Jay-Z, Jack Dorsey Unveil ‘Bitcoin Academy’ for Brooklyn Public Housing Residents

The two entrepreneurs are teaming up to offer Bitcoin-focused financial literacy courses beginning this summer for children, teens and adult residents of the Marcy Houses.

AccessTimeIconJun 9, 2022 at 4:12 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:40 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Residents of the Marcy Houses, a public housing complex in Brooklyn, New York, where Jay-Z (née Shawn Carter) grew up, will have the opportunity to take free Bitcoin education classes, funded by the rapper turned businessman and Jack Dorsey.

  • “The vision for Bitcoin (BTC) is that it doesn’t have barriers, but lack of access to financial education is a barrier,” according to the mission statement for the Bitcoin Academy.
  • Beginning June 22 and running until just after Labor Day, the program will be taught by Black Bitcoin Billionaire Founder Lamar Wilson and Najah J. Roberts, founder of the first African-American and woman-owned crypto exchange and education center in the U.S.
  • “Bitcoin is becoming a critical tool for many in Africa and Central and South America,” Jack Dorsey wrote on Twitter (TWTR). “We believe the same potential exists within communities in the U.S. Our goal is to prove that making powerful tools more available to people enables them to build greater independence.”
  • Dorsey also teased an expansion to the program, saying there’s “much more to come soon.”
  • An April report by Ariel Investments and Charles Schwab (SCHW) revealed that 25% of Black Americans own cryptocurrency, compared with just 15% of white Americans.
  • This isn’t Jay-Z and Dorsey’s first collaboration. In 2021, Dorsey’s Block (SQ) – then called Square – acquired Jay-Z’s music streaming service Tidal, which the two envisioned as a new platform for artists to create and be paid.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Elizabeth Napolitano

Elizabeth Napolitano was a news reporter at CoinDesk.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


Read more about