In October 2014, when bitcoin wasn’t seen as legitimate, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched the MIT Bitcoin Project, the goal was to give away $500,000 worth of Bitcoin to undergrad students.

Dan Elitzer, the creator and president of the MIT Bitcoin Club, and Jeremy Rubin, a sophomore studying computer science, started the initiative. According to Bloomberg, the project was “aimed at creating an ecosystem for digital currencies at MIT.” The funding came from MIT alumni and the bitcoin community.

Rubin and Elitzer aspired to help MIT maintain its longstanding tradition as the preeminent educational institution at the vanguard of emerging technologies.

It wasn’t simply another marketing gimmick with bitcoin. Elitzer and Rubin planned various activities and intended to collaborate with professors and researchers to see how MIT students will utilize their bitcoins after they’ve opted in.

Many of the students presumably spent their freely obtained Bitcoin stash, with the MIT coop bookstore launching support for BTC as payment for textbooks, school supplies, and food.

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