When the Israeli native realized there were no crypto courses listed for 2018, he rallied 12 classmates and sent a letter addressed to professors and associates of the business school.

“Many of us will have to discuss blockchain at our jobs. It makes sense to teach it,” said Orr. “It gets you a competitive advantage; it’s an extra hammer in your toolbox.”

Stanford agreed and added the course, which closed with more than 50 people on the waiting list, according to the university site.

Part of the interest comes from Stanford’s funnel into venture capital. Of the 32 percent of MBA graduates who chose to go into finance, 7 percent went to venture capital, according to the university’s 2017 employment report. VC was the second-most-popular choice behind private equity at 15 percent. Only 1 percent of graduates went into investment banking.

Venture capital investment in blockchain start-ups increased by 88 percent year over year in 2017, reaching $911 million, according to data from Pitchbook.

Interest from Stanford students has increased in lockstep, according to Susan Athey, the technology professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business who teaches the new class. Athey, who is also on the boards of Ripple, Lending Club, Expedia and Rover said the curiosity is partially thanks to bitcoin.

“The fluctuations in the prices have everyone mesmerized: Just how did this happen?” Athey said. “Many people have gone boom or bust and that’s, of course, exciting, attracts a lot of interest and motivates people to understand what’s going on.”

Bitcoin rose 1,369 percent in 2017, nearing $20,000 in December. The cryptocurrency was trading below $7,000 as of Wednesday and is down more than 50 percent this year. Blockchain is the distributed ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase and companies such as IBM are testing its use for payments and other activities.