US Students Want Crypto Classes but Learn About Crypto on Social Media, OKX Survey Finds
Key Takeaways
- •90% of surveyed students and 87% of parents support teaching cryptocurrency and blockchain in college, while about 27% of students and 32% of parents believe such courses should be mandatory.
- •A separate 2025 review of 533 US universities with accredited business schools found that only about 28% offered blockchain courses.
- •Among surveyed students, 33% named social media or influencers as their most important source of crypto information, nearly five times the share citing schools, teachers, or professors.
- •The FTC has attributed billions of dollars in reported consumer losses to crypto investment scams that often begin on social media, and the SEC has taken enforcement actions over undisclosed influencer promotions of crypto assets.
- •OKX surveyed 500 students and 500 parents through Pollfish and did not disclose the survey's weighting, margin of error, or respondents' crypto ownership rates.
Most US college students want their schools to teach cryptocurrency and blockchain, but with formal coursework still limited, social media has become their leading source of crypto education, according to a study commissioned by crypto exchange OKX.
The survey, conducted this month, found that 90% of students and 87% of parents support teaching the subjects in college. Roughly 27% of students and 32% of parents said such instruction should be mandatory.
Demand, however, appears to outpace what universities currently offer. A separate 2025 review of 533 US universities with accredited business schools found that only about 28% offered blockchain courses. Industry-funded initiatives have tried to narrow the gap, including Ripple's University Blockchain Research Initiative, which has sponsored blockchain courses and research at dozens of universities worldwide since launching in 2018.
That gap is visible in where students actually learn about crypto. Among students surveyed by OKX, 33% named social media or influencers as their most important source of crypto information — nearly five times the number who cited schools, teachers or professors. Among parents, crypto platforms and apps were the leading source, at 21%.
The reliance on social media coincides with longstanding warnings from US regulators. The Federal Trade Commission has attributed billions of dollars in reported consumer losses to crypto investment scams that frequently begin with posts, messages or ads on social platforms, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has brought enforcement actions over undisclosed celebrity and influencer promotions of crypto assets.
OKX surveyed 500 students and 500 parents through Pollfish, an online platform that distributes surveys to users of third-party mobile apps. Respondents were not recruited from OKX's customer base. The exchange did not disclose the survey's weighting, its margin of error or the respondents' crypto ownership rates.
Related: My First Bitcoin ends El Salvador program, pivots to global BTC education
Source: Cointelegraph
