Jack Dorsey's #startsmall initiative donates $21 million to OpenSats

Billionaire and staunch Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey has donated 21 million US dollars to the non-profit organization OpenSats via his philanthropic initiative #smartsmall. This was revealed in an official announcement on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

OpenSats is a public charity with the aim of funding free open source projects around Bitcoin as well as related education and research work. OpenSats wants to use the funds to strengthen the rights and freedoms of users - especially in the face of increasing digital authoritarianism. Open source developers in the Bitcoin space who need support can contact the initiative.

The $21 million from the co-founder of Twitter and Block (formerly Square) will help OpenSats continue to advance freedom-enhancing technologies.

We will do our best to continually allocate the funds to high impact projects and freedom tech infrastructure.
_OpenSats

USD 15 million will go to the charity's general fund and USD 5 million specifically to developments for the decentralized and open 𝕏 or Twitter alternative Nostr, which integrates payments via the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The remaining 1 million will go towards OpenSats' operating budget.

Dorsey shared the donation announcement as a "quote tweet" in response to the concerns expressed by well-known whistleblower and Bitcoin advocate Edward Snowden about the current US attack on Bitcoin privacy. Accordingly, it is reasonable to assume that the non-profit organization will direct a large portion of the funds towards free open source projects, which can result in sophisticated solutions that ensure greater privacy in Bitcoin transactions.

Jack Dorsey was at times also the CEO of the companies he co-founded, Twitter and Block. At the end of 2021, the billionaire stepped down from his position at Twitter and has since focused primarily on his work at the listed payment service provider Block. Apparently, Dorsey did this so that he could devote himself fully to what he believes can make the world a better place.

Bitcoin changes absolutely everything. I don't think there's anything more important to work on in my life.
_{Jack Dorsey}

The payment service provider changed its name from Square to Block in December 2021 in line with the blockchain. The company behind the Cash app, which is popular in the US, offers various services related to Bitcoin - including trading the asset, Bitcoin savings plans for corporate customers and development in the mining and hardware wallet sector.

Block itself has already purchased Bitcoin at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 for a total of 220 million US dollars. A few days ago, the company, which is worth over 40 billion US dollars, announced that it has also been regularly investing a portion of its profits from the Bitcoin business in the asset since April.

In addition to his work at Block, the billionaire has long been committed to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Together with US rapper Jay Z, for example, the billionaire has helped to promote Bitcoin education in hotspots in the USA and developing countries.