JAY-Z And Jack Dorsey Launch The Bitcoin Academy In Brooklyn, NY

The learning program will provide free Bitcoin education, data plans, and smartphones to help residents access the Bitcoin network.

Jack Dorsey and hip-hop artist JAY-Z have joined forces to fund Bitcoin education Brooklyn, New York. With a series of free courses on the topic, the plan to educate residents of Marcy Houses in Brooklyn, New York why they should care about Bitcoin (BTC).

“The Bitcoin Academy” will be led by Najah J. Roberts of Crypto Blockchain Plug, and Lamar Wilson. Roberts has appeared on Afro Tech, CNBC, and Fast Money, while Wilson has been featured on both The Breakfast Club and Vice News.

According to the initiative’s website, the program will “empower” communities with knowledge, breaking down the informational barrier to entry for the area’s residents. While Bitcoin is indeed an open network, people are still effectively barred from entering when deprived of access to financial education.

Getting experience using Bitcoin is also difficult given that it can’t be used widely for purchasing basic goods yet, nor is it usable without devices and data plans.

The website explains:

“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 academy’s classes will be held from June 22nd to September 7th, both online and in-person, for all Marcy residents – with dinner provided. It will even offer free MiFi devices, one-year data plans, and smartphones to those who attend, and for the residents to keep.

There will also be “Crypto Kids Camp” programming over the weekends, for kids aged 5 to 17. The program is intended to expand to other neighborhoods in the near future.