Jay-Z has joined forces with Block CEO Jack Dorsey for a Bitcoin non-profit called Btrust, with the goal of supporting Bitcoin technology and financial services in Africa and India. According to Forbes, the two moguls acquired a company called Qala, an organization that trains African Bitcoin and Lightning engineers. As a part of the acquisition, Qala has undergone a rebranding that includes a change in name. It will now be called the Btrust Builders Programme.
Btrust sought to acquire Qala because they had the link to the Bitcoin talent in Africa but didn’t have the resources.
“The challenge is that generosity and sometimes opportunities in Bitcoin kind of tracks with the price of Bitcoin just as hiring does, which is the second challenge we faced. So, when there is a bear market, bitcoin companies tighten their buckles,” CEO Femi Longe explianed, saying the company was designed as a social experiment never designed to earn money.
a bit of bitcoin, the easy way: https://t.co/sTYX9dsyNT pic.twitter.com/y6SoKC7BXx
— jack (@jack) September 7, 2023
While Jay-Z hasn’t commented on the acquisition, one of the Btrust Board Members has.
“We’re incredibly proud to welcome Femi and his excellent team to Btrust,” Ojoma Ochai said in a press release. “With Qala’s extensive outreach and world-class programs, the organization has made rapid progress in driving open-source development in the Global South through the advancement of education within the region, which is heavily aligned with our core mission at Btrust.”
Exposing underserved communities to Bitcoins isn’t new to the pair.
As previously reported, the two worked together to create a Bitcoin Academy for residents at Marcy Houses, the public housing complex where Jay-Z used to live.
