Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took his love for cryptocurrency to another level this week, displaying a watch that displays cryptocurrency prices.
Dorsey was in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, one of several prominent figures in technology talking about disinformation on social media, especially in relation to the attack on the Capitol.
But he was showing up remotely, the way most Congressional hearings are held during the pandemic.
Because of this, people watching the stream could see empty glass bottles behind Dorsey’s head, as well as piles of plates and bowls and something that looked like a clock next to him.
During his presentation at the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, Jack Dorsey’s BlockClock Mini (circled) was put on full display for cryptocurrency lovers.
In the photo: the BlockClock Mini being sold on Coinkite’s website for $ 399
According to Gizmodo, the device said ‘1952’, at one point, which could be interpreted as military time (although it was not accurate based on the time of the hearing).
But then, the numbers changed to ‘676274’, which is not a timetable.
The device is a BlockClock Mini, which is being sold online by Coinkite for $ 399.
The 30x10cm device can ‘track the prices of exchanges, view the blocks as they are published by the miners and connect Opendime to display the balance, fiduciary value and QR deposit codes’, as described.
Some people on Dorsey’s social media platform couldn’t help but laugh at the bizarre background item.
“It’s the number of F’s he gave today,” said one user.
‘Forget the watch … look at the guy’s cult leader,’ said another, pointing to Dorsey’s sloppy appearance.
The device, which almost looks like a doomsday clock, fits the broader narrative of Dorsey’s obsession with cryptocurrency.
The CEO’s biography on Twitter is short and succinct, simply reading ‘#bitcoin’ with the symbol at the end.
Earlier this week, Dorsey sold his first tweet – ‘just configuring my twttr’ – as an NFT for just over $ 2.9 million.
The non-fungible token (NFT) – a unique digital asset that exploded in popularity in 2021 – was purchased on Monday by Sina Estavi, CEO of Malaysian blockchain company Bridge Oracle.
The sale came two weeks after Dorsey listed the March 21, 2006 tweet on a platform called Valuables, which auctioned the tweets as NFTs.
He said in a tweet on March 9 that he would convert the auction’s profits into bitcoin and donate them to people impacted by COVID-19 in Africa, quickly getting bids of at least $ 88,888.
On Monday, Dorsey announced that he had donated more than $ 2,787 million in Bitcoin to the Give Directly’s Africa fund.
In January, Christie’s became the first major auction house to display a digital work of art bearing a symbol.
Beeple’s piece ‘Everydays – The First 5000 Days’ sold for $ 69 million.
Dorsey is also joining rapper Jay-Z in a new Bitcoin fund, with plans to move the cryptocurrency to India and Africa.
‘JAY-Z / @ S_C_ and I are donating 500 BTC to a new donation called ₿trust to finance the development of #Bitcoin, initially focused on teams in Africa and India. It will be established as an irrevocable blind trust, without our guidance. We need 3 board members to get started, ‘Dorsey tweeted on February 12.
A week later, he revealed that more than 6,600 people had applied for board seats and that the interviews would begin soon.
The 500 Bitcoins they gave to the fund were worth approximately $ 24 million at the time.
According to Variety, Dorsey’s other company, payment processing Square – which recently bought a majority stake in Jay-Z’s TIDAL – has been able to support Bitcoin for more than three years.
Dorsey’s Twitter profile prominently shows his love for all things Bitcoin
Dorsey listed his famous first post (photo) of March 21, 2006, on a platform called Valuables, which auctioned tweets like NFTs
On Monday, Dorsey announced that he had donated more than $ 2,787 million in Bitcoin to the Give Directly’s Africa fund
Twitter is also exploring the possibility of paying employees using Bitcoin.
Dorsey and Jay-Z may be facing an uphill battle to help usher in a new era of cryptocurrency in India.
Reuters reports that India is planning to propose a law that will ban cryptocurrency and fine traders and holders of the digital currency.
The law would make possession, issue, mining, trading and transferring assets a crime in the country.
Cryptocurrency holders would have up to six months to liquidate their assets before fines start to take effect.
Mining and cryptocurrency trading are also illegal in China, although cryptocurrency ownership is not.
Dorsey has been looking to incorporate more cryptocurrency into his business, including exploring the possibility of paying Twitter employees in Bitcoin