Ditch University and High Transaction Fees – Praxis Accepts Bitcoin Cash

Praxis is an intern, apprentice-like placement company, acting as a practical, resumé building experience for those who believe university is a waste of intellect and time and treasure. Recently, they’ve announced tuition can be paid in bitcoin cash, which offers near instant transaction times and low fees.

Also read: India’s Bitcoin Exchange Banking Problems

Praxis Accepts Tuition in Bitcoin Cash

“We want to provide the best payment options available to our customers,” Derek Magill of Praxis responded when asked by News.Bitcoin.com why the education company decided to accept bitcoin cash in payment toward tuition. “We started accepting bitcoin (core) in 2014 after some customers requested it. It was great,” he continued, “but by the end of 2015 nobody was using it. We’ve recently gotten a ton of interest in accepting it again, though, in the form of bitcoin cash because it is usable like core once was.”

Praxis started in 2013 as a response to what some graduates find, especially in the US, once leaving university: they’re saddled with debt, have acquired no real new skills to speak of, and they’ve been out of the job market for half a decade, leaving resumes flat. It’s a combination for frustrating entrance into working life. Praxis eschews the university experience, preferring to match student interest with real-world business, small and start-up. Participants have landed experiences with companies the likes of Bitpay to Seasteading to Major League Baseball. And while working, they’re given courses on how to improve personally and professionally.

“Incidentally, we’ve seen dozens of our customers, ages 16-26, sign up for Yours.org accounts and start making their first transactions in bitcoin cash,” Mr. Magill detailed. “These are people who were previously totally uninterested in cryptocurrency who are now using it daily. That’s telling.”

Derek Magill

Bitcoin cash (BCH) is the younger twin brother of bitcoin core (BTC), created through what’s known as a hard fork in the Bitcoin network. Enthusiasts worried BTC was becoming too cumbersome. Transaction times lagged and fees were excessive, souring user experience and, they believed, accessibility and adoption.

Core supporters suddenly repeated the mantra BTC was a store of value, like gold, better used for settlement between large institutions, and so its medium of exchange properties were moot. They also argued a hard fork would confuse people and potentially expose the network to security risks. BCH advocates wanted both a store of value and a medium of exchange, a currency capable of holding its value and more…with the ability to buy a cup of coffee.

Passion

The two positions became irreconcilable, and BCH was born August of last year. In under six months, bitcoin cash has developed a relatively stable price, hovering around the 2,500 USD point, and its fees and confirmation times are reminiscent of BTC’s early days.

“What it will do for our business remains to be seen,” Mr. Magill admits. “Short term, it might just be a couple customers here and there who use it and we’re excited enough by that, but long term the ability to process payments at much lower fees will do wonders for us financially. And keep in mind too that we’re in the education business,” he urged. “I’d love to see more and more of our customers be inspired to learn about bitcoin cash and use it because we offer it as an option. I think it will be great for them personally and financially.”

Bitcoin cash has been on an adoption tear, with exchanges like Coinbase and, if rumors are to be believed, Cboe, accepting the currency, along with plans from a prominent debit card provider to include it for loads. Sites are popping up all the time as more merchants onboard.

Mr. Magill practices what he preaches. Not only did he drop from a top ranked university to start his own business, he’s also a passionate advocate for bitcoin cash. An event he hosted shortly before leaving college included crypto evangelist Jeffrey Tucker. That was it. Mr. Magill became intrigued and then, ultimately, disillusioned with bitcoin core’s user experience. A Steve Patterson podcast interview on bitcoin cash years later re-lit Mr. Magill’s fire, and “that excited me about bitcoin in a way I hadn’t felt for years. I’d stay up all night reading reddit forums, listening to Youtube videos and debates, and pretty soon I was sold,” he explained. “I want decentralized digital cash that I can send anywhere in the world for next to no cost and that is also a store of value. Now I have it.”

He’s lectured all over the world, traveling and teaching about the value of self-initiative and breaking away from legacy institutions of learning. “My obsession with Praxis and what we’re doing is similar to my obsession with bitcoin cash,” he emphasized.