Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter and current CEO of Block Inc. The CEO is known for his love of Bitcoin, dubbing it the internet's native currency. And he keeps proving it not just with words, but actions too.
Recently, he led the seed funding of Azteco, the California-based company that aims to accelerate Bitcoin adoption by introducing Bitcoin gift cards. It totaled $6 million, with the company fleshing out the goal of alleviating the plight of the unbanked population worldwide and democratizing finance.
According to Azteco CEO Akin Fernandez, the company also looks to establish partnerships with companies across the globe, ensuring that Bitcoin spending becomes a mainstream and widely accepted concept.
With Azteco’s reach extending to nearly 600,000 payment locations in about 200 countries, Fernandez says that this could have a significant impact, including in the US. Around 4.5% of households were unbanked in 2021, lacking access to e-commerce like Amazon and other services. Bank loans included.
Bitcoin offers a solution to these problems, circumventing third parties for currency issuing and reducing corruption.
This vision has apparently struck a chord with Dorsey who believes that Azteco is taking a step in the right direction.
Overall Dorsey is considered one of the principal sponsors of developers devoted to Bitcoin. Over the years, he invested millions of dollars into an array of companies that improve Bitcoin services.
In 2021, he spearheaded the Spiral project, which offers grants to those working on Bitcoin projects. He also established a blind trust comprising 500 BTC alongside billionaire rapper Jay-Z, to provide support to Bitcoin developers in India and Africa as well as a legal fund to help Bitcoin developers navigate lawsuits brought by Craig Wright.
In addition to that, in 2023, he transferred 10 million dollars to the non-profit entity, OpenSats, which backs open-source projects grounded on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Previously, GNCrypto reported that Dorsey shrugged off Zuckerberg and is facing racism accusations.
