Columbia Blockchain Alliance

What Columbia Blockchain Alliance does

Columbia Blockchain Alliance (CBA) is a private, university-affiliated community organization founded in 2017 and based in New York City at Columbia University. It operates as the first exclusively blockchain community at Columbia, providing education and networking to Columbia University students, alumni, and employees interested in blockchain technologies, distributed ledgers, cryptocurrencies, and related fields. Programming spans Bitcoin and alt-currencies, Ethereum, smart contracts, ICOs, legal and compliance issues, and the convergence of AI and blockchain. The organization is led by Co-Founder and Chairman Brian Rogers and Executive Director and Founder Kiran Yarlagadda, both graduates of Columbia's School of Professional Studies, with an operating team listed at 1-10 members.

CBA does not build or sell products, software, or technology services. Its value proposition is delivered through hosted educational events, cross-school community coordination spanning Columbia's Business, Engineering, Professional Studies, FinTech, and Applied Sciences schools, and a thought-leadership content stream featuring contributions from external practitioners (e.g., Rimon P.C., Northzone). The organization was launched publicly at a July 13, 2017 inaugural event in New York City that featured speakers from Oracle, BitDevsNYC, Blockmatics.tech, and Blockchain for Change.

The business model is non-commercial. CBA is funded implicitly through volunteer leadership, corporate sponsorships, and member engagement rather than the sale of products or services. There is no pricing model, no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, and no parent company. Its only distribution channels are community membership via Meetup.com, in-person events in New York, and an organic social presence on Twitter (@ColumbiaCBA). Activity signals are concentrated in 2017, and the website copyright reflects 2021 with no documented substantive updates thereafter.

Name

Columbia Blockchain Alliance

Legal name

Columbia Blockchain Alliance

Website

https://columbiablockchainalliance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Columbia Blockchain Alliance is a private, university-affiliated community organization founded in 2017 that educates Columbia University students, alumni, and employees on blockchain, distributed ledger, and cryptocurrency technologies through events and content. It does not sell products or services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Blockchain Education Community

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC)

Keywords

• Blockchain education
• University community
• Cryptocurrency awareness
• Distributed ledger learning
• Blockchain networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership and Community Services: Columbia Blockchain Alliance operates as a non-profit university community organization. Revenue model is not publicly disclosed - the alliance appears to operate through volunteer leadership, corporate sponsorships, and member engagement rather than commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Columbia Blockchain Alliance is a university-affiliated community organization that educates Columbia University students, alumni, and employees on blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. It hosts educational events featuring industry speakers, facilitates cross-discipline collaboration across Columbia's Business, Engineering, Professional Studies, and FinTech schools, and connects members with thought leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs. The alliance does not sell commercial products but operates as a volunteer-led educational and networking community.

Product overview

Columbia Blockchain Alliance (CBA) is a university-affiliated community organization, not a product company. It does not offer commercial products, software platforms, or technology services for external customers. CBA functions as an educational and networking group for Columbia University students, alumni, and employees interested in blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. The organization hosts events, facilitates discussions on blockchain topics (including Bitcoin/alt-currencies, Ethereum, smart contracts, distributed ledgers, ICOs, legal and compliance matters, venture capital, and AI-blockchain convergence), and connects members with industry speakers and blockchain practitioners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OraclecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 July 2017Oracle (represented by Sanjay Mathew, Senior Director, Head of Open Banking Platforms & Fintech Innovations) spoke at the CBA inaugural event in July 2017. Oracle is exploring potential blockchain services for Oracle Cloud and enterprise-grade distributed ledger solutions. The partnership involves thought leadership and exploration of blockchain technology integration with Oracle's enterprise offerings.
• BitDevsNYCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 July 2017BitDevsNYC organizers provided educational content at the CBA inaugural event, giving an overview of bitcoin and alt-currencies and discussing challenges around scaling, security, hard forks, and regulation.
• Blockmatics.techminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 July 2017Co-Founder Solomon Lederer spoke at the inaugural event about blockchain education methodology, providing real-world examples and hands-on exercises for understanding blockchain technology ecosystem.
• Blockchain for ChangeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 July 2017Co-Founder Calvin Bradley spoke at the inaugural event about blockchain for transparent social impact, presenting the Fummi blockchain-verified ID system for financial inclusion.
• Partner Organizations (General)minorOthersThe alliance maintains a partners page inviting organizations to become partners in the blockchain community space. Partner logos are displayed on the website, though specific partner names are not individually listed in available content.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Cornell Blockchain: Cornell University-affiliated blockchain organization focused on education, hackathons, and research. Closely mirrors CBA's academic, cross-school model at another Ivy League institution.
• Blockchain Education Network (BEN): A nonprofit network connecting university blockchain clubs globally to share educational resources. Highly comparable to CBA as both serve as umbrella/community organizations for student-led blockchain learning.
• BitDevs NYC: A meetup-based grassroots developer community focused on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency education. Direct peer and listed partner of CBA; both operate as community-led blockchain education forums using speaker events and discussion-based formats.
• Stanford Blockchain Club: Student organization at Stanford University promoting blockchain awareness, education, and industry connections. Equivalent to CBA in mission, target audience (elite university students/alumni), and event-driven GTM.
• Princeton Blockchain Society: Princeton University student organization supporting blockchain education, research, and community. Direct peer operating under the same playbook of events, speakers, and partnership-driven programming.
• Berkeley Blockchain: UC Berkeley's student-run blockchain hub for education, community, and builder resources. Direct university peer using the same cross-discipline, event-and-content-driven community model.
• Wharton Crypto Club: University of Pennsylvania / Wharton student-led crypto and blockchain community. Comparable as a business-school-anchored blockchain education and networking organization.
• MIT Bitcoin Club / MIT Blockchain Club: Student-run blockchain and crypto community at MIT. Direct university-club peer with the same model of educational events, industry speakers, and cross-disciplinary engagement targeting top-tier university talent.

Broad incumbents

• Coin Center: The leading nonprofit blockchain policy and research advocacy organization in the U.S. Broader than CBA but materially relevant: both focus on blockchain education and awareness, with Coin Center setting the policy framing CBA's content engages with.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ColumbiaCBA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Columbia Blockchain Alliance