Twitter chief Jack Dorsey testified before the U.S. House of Representatives.
Screenshot by Sean Buckley / CNET
The CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google spent part of Thursday answering questions from members of the Chamber’s Energy and Trade Committee. It was an important audience focused on the dissemination and impact of disinformation on social platforms. Still, it was hard not to be at least a little distracted by the background of the video chat that was the kitchen of Twitter chief Jack Dorsey. Amongst the stacks of plates, bowls and glasses by the Twitter CEO, was what looked like a strange little clock, constantly changing the numbers: 1952. 676274. 676277. 1935. 1922. 676289.
These are not esoteric expressions of time or date, however. They are last-minute updates to the Bitcoin blockchain housed in a dedicated “Bitcoin Data Display”. It is made by a security hardware manufacturer Bitcoin Coinkite and is called a Blockclock Mini.
1305ET What is the history of the Internet device (?) At the bottom of @Jack Dorsey’s video stream at today’s disinformation hearings?
The displayed figure has changed dramatically, apparently showing statistics from at least two sources.
Which is? What are you counting? pic.twitter.com/aMvfsML8PB
– Saleem Khan | #JOVRNALISM founder (@saleemkhan) March 25, 2021
Think of it as a ticker for the cryptocurrency blockchain. Blockclock connects to your local network and maintains control over a handful of statistics: the price of Bitcoin, average rate rates, conversion rates and more. Dorsey’s display seemed to be alternating between showing how many blocks currently exist on the Bitcoin blockchainand how many Satoshis (the smallest possible Bitcoin unit) are needed to add up to a dollar.
Speaking of which, at the time of this writing, you would need 764,236 Satoshis to buy Blockclock. It sells for $ 400 on the Coinkite website.
I went to Dorsey to ask him more about his watch and his feelings about Bitcoin.