Farinaz Koushanfar (University of California San Diego), Andrew Miller (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign), Ciamac Moallemi (Columbia University), David Tse (Stanford University), Pramod Viswanath (Princeton University).
Here’s a multiple choice question.
Algorand, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Axelar, Babylon, Cardano, Cosmos, Eigenlayer, Espresso, Flashbots, Oasis, Starkware, Sui.
Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) protocols, digital signatures, formal verification, maximal extractable value (MEV), public-key cryptography, proof of work, rollups, trusted execution environments (TEEs) used in blockchain systems, verifiable random functions (VRFs), zero-knowledge proof systems.
Which of the following is true of the companies, projects, and concepts listed above?
They were invented / created by researchers employed at or with deep roots in academic institutions. They have fueled and transformed the crypto / blockchain industry. They demonstrate how essential academic innovation is to the crypto / blockchain industry. All of the above.
The answer is D. The lion’s share of these innovations happened at universities, largely in the United States.
Both the White House and Congress are working to support and accelerate innovation and bolster U.S. dominance in the crypto economy and the blockchain technologies that power it. The White House has established the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, while two major pieces of legislation, the GENIUS and STABLE bills, are pending in Congress. There is a crying need for regulatory and legislative reforms that prioritize and support innovation in crypto while enforcing robust protections for consumers. Efforts to accomplish these things sensibly are to be applauded.
At the same time, though, we are on the brink of seeing massive cuts to academic research funding in the United States. The White House budget proposal for 2025 includes a cut of 55% for the National Science Foundation (NSF). In the meantime, China increased its budget by 10% last year. NSF is the source of most federal funding for research in computer science at U.S. universities. It’s the main source of funding that has driven crypto innovations like those in the list above. Companies provide little funding for academic research because it’s not product-specific. So defunding NSF means defunding scientists in the U.S.—including those leading crypto innovation.
We are academic researchers in the field of crypto, representing five U.S. universities. Alongside our teaching, we conduct research and train PhD students.
While market cap is a short-term indicator of the crypto industry’s health, the number of PhD students studying blockchain is a long-term one: it reflects the depth of future scientific leadership. That pipeline is already thinning. Several of us could not take on new PhD students this year due to the uncertain U.S. funding climate. And we are not alone.
Several of the companies in the list above were co-founded by former members of our academic groups or by us. If future members of our groups vanish alongside scientific funding, so will successful future founders of crypto companies in the U.S. And PhD students don’t just start companies. They are also the engine that powers academic and ultimately industry research, doing the brain- and labor-intensive work behind the technical innovations that lead to faster, more secure blockchains. PhD students in our groups played a key role in creating or advancing in many of the concepts in the second list above. If they vanish, so will the breakthroughs they would have brought to the industry.
When we’re funded to do research and stay on the cusp of innovation in crypto, we’re also better teachers—able to equip students with the latest advances. That means stronger technical leaders educated in the U.S.
Better regulation and legislation could be a boon to crypto. But U.S. leadership in crypto won’t be secured by policy alone. At the forefront of crypto innovation is science—and U.S. universities have long been its powerhouse.
If you’re a farmer trying to ensure a strong harvest, it’s wise to upgrade your equipment and expand your fields. But if you stop planting seedcorn, no amount of machinery will save the crop. If you care about U.S. leadership in crypto, contact your congressional representatives and senators. Urge them to support the research funding that has made American universities the seedbed of global scientific and technical leadership—blockchain technology included.
