The United States banking system can be a complicated landscape characterized by rapid economic changes and market fluctuations. Tulane’s Financial Technology club helps students navigate and interpret this complex system by promoting financial literacy and educating students about financial technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency.
“There are many different [places] where your money can get lost, there’s high fees, [it] takes a lot of time and you don’t actually ever have real control of your money,” Max Allaire, president of the Tulane University Financial Technology club, said.
Tulane Fintech is the first chapter under its parental national organization, Crypto Current Network. It was founded in 2021 and focuses on teaching students to use technology to enhance traditional financial methods.
“Our main goal is to really just educate people,” Allaire said. “I really focus on the tech behind crypto and blockchain, so we do a lot of modules teaching them how it actually works.”
Unlike traditional payment methods that involve intermediaries, high bank fees and delayed payments, blockchain uses cryptographic code to directly transfer payments without additional fees.
“You can send money anywhere instantly, and it just opens up economic opportunity to billions of people down the line,” Allaire said.
On a mission to explore a more efficient financial system, Tulane Fintech travels to conferences every semester where members can participate in workshops and network with blockchain and fintech collegiate clubs across the country. The club plans to host a conference in 2026 sponsored by top companies, in collaboration with leaders of cryptocurrency and financial technology.
“People can go to different workshops, learn how to code and build on blockchain, as well as find career opportunities and different new projects in the space,” Allaire said. “We also bring in speakers from the industry to talk about their career, how they got there and what really goes behind building out these different financial structures.”
Cryptocurrency, or virtual assets, use blockchain networks to seamlessly transfer money without intermediaries.
“I think this is such a new field, and some people may be daunted, or feel like they’ll be instantly confused by hearing these words, like ‘blockchain’ and ‘crypto,’” Allaire said. “So, people are hesitant to join and come learn.”
Despite these challenges, Fintech has quadrupled in size during Allaire’s presidency, growing to a board of nine executive officers.
“If you’re interested in either technology or finance or just revolutionizing the economy, then the Fintech club is where you want to go,” he said.
