The globally recognized CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute is adding topics on cryptocurrencies and blockchain to its Level I and II curriculums for the first time next year i.e. from 2019 exams. Candidates will get to see the new material next month - August 2018. These topics will be part of a new reading called Fintech in Investment Management.

The growing interest of industry participants in this area has led the institute to make this decision. Stephen Horan, managing director for general education and curriculum at CFA Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia said to Bloomberg:

“We saw the field advancing more quickly than other fields and we also saw it as more durable. This is not a passing fad.”

Apart from cryptocurrency and blockchain, the institute will also cover more fintech subjects including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data and automated trading. More crypto topics, such as the intersection of virtual currencies and economics, may eventually be added to the curriculum, Horan added.  

A record 227,031 people in 91 countries and territories registered to take CFA exams in June, majorly from Asia.

Educational institutions across the globe are offering courses related to cryptos and blockchain - MIT, Stanford, University College of London, the University of Edinburgh are a few of them. It is a positive development, which shows that the fintech sector is expanding well.