Scotland’s Lomond School to Accept Bitcoin Tuition

The Lomond School, a prestigious independent school in Helensburgh, Scotland, will become the first educational institution in the United Kingdom to accept Bitcoin for tuition payments starting in the Autumn term of 2025.

The school said it would introduce BTC payments as part of a broader initiative to weave “sound money principles” and Austrian School economic theory into its curriculum. Lomond framed the move as an effort to equip students for a rapidly changing global economy, while using Bitcoin as a real-world teaching tool.

“Bitcoin is available to anyone willing to learn — making it more democratic and inclusive, particularly for people in developing nations who lack access to traditional banking,” the announcement stated. “Lomond sees Bitcoin as a perfect real-world case study in economics, computing, ethics, and innovation.”

The school clarified that it will not hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet for now. BTC received for tuition will be converted immediately into fiat currency, though the school left the door open for a future treasury strategy depending on community input.

Lomond’s decision arrives amid growing concerns about currency depreciation and inflation. The value of the British pound declined dramatically this year, a trajectory mirrored by most fiat currencies over the long term. The school cited Bitcoin’s fixed supply and decentralized monetary policy as a counterpoint to what it called “the instability of global finance.”

Bitcoin in Education Gathers Momentum

Lomond joins a growing list of academic institutions exploring or adopting Bitcoin in various forms.

In the U.S., the University of Cincinnati introduced crypto-focused coursework in 2022. El Salvador’s Ministry of Education partnered with nonprofit Mi Primer Bitcoin to roll out Bitcoin curriculum in schools nationwide.

More recently, the University of Wyoming launched a dedicated Bitcoin Research Institute in July 2024, while the University of Austin revealed a $5 million BTC allocation in its endowment fund earlier this year.

The trend reflects rising institutional interest in Bitcoin not just as an asset, but as a subject of study in economic, technological, and philosophical contexts.

Lomond’s leadership sees BTC’s integration as both practical and educational. “This is about more than payment,” one school representative said. “It’s about preparing students to think critically about money, sovereignty, and the digital economy that’s reshaping the world.”