Cryptocurrency: Temple University graduate Raheel Ahmad launches NFT, hopes to address tuition reform

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — He went viral when a local rapper he met at the mall agreed to pay for his college tuition.

Now, recent Temple University graduate Raheel Ahmad says his mission is to make sure other students don’t have the same financial uncertainties he had when it came to paying for school and he’s doing it using a technology that we’re all still learning more about.

“I know how it feels to be in those financial situations where other kids don’t have the same opportunity,” he said.

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While Ahmad says rapper Lil Uzi has not paid his $90,000 tuition, it didn’t stop him from launching GradOwls. It’s an NFT, or non-fungible token, that’s like a digital token.

Ahmad says it is built on the ethereum blockchain, a marketplace for crypto-transactions – meaning you use U.S. dollars to buy the cryptocurrency and that cryptocurrency is used to purchase the GradOwls NFT.

There will be 9,000 of these NFTs, each valued between $250 – $300. Once purchased, it goes into a master wallet.

“It says online that you own the specific NFT and you can track everything on the internet, see who owns it and where the money goes to,” said Ahmad. “What matters most are the utilities it provides as an owner.”

Utilities, or benefits, include an NFT owner being selected at random once a month to receive $45,000 towards tuition costs and entered into giveaways for school equipment. The NFT also has the possibility to gain in value because it’s backed by cryptocurrency.

Action News also reached out to Lil Uzi and Roc Nation about the rapper’s intentions, but never heard back.

GradOwls officially launches March 26th and if your want more information about cryptocurrency and NFTs, check out Consumer Reporter Nydia Han’s breakdown for beginners.