Jack Dorsey, Co-founder of Twitter & Block
Biography
Jack Dorsey was born on November 19, 1976, in St. Louis, Missouri. He developed an early interest in computers and programming, attending the University of Missouri-Rolla and later transferring to New York University, though he did not complete his degree. In 2006, he co-founded Twitter with Biz Stone and Evan Williams, serving as CEO from 2006 to 2008 and again from 2015 to 2021. The platform grew to become one of the most influential social media networks in the world with over 300 million users.
In 2009, Dorsey co-founded Square (now Block, Inc.), a financial services and digital payments company. Under his leadership, Square revolutionized small business payments with its iconic card reader and expanded into personal finance through Cash App, which became one of the most popular peer-to-peer payment applications in the United States. In December 2021, Dorsey renamed Square to Block, Inc., a deliberate nod to blockchain technology and the company’s growing focus on Bitcoin. He stepped down as Twitter CEO in November 2021 to focus full-time on Block. His estimated net worth is approximately $4.5 billion.
Orange Pill Story
Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin journey began around 2017, and he quickly became one of the most vocal advocates for Bitcoin among major tech CEOs. His conviction was deeply rooted in Bitcoin’s potential as a native currency of the internet and a tool for financial inclusion. Dorsey has described Bitcoin as the “best candidate” for a native internet currency and has stated that Bitcoin reminds him of the early days of the internet.
What sets Dorsey apart is that he put his companies behind his conviction. In 2018, Cash App began allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin, bringing cryptocurrency access to millions of mainstream users. In 2020, Square invested $50 million of its corporate treasury in Bitcoin, and followed up with an additional $170 million purchase in 2021. Dorsey also created Square Crypto (now Spiral), an independent team dedicated to open-source Bitcoin development. His commitment deepened further when he announced the creation of TBD, a new business unit focused on building a decentralized Bitcoin exchange platform, and launched Bitkey, a self-custody Bitcoin wallet. Dorsey has stated publicly that if he were not running Twitter and Square, he would be working on Bitcoin full-time.
Bitcoin Philosophy & Quotes
“Bitcoin changes absolutely everything. I don’t think there is anything more important in my lifetime to work on.” — Jack Dorsey CNBC, June 2021
“The world ultimately will have a single currency, the internet will have a single currency. I personally believe that it will be Bitcoin.” — Jack Dorsey Bitcoin Magazine
“Bitcoin is resilient. Bitcoin is principled. Bitcoin is native to internet ideals.” — Jack Dorsey CNBC, July 2021
“I think the internet will have a native currency. I don’t know if it’s Bitcoin, but I hope it is.” — Jack Dorsey CoinDesk, 2018
“If I were not at Square or Twitter, I’d be working on Bitcoin. If it needed more help than Square or Twitter, I would leave them for Bitcoin.” — Jack Dorsey Fox Business
“Bitcoin provides an opportunity to get access to a sound monetary system for people all around the world, regardless of where they were born.” — Jack Dorsey TheStreet
“I don’t think there is anything more enabling for people around the world. I want to help make Bitcoin more accessible.” — Jack Dorsey Bitcoin Magazine
“Running a Bitcoin node is important. It helps the network and it teaches you about how it works.” — Jack Dorsey Blockworks
“We’re going to make Bitcoin the native currency for the internet.” — Jack Dorsey Cointelegraph
“Not your keys, not your cheese.” — Jack Dorsey CNBC, July 2021
Involvement with Bitcoin
Jack Dorsey’s involvement with Bitcoin goes far beyond personal advocacy — he has systematically oriented his businesses around it. Cash App, Block’s consumer payments platform, became one of the largest on-ramps for retail Bitcoin purchases in the United States. In Q3 2023 alone, Cash App generated over $2.4 billion in Bitcoin revenue. Block, Inc. holds Bitcoin on its corporate balance sheet, with initial purchases of $50 million in October 2020 and $170 million in February 2021.
Dorsey created Spiral (formerly Square Crypto) in 2019 as an independent team within Block dedicated to funding open-source Bitcoin development. Spiral has funded the Bitcoin Development Kit (BDK), Lightning Development Kit (LDK), and other critical Bitcoin infrastructure projects. In 2021, he launched TBD, a business unit building tbDEX, a decentralized protocol for exchanging Bitcoin and fiat currencies. Block also developed Bitkey, a hardware wallet for Bitcoin self-custody, and has explored Bitcoin mining hardware through a dedicated mining team.
Dorsey has also made significant personal contributions to the Bitcoin ecosystem. He and Jay-Z created a 500 Bitcoin trust (worth approximately $24 million at the time) called Btrust to fund Bitcoin development in Africa and India. He attended and headlined the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, using the platform to evangelize Bitcoin adoption globally. In 2022, he launched the social media platform Bluesky, built on decentralized protocol principles influenced by Bitcoin’s ethos.
Media Appearances & Coverage
Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin advocacy has been extensively covered across major media outlets. He appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast discussing Bitcoin’s role in financial freedom and decentralization. Bloomberg and CNBC have featured numerous interviews with Dorsey about Block’s Bitcoin strategy. Bitcoin Magazine has profiled his contributions extensively, including coverage of the Bitcoin 2021 Conference keynote. The Joe Rogan Experience featured Dorsey discussing Bitcoin and censorship resistance. Forbes and Fortune have covered Block’s corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy and Cash App’s Bitcoin revenue growth. His announcement of Btrust with Jay-Z was covered by The New York Times, Reuters, and major crypto publications.
Notable Bitcoin Tweets
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Block (formerly Square), is one of Bitcoin’s most passionate advocates. He has repeatedly stated that Bitcoin is the most important technology of his lifetime and has directed significant company resources toward Bitcoin development.
“Bitcoin changes absolutely everything. I don’t think there is anything more important in my lifetime to work on.”
— @jack, June 4, 2021
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“The internet needs a native currency and Bitcoin is the best candidate.”
— @jack, 2018
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“If I were not at Square or Twitter, I’d be working on Bitcoin.”
— @jack, June 2021
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