Not long ago, Live Bitcoin News published an article saying that rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z and former Twitter executive Jack Dorsey were working together to bring about a new crypto education package to residents of an old Brooklyn neighborhood that the husband of Beyonce grew up in.
Jay-Z and Dorsey Are Taking Flak
However, while their intentions may be noble or grand, their actions are getting a lot of criticism from people on social media. There are several that claim the education package does not meet the needs of its audiences. That many of these residents – being that they live in a public housing complex – need other necessities like food and proper shelter before they get access to what is now deemed a crashing asset.
Both Jay-Z and Dorsey claim that in introducing these individuals to the magic of crypto and blockchain, they can gain financial independence and potentially learn to wean themselves off the monetary third parties that will likely control their lives as adults. Jay-Z grew up in the very neighborhood that he is now targeting and says he wishes someone had introduced him to the wealth of financial knowledge he now has as an adult when he was younger so that he could have escaped his living conditions earlier in life.
The entire program is also being funded directly by both Jay-Z and Dorsey, and the educational resources are provided free of charge. Still, people aren’t looking at the situation in a positive light. A few weeks ago, Dorsey posted the following on Twitter:
Education is where we start. This isn’t just about bitcoin… It’s about long-term thinking, local economies, and self-confidence.
It was this comment that seemed to get everyone riled up online. One Twitter user known simply as “Gabby” responded with:
The way bitcoin fluctuates… I am just having a really hard time seeing the point in this.
Crypto enthusiast Austin Robey asked Dorsey directly if perhaps he and the rapper should try to help the communities they’re targeting on a more specific level. He wrote:
If you asked Marcy Houses residents how to best meet their needs, how many would say ‘a bitcoin class?’
Is the Target Audience Correct?
Tonantzin Carmona – a fellow at Brookings Metro – was concerned that exposing all these individuals to crypto was potentially exposing them to fraud, as the scams in the digital currency space have grown tenfold in recent years. Carmona explained:
They are saying you’re going to have financial freedom, but that also means you’re getting access to cryptocurrency’s volatility and complexity. You’re getting access to a space that is rife with scams, fraud, hacks, and all sorts of things because there aren’t consumer protections in place.
At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin has fallen to new lows and is now just above $20K.
