- NEXT Academy students can now pay their fees in cryptocurrency—Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Neo.
- Prices will be calculated automatically, using the student fees in Ringgit as the base price. The prices in crypto will be based on an exchange average.
You’ve been able to pay for Nasi Kerabu with Bitcoin, and up until earlier this month, a Proton car too. Now, this coding academy will allow you to pay your student fees using cryptocurrency.
NEXT Academy is a coding academy that trains developers and digital marketer in Southeast Asia.
Their latest announced development? Those who want to learn coding or digital marketing can pay their fees in cryptocurrency by scanning a QR code.
“Those who stand to benefit the most are local investors who already own Bitcoin. They will also be able to use it the way it was intended to, instead of cashing out through intermediary sites,” according to a press release.
The academy will be accepting payments in Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Neo.
The volatility of Bitcoin is a dead horse beaten by people smarter than us—especially now that its value is falling. So we can’t help but wonder: why cryptocurrency now?
“I think we definitely have our concerns. In fact, when we were planning all of this, there’s a lot in the backend, accounting process-wise. How do we recognise this as revenue? How do taxes come into play?”
– Josh Teng, CEO of NEXT Academy
Nevertheless, they press on. According to Josh, “We call ourselves a tech school and we really believe in the whole blockchain idea. It has its own problems right now but the best way for us to continue this innovation growth is to actually participate.”
“Cryptocurrency has a lot of hype,” said Josh.
“A lot of people are getting interested so we definitely want to give people the option to participate and capitalise on the trend.”
Will prices fluctuate like Bitcoin?
NEXT Academy will always use their fees as the base price, but otherwise, all calculations are automatic.
Instead of relying on just one exchange though (e.g. Luno) the team chooses to average the price of many exchanges, based on data from CoinMarketCap. Then they convert it into Ringgit.
Actually getting the funds to the right place could be a concern.
“The beauty of blockchain is that no one is controlling the transaction. But that also means that if a user makes a mistake, then it can be bad.”
– Josh Teng
The team understands the concern, which is why they introduced the QR code to ensure that the transaction destination is the right one.
Other than that, the payment page is filled with notes warning users to send their cryptos to the right address. Josh does recommend usage of the QR code scanner for a more surefire way to ensure that transactions are completed, though.
What about their bottom line?
“I do believe that some transactions we’ll make more and some we’ll make less. Ultimately, it’s also a test for us to see how it goes,” said Josh. If they do lose money though, Josh said that they would reconsider how they manage then.
“For example, when do we plan to liquidate the currency into fiat,” said Josh.
Overall, it is a bold move for them to choose to accept payments in cryptocurrency at a time where BNM has yet to decide on where cryptocurrencies fall under our country’s legislation.
If cryptocurrencies are banned, BNM will be following the lead of China and South Korea in the move, along with 22 other countries that have outright, or are planning to ban the currency.
Other learning institutions seem to be playing it safer by banking on blockchain rather than cryptocurrency.
In the end though, it does make poetic sense. If a learning institution is going to begin embracing cryptocurrency wholeheartedly, it should start with a coding academy.
- NEXT Academy can be reached at hello@nextacademy.com, 03-9212 8158, or at their address: AG-7, Glomac Damansara, Jalan Damansara, Tmn Tun Dr Ismail, 60000.
