Jay-Z brings crypto to the Marcy projects, to medium effect

No matter how memorable the “crypto bro” has become, the archetype keeps finding its way into the hearts of new, impressionable billionaires—and now two of them are hoping cryptocurrency will resonate with public housing tenants in Brooklyn.

Per The Daily Beast, rapper Jay-Z and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently teamed up to fund a 12-week “Bitcoin Academy” at Marcy Houses, a public housing project in Brooklyn. The course was designed to instruct in and out of cryptocurrency. HBut with Bitcoin down nearly 10% in just the past few days, not all students are ready to trust the currency’s volatility, especially those with lower incomes.

“How are you helping us if you’re asking us to put in five dollars, $10, and we’re all on fixed incomes?” asks Lydia Bryant, 57, who says that after the course she still felt her money would be safer in “real stocks”.

“For you to take your money that you worked for, or your state-backed funds, and invest it in something like Bitcoin that’s really risky, there’s no gain,” another source, who asked not to be named, also said The Daily Beast. “I can’t gamble with my retirement money.”

For those with concerns about losing hard-earned money, the academy offers a small bonus—$1,000 in Bitcoin in exchange for completing the 12-week session. Regardless of the prize, not everyone shares Bryant’s skepticism about the actual payout — Danny Craft, 56, another graduate of Hov’s crypto academy, says he was thoroughly convinced after initially thinking Bitcoin was a “scam.”

“I’m coming to find out, you just have to know how to work it,” says Craft. “When you put money into it, you just let it sit there and you let it grow.”

Student Matthew Powell echoes Craft’s sentiments and highlights that the class really didn’t try to skirt around the risks and dangers of a fluctuating online currency.

“The class didn’t tell them … ‘Sure, take your savings and convert them to Bitcoin,'” says Powell. His own main takeaway from the courses? “Take something, put it there, and just let it sit.”

Regardless of whether Bitcoin convinced everyone, Jay-Z’s personal connection with Marcy House gives any endeavor he brings there an extra shine. Jay-Z grew up in Building 524 of the housing project and have consistently given back to the New York Housing Authority through his Shawn Carter Foundation. Although billionaires giving back is a relatively low bar for praise, Jay-Z’s influence has not been lost on Marcy’s current tenants.

“He’s so good for our people,” tenant Jessie Mackey, 63, says of the rapper.