Open Campus, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on onchain education, launched its layer-3 blockchain, EDU Chain, on Arbitrum Orbit.
The blockchain, introduced on Jan. 17, is designed to support educational apps and onchain education powered by the EDU token.
EDU Chain’s standout feature is the Open Campus (OC) Achievement system, formerly known as Verifiable Credentials. This system allows educational institutions and training centers to issue decentralized, tamper-proof records of learners’ qualifications.
“Open Campus Achievements, currently in private beta, is a decentralized universal system that enables educational institutions and training centers to issue records of learners’ qualifications and accomplishments,” Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands and a council member of the EDU Foundation, told Cointelegraph.
A group portrait of the Open Campus team showcasing EDU chain at Binance Blockchain Week. Source: Open Campus
According to Siu, OC Achievements are self-sovereign records stored in a learner’s digital wallet, wholly owned and controlled by the learner. No entity, including OC, can access the data without the learner’s permission.
“By allowing users to selectively share their academic records, educational providers can gain access to relevant information, enabling them to tailor personalized learning experiences”
EDU Chain has reached $150 million in total value locked (TVL), making it the largest layer-3 blockchain by this metric, according to L2Beat. The mainnet launch follows a testnet campaign with 86.2 million transactions and 358,684 unique active wallets. Developers behind 47 decentralized applications (DApps) from the testnet are now deploying their applications on the mainnet.
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Incentives for developers and users
To expand its ecosystem, Open Campus has launched two major initiatives.
The first is a hackathon series with $1 million in prizes. The second initiative, the OC Incubator, is a 12-week program to scale projects from hackathon winners. Developers receive mentorship, funding opportunities and support to help bring their DApps to market.
OC has also rolled out a rewards program for mainnet users. Season one lets users earn Yuzu points by engaging with DApps on the EDU Chain.
The future
Siu explained that tokenized educational content can “empower educators to transform their knowledge into capital assets, allowing them to easily own, control and monetize their content.” He also highlighted learn-to-earn models, which reward continuous skill development by linking it to real-world value.
Siu pointed out that blockchain-based education finance could improve access to funding and simplify processes for lenders and students. He said the combination of AI, Web3 and education in 2025 would bring significant changes.
“AI-powered platforms are rapidly evolving to deliver personalized, adaptive learning experiences, while blockchain technology ensures the security and verifiability of educational data and credentials. This synergy of AI and Web3 in education represents a paradigm shift that will have a fundamental impact on global education,” he added.
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