New York (CNN Business)Bitcoin's big week got bigger with an announcement from rapper Jay Z and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey that the pair are establishing a bitcoin development fund.
Dorsey tweeted the news Friday, writing that they are taking applications for a "blind irrevocable trust" focused on Africa and India. He promises the fund will have "zero direction" from himself and Jay Z and that the partners are searching for three board members. Dorsey and Jay Z are investing 500 bitcoin into the project, currently worth roughly $23 million.
Bitcoin is already in Dorsey's portfolio. His other company, Square, bought 4,709 bitcoins in October 2020, equal to $50 million at the time. In 2018, the company expanded its mobile payment service Cash App to support bitcoin trading, even for users without a bank account. And in 2019 it launched Square Crypto, which awards grants to bitcoin developers and designers.
