Bitfinex Adds ODEM Education Program to Help Educate Investors

Several things can be seen as strange or odd to a majority of people. Bitfinex’s move to partner up with a new education program, going by name ODEM, in spite of rising legal pressures is one of them. To date, the company behind crypto exchange has had some accusations thrown at them that some would find impressive just for the sheer scope involved.

They’ve been accused of everything from falsely printing out Tether without the appropriate reserves, of manipulating the Bitcoin prices in 2017, and of being part of a Panamanian drug cartel. Needless to say, Bitfinex has had some hurdles to cross.

The ODEM Addition

In spite of this, the exchange seems to have expansion in mind. Today, the exchange announced the “strategic cooperation” with a blockchain-based education system by the name of ODEM. The two groups will create an “on-demand education marketplace” with the intent of helping investors understand digital tokens and blockchain economies.

ODEM operates like the popular online education platform, Udemy. People who consider themselves familiar with some relevant subject matter can create an online course educating it. This course is then delivered directly to the students in an online store format. ODEM allows for in-person training courses as well.

Blockchain Everything

ODEM stands out because its network is blockchain-based. Somehow, ODEM claims that the distributed ledger technology “helps us remove obstacles to education, training, and employment” through the use of students being able to “validate and verify” their various credentials on the blockchain. This allows the students to control their records and career paths.

ODEM’s Trust Network includes things like an employment network. This suggests that ODEM is aspiring to do more than verify credentials. It could possibly be used as a way for employers to scout out talent on the network. Considering this, ODEM is perhaps planning on creating a brand new education ecosystem.

Since it’s blockchain, ODEM requires you to buy ODEM tokens to access its offerings. The ODEM token is ERC-20-compatible and is based on the Ethereum network. Due to ODEM’s new partnership with Bitfinex, the exchange’s users will be capable of viewing their ODEM transactions through Bitfinex’s order book.

Strange Facts

ODEM’s big claim to fame is the fact that it’s cutting out the middleman in education. The problem with that statement is the fact that it curates its contents on a so-called decentralized platform. This inconsistency is confounded by the fact that a majority of the programs are supplied by Chart Learning Solutions and the Blockchain Intelligence Group. Both these groups are partners to ODEM.

Objectively speaking, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with ODEM. It’s another education platform that helps educate the general public. That is always good. The problem with it is that ODEM throws around the blockchain tag to try and make it seem more special than it actually is. This is coupled with the “decentralization” claim that doesn’t apply to a system that seeks quality curated courses. You cannot claim decentralization while simultaneously regulating classes to ensure quality like a centralized entity.

Read more: 

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