Serial entrepreneur Jack Dorsey is an evangelist of bitcoin (BTC), the most popular cryptocurrency.
Dorsey, who believes in the blockchain technology underpinning cryptocurrencies and the potential it offers, went so far as to change the name of his company Square to better reflect the strategic shift towards digital assets.
The payment service company is now called Block (SQ). It is also the owner of the CashApp app which offers to buy and sell bitcoins and ethers (ETH), the second cryptocurrency by market value.
Dorsey even founded the Bitcoin Academy with musician and rapper Jay Z to raise awareness and educate about cryptocurrencies through online courses and in-person classes.
"Mr@sc and I are funding The #Bitcoin Academy, a program for residents of Marcy Houses in Brooklyn New York where Jay grew up, designed in collaboration with @CryptoPlug3 and @BlkBTCBillions," wrote last June, referring to Jay Z.
'Nobody Knows Anything'
It's an educational program, insisted Dorsey and Jay Z.
"Bitcoin is becoming a critical tool for many in Africa and Central and South America. We believe the same potential exists within communities in the US. Our goal is to prove that making powerful tools more available to people enables them to build greater independence," Dorsey said back in June.
He added: "Education is where we start. This isn’t just about bitcoin…it’s about long-term thinking, local economies, and self-confidence. Courses are free to all Marcy residents, including kids. And to make it even easier we’re providing devices and data plans for all who need it."
Last September, the co-founder of Twitter celebrated the first graduates of this educational program which began at the Marcy Projects, a public housing complex in Brooklyn.
"At tonight’s graduation class, @sc and I offered each student a grant of $1,000 in bitcoin. Students can save, spend, or send their bitcoin however they choose to keep investing in themselves. Will continue updating this thread as time goes on..." Dorsey said on September 7.
In view of all this, Dorsey is therefore very well placed to talk about the cryptocurrency industry. The billionaire and serial entrepreneur has just given advice to the millions of investors who are wondering if they should invest in cryptocurrencies or if they should withdraw their money from the sector. And this advice will surprise more than one person.
"Nobody knows anything," Dorsey said on Twitter on November 16, an apparent reference to the debacle of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which imploded overnight when it was valued at $32 billion in February. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was then the king of cryptocurrencies and the institutional face of the sector.
Trust No One
"How deep are you in with SBF bud?" a Twitter user asked him, using Bankman-Fried's initials.
"This deep bro," Dorsey responded, attaching a photo of a text message SBF sent him on November 7. In this message, the former CEO of FTX explained to Dorsey that he got his phone number from a mutual friend and asked to speak to him. Dorsey never answered.
Underneath there is a message that iPhone owners are familiar with because it pops up whenever they receive a text message for the first time from a phone number that is not in their contact list: "The sender is not in your contact list. Report Junk."
Minutes after his first tweet, Dorsey also sent another message in which he advises people not to believe crypto evangelists and billionaires.
"No one," he wrote on top of a tweet that said: "SBF can’t be trusted. Vitalik can’t be trusted. CZ can’t be trusted. No one can be trusted. That’s why we bitcoin. #bitcoin."
"Vitalik" is Vitalik Buterin, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, the most popular blockchain after Bitcoin. Ether is the token issued by Ethereum.
"CZ" is Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder and CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. CZ has recently emerged as the new savior of the industry after the downfall of SBF. He recently announced the creation of a fund to help crypto firms facing a liquidity crunch due to the collapse of FTX but he did not give details on this fund.
The FTX debacle has cast suspicion on the entire crypto industry, which is suffering from a lack of transparency. CZ and other figures like Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase (COIN), billionaire Michael Saylor and others are trying to distance themselves from SBF but it will probably take a long time to undo the damage done.
