If the supply of the currency were inflated to "print" money to give to MIT students, people would rightly protest. It would be a simple wealth transfer from the overall population of currency holders to a small group of students who are already some of the most highly advantaged people alive in the world today.

One purpose of this project is clear: to promote Bitcoin (or cryptocurrencies generally). The value of Bitcoin is higher since this announcement was made, regardless of what the price is.