Atilus mines scholarship fund

Atilus, a Florida-based internet marketing company, is launching a scholarship fund by using bitcoin donations. It marks Florida Gulf Coast University’s (FGCU) first encounter with bitcoin venturing.

The deposit of BTC5.9 ($2,500) was made by the company on April 11, 2014. The entire endowment will be funded over the next five years, or faster if possible. Atilus CEO Zachary Katkin, along with the company’s Director of Operations Harry Casimir, have made the first donation worth $37,500.

To be eligible, prospective students at FGCU will need to be in good academic standing and meet the minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 (B-). They must also have a track record of engagement within student clubs and organisations. Prospective students also need to qualify for financial eligibility and involvement with a university sanctioned internship.

Atilus was founded by Katkin and Casimir while they were both attending FGCU. Katkin is a liberal studies graduate, while Casimir is a computer information services graduate. Their idea of a bitcoin scholarship is not entirely new, as MIT students Jeremy Rubin and Daniel Elitzer raised $500,000 in May to give each MIT undergraduate student $100 worth of bitcoins this September.

Katkin said: “Atilus owes a lot to the university and we thought the idea of giving back using the future of money – bitcoin – would be the perfect union of philanthropy, technology and our alma mater. Giving back is one thing, but giving back in a meaningful way that furthers the discipline in which one was educated – and helps advance the institution of which many of us at Atilus are the products – is even better.”