Jay-Z Launches Bitcoin Academy Dedicated to Marcy Houses

Photo by: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Jay-Z strongly supports financial independence.

Since entering the industry, he has been a vocal supporter of giving artists the freedom to pursue generational wealth. He will now impart his knowledge of the value of financial literacy to others.

Jay-Z announced that he and Jack Dorsey would be launching The Bitcoin Academy dedicated to Marcy Houses on Thursday via his Twitter account on June 9th.

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“Shout out to @Jack. #Bitcoin Academy, starting in Marcy, a place that taught me so much, is hopefully the first of many,” the Brooklyn native said.

He added, “the simple goal is to provide people tools to build independence for themselves and then the community around them.”

According to the official The Bitcoin Academy website, the project will provide Marcy Houses residents only free online and in-person bitcoin education lessons from June 22 to September 7.

Photo by: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

“This program aims to provide education, empower the community with knowledge, and get rid of some of the barriers so that residents can learn more about Bitcoin specifically and finance in general,” the website explains.

Lamar Wilson of Black Bitcoin Billionaire and Najah J. Roberts of Crypto Blockchain Plug will be the instructors for the courses.

Gloria Carter, Jay-Z’s mother, has released a statement about the exciting news.

Photo by: Thaddaeus McAdams/Film Magic

“The Shawn Carter Foundation has always been about providing educational access and opening doors of opportunity to underserved communities. No one should be left out or behind.”

She continued.

“We truly appreciate the partnership with Block and Jack Dorsey to bring financial, specifically bitcoin education to the Marcy residents, where I spent many years raising my family.”

The mogul duo has previously collaborated on projects.

Jay-Z sold TIDAL to Dorsey’s business Square last year for $350 million. Carter was appointed to the company’s board of directors as part of the agreement.

Photo by: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for WIRED25

Although there’s excitement surrounding this new venture, some have shared their opinions on Twitter.

“Predatory financial “education” aimed at low income folks is alive and well it seems,” one Twitter user wrote.

“There are about 4300 residents living in Marcy projects. Jay could’ve given them each at minimum $500 and it would cost him $2.1m which is a drop in the bucket when held next to his $1.3b net worth. But instead they get Bitcoin academy fliers in the elevators like be serious,” another person explained. 

One person went as far as to take an image of how the flyers were distributed in the Brooklyn projects.

“This is how Jay Z’s Bitcoin Academy is being distributed in Marcy Ps… Just throwing it in the lobby… lol “Financial Literacy,” the person said.

Wednesday saw a significant deterioration in the cryptocurrency market, with bitcoin falling dangerously near the crucial $20,000 mark.

According to Coinbase data, Bitcoin fell as much as 10% to an intraday low of $20,166.

It has recently dropped by around 1.6 percent to $21,802. Since the peak of the cryptocurrency boom in November 2021, the price of the most prominent digital currency in the world has dropped by almost 70%.

Shout out to Jay-Z fro dropping these financial literacy gems!

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