Computer science and engineering professor Hank Korth weighed in on the future impact of blockchain technology on the financial world in an explainer article on Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency recently published in The Morning Call. Korth's current research is focused in blockchain systems, with an emphasis on blockchain databases and applications in financial systems.
According to the article:
"What Bitcoin did was a phenomenal engineering task of taking a whole bunch of known things, adding a little bit and assembling it into a really well functioning machine," Korth said, while stressing the "irrefutable validity of blockchain data is one of the really key properties that needs to be understood" in Bitcoin or other digital transactions.
The article also mentions Lehigh Business alum Sapan Shah ’11 ’17G, who “made headlines in 2013 when he accepted Bitcoin as a form of payment at his Subway franchise in South Whitehall Township. At the time, he was one of the first brick-and-mortar merchants in the country to use the virtual currency in lieu of dollars and cents. Now, there are more than 60 in Pennsylvania and more than 2,300 across the country.”
Korth, who previously served as a co-director of Lehigh's Computer Science and Business program, says Lehigh has added courses that teach students blockchain technology and mentions that he reaches out to a network of university alumni, including Shah, to share their experiences with students.
As financial technology continues to progress with developments in deep learning, Korth says, he sees the potential for “huge societal good” to come out of it.
