Blockchain at Berkeley is a student-run organization at the University of California, Berkeley, dedicated to blockchain technology and its applications. Founded in the fall of 2016, the organization serves as a hub for blockchain education, research, consulting, and design. Its stated mission is to provide its members with the resources to become innovators in the blockchain space while serving the broader community through educational initiatives and consulting services. ^[1] It is recognized for developing one of the first comprehensive, for-credit university-level blockchain courses in the United States and has fostered a significant alumni network within the Web3 industry. ^[2]

History

​Blockchain at Berkeley (B@B) was founded in the fall of 2016 by a group of UC Berkeley students, including Max Fang and Gloria Zhao, with the goal of creating an on-campus community to explore blockchain technology. ^[1] In the spring of 2017, the organization launched its first student-run course, a DeCal (Democratic Education at Cal) titled "The Blockchain for Developers," which offered a technical introduction to blockchain and cryptocurrency. ^[1]​

Between 2017 and 2018, the organization formalized its structure around three core pillars: Education, Consulting, and Research. This model was later expanded to include a fourth pillar, Design. ^{[2] [1]} A significant milestone occurred in 2018 when the organization's "Blockchain for Developers" course was officially adopted by the UC Berkeley Computer Science department as CS198, a 2-unit, for-credit course. The materials for this course were subsequently open-sourced for public access. ^[1]​

In 2019, Blockchain at Berkeley founded the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator, a startup accelerator created as a joint venture with UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) at Berkeley Engineering. ^[2]​

Organizational Structure and Activities

Blockchain at Berkeley's operations are divided into four main departments, or pillars: Education, Consulting, Research, and Design. These pillars guide the organization's internal activities and external contributions. ^[2]​

Education

The education division is a core component of the organization, focused on disseminating knowledge about blockchain technology to both the university community and the general public. ^[2] B@B offers structured educational content, including on-campus courses and publicly available materials. ^[3]​

Academic and Public Courses:

• Blockchain for Developers (CS198): A for-credit computer science course at UC Berkeley that teaches the fundamentals of blockchain, cryptography, consensus mechanisms, and smart contract development. ^[1]
• Blockchain Fundamentals (DeCal): A student-run, non-technical course that covers the history of blockchain, its foundational concepts, various use cases, and its societal impact. ^[1]
• edX Courses: The organization has created massive open online courses (MOOCs) on the edX platform, which have reached over 200,000 students globally. ^[2]

Media and Content Production: B@B maintains an active YouTube channel with over 35,000 subscribers and more than 222 videos as of March 2026. ^{[1] [3]} The channel hosts full lecture series for its courses, recordings of expert panels, workshops, and tutorials. Content is often versioned by academic semester (e.g., "SP23" for Spring 2023), indicating a periodically updated curriculum. Notable content series include:

• Fundamentals Lecture Series: A recurring course that covers the core concepts of blockchain technology.
• "Xperts & Xperiences": A podcast and video interview series that features founders and leaders from various Web3 projects, connecting the academic community with industry practitioners.
• Technical Workshops: In-depth sessions focusing on specific technologies or platforms within the blockchain space, often conducted in partnership with industry projects.

The combination of academic courses and public media makes the organization's educational content widely accessible. ^{[1] [3]}​

Consulting

The consulting division provides pro-bono consulting and development services to external partners, including industry companies, academic institutions, and government bodies. ^[2] The team has completed over 50 projects for a portfolio of clients in the blockchain sector. ^[2]​

Services offered by the consulting arm include protocol design, economic modeling (tokenomics), governance strategy, security auditing, and market research. This work provides members with practical experience while supporting both emerging and established projects in the industry. ^[1]​

Research

The research division consists of experienced members who conduct research to advance the technical boundaries of the blockchain and Web3 space. ^[2] Research areas align with key industry developments, such as Layer-2 scaling solutions, zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and protocol interoperability. Findings are often shared through articles, blog posts on the official website, and presentations at conferences. ^[1]​

Within the research department is a specialized Governance Team. This team actively participates in the governance of various blockchain protocols by voting on community proposals, allowing members to contribute directly to the evolution and improvement of established networks. ^[2]​

Design

The design pillar focuses on user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) development to make complex blockchain applications more accessible and user-friendly. The goal of this division is to act as a "vital bridge" between advanced technology and its end-users, addressing usability challenges that often hinder wider adoption of Web3 products. ^[2]​

Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator

A flagship initiative of Blockchain at Berkeley, the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator was founded in 2019. It is a university-based startup accelerator staffed by B@B members and operates as a joint venture with UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET). ^[2]​

The non-profit accelerator supports early-stage blockchain and Web3 projects by providing structured mentorship from industry experts, technical support from B@B members, and strategic guidance. The program culminates in a "Demo Day," where participating startups present their projects to a network of venture capitalists and investors to seek funding. ^[1]​

As of early 2026, the Xcelerator has achieved the following metrics:

• Companies Accelerated: 85
• Follow-on Funding Raised: Over $450 million by portfolio companies
• Funding Success Rate: 60% of accelerated companies have raised follow-on funding
• Global Partners: A network of over 20 partners supporting the program

These figures highlight the accelerator's role in fostering innovation and connecting academic talent with the venture capital ecosystem. ^[2]​

Projects and Partnerships

Members of Blockchain at Berkeley have founded over 10 startups, contributing directly to the growth of the Web3 ecosystem. ^[2]​

A featured project developed within the organization is SimpleFi, a decentralized finance (DeFi) application designed for beginners. The application aims to simplify the user's entry into DeFi through an intuitive interface that employs gesture-based shortcuts. It also includes a context-aware AI assistant to guide users, supports token trading and swapping, and features an integrated wallet for asset management. ^[2]​

The organization actively collaborates with external projects for educational purposes. One such partnership was with zkSync for a "zkSync ZK Workshop Series," which focused on educating participants about Layer-2 scaling solutions and zero-knowledge cryptography, covering topics like "L1 & L2 Fundamentals." Through its "Xperts & Xperiences" series, B@B has also hosted founders and representatives from projects such as LoopID, CoopHive, Lulubit, and AutoAPE.AI. ^[3]​

Key Figures

Several founders and alumni of Blockchain at Berkeley have become notable figures in the cryptocurrency and Web3 industries.

• Max Fang: A co-founder of the organization who later became involved in the venture capital sector of the crypto industry.
• Gloria Zhao: A co-founder who went on to work as a Bitcoin Core developer.
• Rustie: A notable alumnus who became a figure in the Ethereum ecosystem and venture capital.

In addition to its student leadership, the organization receives support and academic oversight from faculty advisors within UC Berkeley's Computer Science and Business departments. ^[1]​