A university professor has launched a new academic journal dedicated to research focusing on the blockchain technology, making it the first to do so.

Founder and editor of the Ledger journal is Chris Wilmer, University of Pittsburgh Assistant Professor of Chemistry, who decided to launch the academic journal after seeing that there was no place for people passionate about the technology to publish their research.

With the first issue of Ledger published last month, it focuses on economics, finance, law, math, cryptocurrency, and engineering.

Speaking to Pittsburgh’s NPR News Station, on a podcast, Wilmer, said when referring to the blockchain, that:

Like the Internet, it will touch all aspects of life. It will change the way we do scientific research…it will change the way we practice law and it will change the way we practice filing patents and going to concerts and trading stocks and so forth.

Increased Interest in Digital Currencies and the Blockchain

Since 2008, more and more people have jumped on the bitcoin bandwagon, making their riches or losing it, with wider interest also being demonstrated within the blockchain space.

Only recently, it was reported that digital currencies had reached a new high, surpassing $28 billion, more than doubling its value from around $12 billion in 2013.

After a recent drop in bitcoin’s price and market value, it has once again risen, with its market value just under $20 billion. It is this which has helped to push the collective value of the digital currencies up to just under $30 billion.

Ethereum and Dash, which are two other popular digital currencies, have also increased in price with Ethereum hovering under $45 and Dash just over $60. While they remain a long way from Bitcoin’s current price of $1,201, they are steadily increasing their value as more people venture to alternative digital currencies to make a profit.

According to Wilmer, though, bitcoin is described as the ‘largest socioeconomic human experiment,’ which means there is plenty of scope available for people to study and write about it. To start the first issue, Wilmer decided to focus on the diverse subject matter of the blockchain to ease people in who may not know much about the technology.

He added:

Ranging from very technical, focusing on the cryptography – ways of sending payments even more privately. And just talking about a sociologist’s view of blockchain technology and Bitcoin and its effects on society.

With interest expected to continue rising with digital currencies and the blockchain, it can be expected that the Ledger will provide even more comprehensive research on a technology that is changing many things in our day-to-day lives.

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