A group of researchers are encouraging universities to set up bitcoin nodes as part of an effort to allow students and professors to experiment and test the network.
The private testbed network, called BSafe, aims to help the technology proliferate, while possibly preventing instances such as the collapse of Mt Gox or The DAO from happening in the future.
“Most developers in this world think that [bitcoin’s] fundamental cryptographic algorithm is ideal and can be used as a black box,” Shin’ichiro Matsuo, co-founder of BSafe.network, said.
Matuso argues that bitcoin, and for that matter all crypto-financial projects, need a more diverse group of researchers exploring and analyzing the technology.
Matsuo told CoinDesk:
“We need to do more accurate evaluations on blockchain technology.”
The network will also provide a communication channel between academia and Bitcoin Core developers on the many bitcoin testnets, the alternative blockchains used for testing code before actual live deployment on the bitcoin blockchain.
Debuted in February, the network currently has five nodes deployed: three in Japan, one in the UK and another recently set up by MIT. Matsuo’s goal is to have 30 university nodes set up before the end of the year, and farther into the future,