Jay-Z has 99 problems but Bitcoin ain’t one
Jay-Z, born Shawn Corey Carter, has come a long way from his humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York. From his chart-topping hits to his successful entrepreneurial ventures, he's a force to be reckoned with, but he is more than just a musician. He's a savvy entrepreneur with a diverse portfolio of business ventures. From co-founding Roc Nation to launching his own fashion label, Rocawear, and later acquiring luxury champagne brand Ace of Spades, Jay-Z's business acumen is as impressive as his music career but did you know that he’s also making waves in the world of Bitcoin?
The Bitcoin Academy
Source: https://www.thebitcoinacademy.com/
One of his more public forays into Bitcoin was a joint venture with well-known Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey, the Founder of Twitter & Block. The Bitcoin Academy was born in 2022, as a program for residents of Marcy Houses in Brooklyn, New York. This program aims to provide education and empower the community with knowledge about Bitcoin.
But why Marcy Houses?
Jay-Z grew up in the Marcy Houses, so he has a unique understanding of the challenges faced by its residents as well as the need to create and sustain wealth within the community.
₿Trust
Source: https://shorturl.at/wKO37
In addition to the Bitcoin Academy, back in 2021 Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey gave 500 BTC to form a new endowment called ₿trust, a philanthropic endeavour focused on empowering underserved communities and providing financial education, resources, and opportunities to regions in Africa and India. It is run by the board @actuallyCarlaKC, @ihate1999, @obi, & @ojomaochai, with Obi recently speaking at two of our previous events in Edinburgh and London. The trust is set up as a blind irrevocable trust, which means that Jack or Jay give zero direction as to where the 500 BTC should go. Pretty cool huh? This week’s newsletter will highlight how ₿Trust have just acquired an African Bitcoin talent organization that trains African Bitcoin and Lightning engineers. Subscribe
Jay-Z's involvement in Bitcoin is more than just a celebrity endorsement. The likelihood is you didn’t even know that Jay-Z cared about Bitcoin before reading this. If you’re already in the Bitcoin space then you probably did, but maybe didn’t know to what extent.
Either way, Bitcoin is far reaching and there are more people out there that understand it than you may think but they just aren’t screaming and shouting about it.
This is a guest blog. Views expressed are their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bitcoin Collective.