Blockchain Student Association - EPFL

What Blockchain Student Association - EPFL does

Blockchain Student Association - EPFL (BSA) is a student-led, nonprofit university association founded in 2018 at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and officially recognized by the university in 2021. It was the first blockchain student association in Switzerland and operates from EPFL's campus in Ecublens. Its mission is to advance blockchain education, research, and community building among students at Swiss and international universities.

BSA's core activities are organized around three programs: conferences, hackathons, and research. Conferences feature expert talks and panels on privacy, DeFi, stablecoins, and regulation, with the most recent event attracting more than 350 attendees. Hackathons are 36-hour building sprints with prize pools of $15,000-$20,000, drawing participants from more than 20 universities internationally and distributing over $90,000 in cumulative prizes. Research is anchored by member contributions to EPFL laboratories DEDIS (decentralized and distributed systems), DCL (distributed computing), and COMPSEC (computation security), with published work on decentralized RPC infrastructure, privacy-preserving architectures, and zero-knowledge proofs. The association has also launched an education platform at edu.bsaepfl.ch and incubates member-built startups including Ascent Ad Astra, Spectra Finance, Metacube, Abstract Horizon, HONEY, Abyss, and ZyF AI.

BSA is not a commercial entity and generates no revenue. Its operations are sustained through a broad partnership ecosystem that includes Web3 protocol foundations (Ledger, Starknet, Arbitrum, Sui Foundation, Hedera/Hashgraph, Mina Foundation, ENS, Aleph Zero), Swiss financial institutions (Swissquote, Raiffeisen, Syz Bank, Taurus), and Swiss blockchain ecosystem bodies (Crypto Valley Association, MiCA Crypto Alliance). The partnership network underwrites hackathons and conferences and provides the infrastructure, mentorship, and prize pools that anchor the association's programs. BSA has no parent company, no funding rounds, and no external ownership; control rests with its student membership body, consistent with standard university association governance.

Name

Blockchain Student Association - EPFL

Legal name

Blockchain Student Association - EPFL

Website

https://bsa.epfl.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blockchain Student Association - EPFL is a student-led nonprofit association founded in 2018 at EPFL in Lausanne that educates university students on blockchain through conferences, hackathons, research, and an incubation program for member-built Web3 startups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Education & Community

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Computer Training (61142)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Asset Risk, Security & Audit Tooling (Smart Contract Audit, Threat Monitoring) (FSAGAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Institutional DeFi & On-Chain Liquidity Infrastructure (Permissioned DeFi, Lending) (FSAGAMAG)

Keywords

• Blockchain education
• Student hackathons
• Blockchain research
• Web3 community building
• Startup incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Blockchain Student Association - EPFL is a student-led nonprofit association that runs blockchain education, conferences, and 36-hour hackathons at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. Its core offerings are expert talks and panels on privacy, DeFi, stablecoins, and regulation; hackathons with $15k-$20k prize pools; member research contributions to EPFL labs (DEDIS, DCL, COMPSEC) on decentralized systems, privacy architectures, and zero-knowledge proofs; and an education platform at edu.bsaepfl.ch. The association has incubated 8 member-built startups across DeFi, gaming, NFT financialization, and AI portfolio management.

Product overview

Blockchain Student Association - EPFL is a student-led association focused on blockchain education and community building rather than a product company. It organizes conferences, hackathons, and research activities. The organization incubates startups built by its members, including Ascent Ad Astra (Web3 design agency), Spectra Finance (DeFi derivatives), Metacube (Starknet gaming), Abstract Horizon (Abstract ecosystem resource), HONEY (NFT financialization), Abyss (Sui perpetuals trading), and ZyF AI (DeFi portfolio management). The association also operates an education platform at edu.bsaepfl.ch for blockchain learning resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blockchain Conferences

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• AlphaTON CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlphaTON Capital is a blockchain-focused investment firm that partners with BSA for hackathon tracks and prizes, supporting the association's event ecosystem.
• LedgercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLedger, the leading hardware wallet company, partners with BSA to support blockchain education and hackathon activities.
• SwissquotecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwissquote, a Swiss online bank with crypto services, partners with BSA for blockchain events and educational initiatives.
• StarknetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStarknet, a Layer 2 blockchain scaling solution, partners with BSA to support development and hackathon participation.
• The Hashgraph AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hashgraph Association supports BSA's blockchain education initiatives and hackathon activities in Switzerland.
• SupernovasupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSupernova partners with BSA for hackathon events and blockchain ecosystem outreach.
• WiW3chsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerWiW3ch partners with BSA for community and educational initiatives in the blockchain space.
• XRPL CommonssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerXRPL Commons collaborates with BSA to support XRP Ledger ecosystem development and education.
• HylisupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerHyli partners with BSA for blockchain community events and educational activities.
• TaurussupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaurus, a digital asset infrastructure company, partners with BSA for blockchain initiatives.
• MiCA Crypto AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiCA Crypto Alliance works with BSA on regulatory and compliance-related blockchain education.
• Sui FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSui Foundation partners with BSA to support Sui ecosystem development and hackathon participation.
• Aleph ZerosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAleph Zero partners with BSA for blockchain research and development activities.
• ENSsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerENS (Ethereum Name Service) partners with BSA to support decentralized identity ecosystem development.
• RaiffeisensupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRaiffeisen, a Swiss banking group, partners with BSA for blockchain innovation initiatives.
• Crypto Valley AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrypto Valley Association, the premier blockchain hub in Switzerland, partners with BSA for ecosystem development.
• Mina FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMina Foundation partners with BSA to support zero-knowledge proof ecosystem development.
• ArbitrumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArbitrum, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, partners with BSA for hackathons and ecosystem growth.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Crypto Valley Association: Switzerland's premier blockchain industry association based in Zug. Although broader in scope (industry-wide rather than student-focused), it is a listed core partner of BSA and shares the Swiss Web3 ecosystem mandate.

Direct peers

• Blockchain at Berkeley: Student-run blockchain organization at UC Berkeley organizing hackathons, developer education, and research initiatives. Closely parallels BSA's model of conferences, hackathons, and startup incubation tied to a top-tier research university.
• Columbia Blockchain: Columbia University's student-led blockchain organization running hackathons, speaker series, and research. Operates under the same university-club template as BSA, targeting student developers and competing for similar sponsor attention.
• Harvard Blockchain Club: Student-run organization at Harvard focused on blockchain education, networking, and hackathons. Comparable to BSA in mission and structure, though operating in a different geography with its own sponsor base.
• Cornell Blockchain: Cornell University's student-run blockchain club focused on education, hackathons, and applied research. Comparable to BSA in combining student hackathon programming with academic research output and industry sponsor engagement.
• Princeton Blockchain Society: Student-led organization at Princeton University focused on blockchain education, talks, and hackathons. Closely comparable to BSA in operating as a university-affiliated, sponsor-supported community driving hackathon participation and builder talent.
• MIT Bitcoin Club / MIT Blockchain Club: MIT-affiliated student organization hosting educational events, hackathons, and research meetups on Bitcoin and broader blockchain technology. Direct peer to BSA given the same student-association structure, hackathon sponsorship model, and research orientation.
• Stanford Blockchain Club: University-based student organization at Stanford focused on blockchain education, hackathons, and builder community. Directly comparable to BSA as a campus-anchored student association running hackathons, speaker series, and incubation for Web3 startups.
• ETH Zurich Blockchain Club: Student-led blockchain initiative at ETH Zurich running hackathons, talks, and builder programs. Particularly close peer to BSA as the other top Swiss technical university's blockchain student body with overlapping sponsor ecosystem and Swiss banking relationships.
• UCL Blockchain Society: University College London's student-run blockchain society hosting educational events, hackathons, and industry talks. Directly comparable student-association model focused on Web3 talent development and industry networking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blockchain-student-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Blockchain Student Association - EPFL