Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and CEO of Block (formerly Square), recently explored the potential of a universal basic income (UBI) strategy powered by Bitcoin (BTC) during a discussion with US congressional candidate and elementary school teacher, Aarika Rhodes.
He emphasized how the lack of transparency in the current centralized financial system often leads to negative financial behaviors. Dorsey praised Bitcoin for its transparent operations, code, and policies, suggesting that this transparency could lead to positive outcomes.
“If there’s one thing to focus on in Bitcoin — the operations are transparent, the code is transparent, the policy is transparent.”
Dorsey has been experimenting with UBI through initiatives like Start Small, investing over $55 million in testing various approaches in the US and internationally. He announced plans to conduct a UBI experiment using Bitcoin in a closed-loop community of businesses that follow Bitcoin standards.
“We’re about to do a test of the UBI-like concept with Bitcoin as well.”
Rhodes suggested that using Bitcoin could reduce banking fees, especially with technologies like the Lightning network offering low-cost transactions. She highlighted the universal benefits of such a system, regardless of one’s economic status.
Dorsey believes that embracing the Bitcoin standard promotes long-term thinking and can have positive effects on communities. He acknowledged his initial skepticism about BTC-powered UBI but expressed willingness to reconsider based on the outcomes of ongoing experiments.
“Just that action of owning it (BTC) will change people’s mindsets in fundamental ways that are net positive and compounds throughout their communities, and encourages other actions like sellers and merchants around them doing similar things.”
While Dorsey sees the advantages of adopting the Bitcoin standard, he remains cautious about potential negative impacts. He also criticized government inefficiencies and highlighted how UBI could be a more direct and effective way to support people compared to traditional government programs.
Related: Jack Dorsey: Diem was a waste of time, Meta should’ve focused on BTC
In a recent discussion with MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Dorsey suggested that companies like Facebook (now Meta) should have considered using Bitcoin instead of creating their own currency like Diem. He believed that incorporating BTC could enhance Meta’s services like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
