Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey Criticized for Launching ‘Bitcoin Academy’
Seemed like such a good idea. However, Jay-Z and Dorsey have been criticized for launching the so-called ‘Bitcoin Academy’.
Cryptos are hot. But there are all kinds of risks involved. Rapper Jay-Z and Twitterfounder Jack Dorsey have teamed up to launch a Bitcoin-focused financial literacy project. The project consists of free fortnightly classes, in person and online, for residents of the musician’s childhood home: the Marcy Houses complex in Brooklyn, New York City.
New collaboration
The two have known each other for a long time. The collaboration should therefore not come as a surprise. Dorsey’s digital payments company Block bought a majority stake in Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service in 2021. And the two have used their personal Bitcoin holdings to fund a trust designed to promote the use of cryptocurrency in Africa and India.
The Bitcoin Academy itself seems to have quite a bit in common with this latest project. The academy’s website promises that the lessons “will provide the community with knowledge and remove some barriers so that residents can learn more about Bitcoin in particular and about finance in general.”
Jay-Z and Dorsey criticized over Bitcoin
While offering free financial literacy classes would be undisputed, the academy’s focus on Bitcoin has come under heavy criticism. The cryptocurrency world is riddled with financial scams, hacks and fraud. In which unsuspecting investors are encouraged to buy various coins with promises of quick returns. And then to find that the carpet is being pulled under them and their savings are gone.
In response to the academy’s announcement on Twitter, many users labeled the project a “pyramid scheme.” It is unclear whether the project will be halted after this criticism.
