Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and musician Jay-Z have pledged 500 bitcoin (around $23.3 million) toward ₿trust, an endowment to fund bitcoin development, Dorsey announced on Twitter today.
The CEO said development will initially be focused on teams in Africa and India, but that he and Jay-Z plan to give “zero direction” to the plans.
₿trust is currently looking for three board members, with an application form noting its mission is to “make bitcoin the internet’s currency.”
Africa and India are two interesting markets in which to focus bitcoin development.
As TechCrunch notes, cryptocurrencies have grown increasingly popular throughout the African continent for making cross-border transactions cheaper, and in some cases being resistant to government control.
Nigeria is reportedly second only to the US in terms of the amount of bitcoin traded in the country in the last five years.
JAY-Z/@S_C_ and I are giving 500 BTC to a new endowment named ₿trust to fund #Bitcoin development, initially focused on teams in Africa & India. It‘ll be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, taking zero direction from us. We need 3 board members to start: https://t.co/L4mRBryMJe
— jack (@jack) February 12, 2021
Meanwhile, the Indian government is currently looking to ban private cryptocurrencies in the country, Bloomberg reports, while also investigating the creation of an official digital currency.
TechCrunch notes that cryptocurrency development in the country has been slow, despite its strengths in software development.
Dorsey has been a longtime supporter of cryptocurrency, and this has been reflected in the actions of his companies.
His payments platform company Square has accepted bitcoin as a form of payment since 2014 and announced it had purchased $50 million in bitcoin last year as an investment in cryptocurrency.
At the time, Square said it believed bitcoin could be the currency of the future and that cryptocurrency is an “instrument of economic empowerment.”
Earlier this week, Twitter’s chief financial officer said the company was looking into how it might pay its employees or vendors in bitcoin in the future.
₿trust is the second major bitcoin investment announced this week.
On Monday, Tesla said it had invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency and was hoping to take it as a payment method in the near future.
Latest Stories
-
Expelled South African envoy accuses Trump administration of racism
11 minutes -
Local Government Minister proposes sanitation levy to address Ghana’s waste management crisis
8 hours -
Central University Vice Chancellor calls for Fee Voucher System to support private universities
8 hours -
Heritage Month Cooking Competition showcases Ghana’s culinary richness
8 hours -
His finest hour yet: The Bawumia concession and lessons in leadership
10 hours -
EC reschedules nomination for Nkoranza North and South District Level Elections
11 hours -
Energy Minister must recover stolen ECG containers or be held accountable – Ntim Fordjour
11 hours -
CLOGSAG suspends strike over Births and Deaths Registry appointment
11 hours -
Ing. Ludwig Annang Hesse is new president of GhIE
11 hours -
One artiste can’t take Ghana to the top, we must collaborate – Edem
11 hours -
Presidency hasn’t ordered NIB to investigate Akufo-Addo’s travels – Felix Kwakye Ofosu
11 hours -
Edem explains how 2023 motor accident made him lose gigs
12 hours -
Smoke detectors and modern technology: A game-changer in Ghana’s fight against market and home fires?
12 hours -
Provisional results for 2025 WASSCE First Series released
12 hours -
M&O Law Consult’s Emmanuel Mate-Kole awarded for ‘Excellence in Strategic Law Firm Leadership Management’
12 hours