Jack Dorsey, the innovator behind Twitter's microblogging system, has had a profound impact on the online world, making waves far beyond those of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. He's not only an ardent supporter of cryptocurrencies but also the founder of a crypto literacy project.
Jack Dorsey was born in 1976 in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. He is considered one of the most gifted architects of multimedia communication platforms and the hardest-working billionaire among all crypto personalities.
His career, however, began as an ordinary software developer for taxi and delivery services. At the age of 20, with only a stint at the University of Missouri behind him, earning roughly a thousand dollars a month, Dorsey harbored an unwavering aspiration to amass a fortune.
The Creation of Twitter
In the early 2000s, Dorsey envisioned a way to bring people together from across the globe via a platform for microblogging in real time. The foundation of this idea was built upon a principle of a dispatch messaging service he'd created previously. This concept evolved into what we now know as Twitter, a platform that revolutionized the way we communicate. Dorsey co-founded Twitter in 2006 and served as its CEO from its inception until November 2021, with a brief interval in between. Dorsey himself created the first tweet on the platform, posted on March 21, 2006, which read, "just setting up my twttr". At that time, tweets were limited to 140 characters.
With Dorsey at the helm, the platform quickly gained a following, amassing millions of users, evolving into a cultural phenomenon, and becoming a go-to source for the latest news. To this day, Twitter remains a potent tool for individuals, companies, and even governments, facilitating information exchange, enabling social research, and influencing public opinion.
Dorsey even sold his inaugural tweet as an NFT at the Valuables auction for $2.9 million.
Jack Dorsey. Source: ВВС News
Twitter is good, but cryptocurrencies are better
As the momentum of Twitter's success grew, Dorsey's interests began to extend beyond social media. He found himself captivated by the concepts of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, appreciating their potential for decentralization as early as 2012. Dorsey strongly believes in the decentralized essence of cryptocurrencies and their potential to enhance economic freedom and disrupt financial systems. He sees Bitcoin (BTC) as the de facto currency of the internet, capable of challenging conventional banking infrastructures.
In 2022, Dorsey, in collaboration with rapper Jay Z, established the Bitcoin Academy, aimed at educating Brooklyn's poorest residents and their children. Dorsey is confident that this knowledge will provide these individuals with the tools to escape cycles of poverty and criminality.
"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."
Each student is given a grant of $1000 in BTC along with guidance in learning trading techniques.
Dorsey has plans to set up similar projects in Africa and South America.
Meanwhile, Dorsey views the crypto economy as a vast arena open to manipulation. Being a crypto-billionaire himself, he cautions people against trusting those who have accrued wealth through the creation and trading of cryptocurrencies. One of his most notorious tweets states, “SBF can't be trusted. Vitalik can't be trusted. CZ can't be trusted. No one can be trusted.”
Jack Dorsey's most popular tweet. Source: Twitter
The Creation of Square
In 2009, Dorsey co-founded Square, a venture that initially served as a mobile transaction platform, facilitating small businesses to receive payments via smartphones. By 2013, the platform had garnered about two million users and expanded its reach into Asian markets.
At this stage, fully engrossed in the realm of blockchain technology, Dorsey chose to rebrand Square as Block. This represented a significant shift in the project's direction toward digital assets.
Alongside, he introduced CashApp, a service that enables users to trade in cryptocurrencies.
Interesting facts about Jack Dorsey
The crypto community maintains a cautiously skeptical view of Dorsey. This sentiment stems from Dorsey's regular use of social platforms, Twitter included, as platforms for political discourse. The community speculates that his $11 billion fortune may have less to do with his tech start-ups and more with advancing the interests of various political factions. For instance, Twitter unexpectedly transformed into a campaign platform for US presidential candidate John McCain in 2008. Dorsey currently advocates in all his live interviews and broadcasts for voting for Robert F. Kennedy, affirming that only Kennedy can and will" beat both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential race.
Dorsey is renowned for his eccentricities and a penchant for indulgence:
- He immerses himself in daily ice-cold distilled water baths.
- He is a digital aficionado, consciously avoiding reading physical books.
- Dorsey aspires to establish a line of production for programmer-centric massage chairs.
- Despite his wealth, he takes the bus to work and opts for a season ticket, possibly to align with his belief in equality for all.
- His wardrobe predominantly features designs from Los Angeles-based designer Rick Owens, where the price for a t-shirt starts at a whopping $5000.
- He dedicates two hours every day to meditation.
- He occasionally takes small doses of LSD to bolster his productivity.
- He once offered his beard shavings to Azealia Banks so the rapper could make him an amulet.
On a personal front, Dorsey has remained single, with none of his relationships with women lasting over a year. Could it be linked to his unique preference for gifting handcrafted origami cranes to women?
