Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z sparked some controversy in 2022 after creating the Bitcoin Academy, which focuses on empowerment through monetary education. The recent surge in Bitcoin’s value and the imaginable approval of the Bitcoin ETF may result in the rap mogul being right about Bitcoin from the start.
Their website references bitcoin as the financial system of the future and offers free courses to residents at Marcy Houses. The complex, where Jay-Z grew up, is currently the sole site for the program, with the potential to expand to other cities.
“Underserved communities have long been at a disadvantage when it comes to wealth creation. However, with the advent of Bitcoin, there is now an opportunity,” Dawdu Mahama-Amantanah proposed in our interview. Mahama is a self-proclaimed Bitcoin enthusiast and the host of The Bitcoin Source, a podcast committed to Bitcoin education.
Although Mahama claims that the podcast is not exclusive to the African-American community, it focuses on selling Bitcoin in underfunded communities. “Bitcoin can break the cycle of inequality in those communities. Learning bitcoin can provide monetary security tomorrow,” Mahama said of his intentions.
According to 2021 data from the University of Chicago’s NORC, 40% of crypto investors are other people of color. The data suggest an overrepresentation of these communities relative to the demographics of the U. S. population.
Data from the Federal Reserve shows a stark contrast between household net worth across race. Hispanic families owned on average about one-fifth the net worth of white families, with the average net worth of African Americans being lower than that of Hispanics.
Mahama refers to old policies such as the red line that create intergenerational memories of distrust in the monetary system. He believes that Bitcoin can begin to heal those wounds and close the wealth gap.
“Bitcoin is not a get-rich-quick tool. We talk about it as a question of generational wealth. It’s like starting to buy land in Manhattan before you realize it’s Manhattan,” said Lamar Wilson, founder of the Black Bitcoin Billionaires club. Me in our interview.
BBB grew organically out of a 24,000 member Facebook group named Koinda. Members eventually recommended that Wilson look to Clubhouse to expand his efforts. The BBB Clubhouse now stands at more than 163,000 members.
The clubhouse allows them to serve as a convention with greater interaction between members of the organization. “We use generation to move marginalized people forward. It doesn’t matter what color it is, we’re the least fortunate,” Wilson said. He told me that they only searched after educating, but ended up building a network without realizing it.
Wilson helps keep other people interested by providing bitcoins to those who ask questions. Soon, viewers began making donations for the shows. “One day, Jack Dorsey was in the audience and asked how he could help,” Wilson recalled. The club is now sponsored through Cash App, as well as a few other Bitcoin-related corporations like Casa, Exodus, and Fold.
Kraken, the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange, has also funded $20,000 grants for five club members trying to start a business. According to Wilson, they were also able to distribute bitcoins to more than 8,000 families through their Satoshi Millionaire Challenge, conducted in partnership with Cash. Application.
“We’re looking to provide opportunities to other people and places that don’t get them,” Wilson said of those efforts. By educating others about bitcoin, Wilson believes they can begin to steer the game to ensure that certain marginalized communities have access to the same wealth-building data and technology.
Wilson and Mahama continue their efforts, focusing on being intentional with communities to drive lasting change. They see bitcoin as a means to create wealth that can break the cycle of poverty and inequality. “Now you can escape the system. Maybe you don’t have much, but at least you can be free,” Wilson concluded.