Jay-Z and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are giving $$$ in Bitcoin to Marcy Houses residents

Residents of the Marcy housing projects in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York are waking up a thousand dollars richer this weekend after completing a cryptocurrency training hosted by Jay Z and Jack Dorsey. According to Okay Playerthe rapper turned entrepreneur and former Twitter CEO launched Bitcoin Academy in June, offering residents of Marcy Houses an opportunity to learn more about crypto’s place in the current financial landscape, as well as other tools for financial planning and investing.

The three-month program now ends with all participants (nearly 350 in total) receiving almost a thousand dollars in Bitcoin, which, per Business Insider, is personally funded by Jay-Z and Dorsey themselves. The payments were instantly distributed via the Cash App, Muun Wallet and a handful of other digital wallets.

With the success of the first program in Bed-Stuy, The Bitcoin Academy will launch in other neighborhoods over the next year.

“Marcy residents showed up,” said JAY-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, who serves as president and co-founder of the Shawn Carter Foundation. “The 350+ people who attended the Bitcoin Academy classes let us know that this education is important to them – and that it matters. What also matters is providing the necessary resources like dinner, childcare, devices, internet access , dedicated staff and instructors so that as many people as possible can participate in person and online, I am so grateful to the community that came together to make this happen, and especially to all of the class participants who are now more empowered to make their own financial decisions with greater knowledge,” Carter added in a statement Business Insider.

“I am so grateful to the community that came together to make this happen, and especially to all the class participants who are now more empowered to make their own financial decisions with greater knowledge. Knowledge is power. It is now up to everyone who participated to strengthen and prepare the next generation.”

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This is the first initiative of partners Jay-Z and Dorsey. And while others praise the positive impact the program has shown in Bed-Stuy, others criticize it as a press stunt. What do you think about the Bitcoin fall?