Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took his love of cryptocurrency to the next level this week, showing off a clock that displays cryptocurrency prices.
Dorsey was in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, one of several prominent tech figures talking about social media disinformation, especially in regards to the Capitol attack.
But he was appearing remotely, the way most congressional hearings are held during the pandemic.
Because of that, people watching the stream could see empty glass bottles behind Dorsey’s head, as well as stacks of plates and bowls and something that looked like a clock beside him.
During his appearance at the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, Jack Dorsey’s BlockClock Mini (circled) was put on full display for cryptocurrency lovers
Pictured: The BlockClock Mini being sold on the Coinkite website for $399
According to Gizmodo, the device read ‘1952,’ at one point, which could be interpreted as military time (though it wouldn’t have been accurate based on the timing of the hearing).
But then, the numbers switched to ‘676274,’ which is not a time.
The device is a BlockClock Mini, which is being sold online by Coinkite for $399.
The 30x10cm device can ‘track prices from exchanges, see blocks as they are published by miners and connect Opendime to display balance, fiat value, and deposit QR codes,’ according to its description.
Some people on Dorsey’s social media platform couldn’t help but to laugh at the bizarre background item.
‘It’s the number of F’s he’s given today,’ said one user.
‘Forget the clock….look at dude’s cult leader head,’ said another, pointing to Dorsey’s unkempt appearance.
The device, which almost looks like a doomsday clock, fits into the larger narrative of Dorsey’s obsession with cryptocurrency.
The CEO’s Twitter bio is short and succinct, simply reading ‘#bitcoin’ with the symbol at the end.
Earlier this week, Dorsey sold his first ever tweet – ‘just setting up my twttr’ – as an NFT for just over $2.9million.
The non-fungible token (NFT) – a unique digital asset that has exploded in popularity in 2021 – was purchased Monday by Sina Estavi, the CEO of Malaysia-based blockchain company Bridge Oracle.
The sale came two weeks after Dorsey listed the tweet from March 21, 2006, on a platform called Valuables, which auctions off tweets as NFTs.
He said in a tweet on March 9 that he would convert the proceeds from the auction into bitcoin and donate them to people impacted by COVID-19 in Africa, quickly garnering bids of at least $88,888.
On Monday, Dorsey announced that he’d donated more than $2.787million-worth of Bitcoin to Give Directly’s Africa fund.
In January, Christie’s became the first major auction house to put up a piece of digital artwork carrying a token.
The piece entitled ‘Everydays – The First 5000 Days’ by Beeple sold for $69million.
Dorsey is also teaming up with rapper Jay-Z on a new Bitcoin fund, with plans to move the cryptocurrency into India and Africa.
‘JAY-Z/@S_C_ and I are giving 500 BTC to a new endowment named ₿trust to fund #Bitcoin development, initially focused on teams in Africa & India. It‘ll be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, taking zero direction from us. We need 3 board members to start,’ Dorsey tweeted on February 12.
A week later, he revealed that over 6,600 people applied for board seats and that interviews would begin soon.
The 500 Bitcoin they gave to the fund was 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 off his love for all things Bitcoin
Dorsey listed his famous first post (pictured) from March 21, 2006, on a platform called Valuables, which auctions off tweets as NFTs
On Monday Dorsey announced that he’d donated more than $2.787million-worth of Bitcoin to 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 in helping usher in a new era of cryptocurrency in India.
Reuters reports India is planning on proposing a law that will ban cryptocurrency and fine traders and holders of the digital currency.
The law would make possession, issuance, mining, trading and transferring of assets a crime in the country.
Holders of cryptocurrencies would have up to six months to liquidate their assets before fines begin to kick in.
Mining and trading of cryptocurrency is also illegal in China, although possession of cryptocurrency is not.
Dorsey has been looking to incorporate more cryptocurrency into his businesses, including exploring the possibility of paying Twitter employees in Bitcoin
