Musician Jay Z and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently announced their partnership in Btrust, a new Bitcoin endowment trust aimed at promoting the development of Bitcoin in India and Africa. Together, they are giving 500 BTC towards funding bitcoin development.
According to Dorsey, “It’ll be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, taking zero direction from us.” Dorsey announced his plans on Twitter, at the same time as he posted a board member application, saying he needed three board members to start the new venture.
This move has come at an interesting time, with the value of Bitcoin rising and moves to ban cryptocurrencies in some countries. India is looking at banning private cryptocurrencies while introducing a government-backed digital currency. In Nigeria, the central bank has come under fire for re-stating a 2017 ban on cryptocurrencies.
Will Bitcoin be the future currency of the internet?
Dorsey has been a prominent supporter of Bitcoin alongside other tech executives like Elon Musk. Last October, Dorsey’s payments company Square bought $50 million in Bitcoin with the goal of making it more accessible through Cash App.
Earlier this year, he tweeted about the reason behind his passion for Bitcoin.
“The reason I have so much passion for Bitcoin is largely because of the model it demonstrates: a foundational Internet technology that is not controlled or influenced by any single individual or entity. That is what the Internet wants to be, and over time, more of it will be.”
His stated purpose for Btrust is to “make Bitcoin the Internet’s currency.” The digital currency has experienced a surge in value after Elon Musk invested $1.5 billion. At the time it was reported that Tesla will start accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment in the not-too-distant future.
Whatever happens with Btrust, it’s exciting to see Bitcoin being supported by prominent figures in technology and the entertainment industry.
