Twitter CEO wants engineers to make crypto ecosystem ‘better’

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Jack Dorsey has unveiled a new initiative to support the building of a better crypto ecosystem. The CEO of Twitter announced that he will be forming a team of four engineers and one designer who will work full time on open source contributions to the crypto ecosystem.

#BitcoinTwitter and #CryptoTwitter! Square is hiring 3-4 crypto engineers and 1 designer to work full-time on open source contributions to the bitcoin/crypto ecosystem. Work from anywhere, report directly to me, and we can even pay you in bitcoin! Introducing @SqCrypto. Why?

— jack (@jack) March 20, 2019

The initiative is a result of a conversation Dorsey said he had with Square’s crypto lead, Mike Brock. According to the Twitter CEO:

“Last week I was considering my hack week project, and asked Brock “what is the most impactful thing we could do for the bitcoin community?” His answer was simple: “pay people to make the broader crypto ecosystem better.” This resonated with me immediately, so we’re doing it.”

Dorsey is no stranger to the crypto community. He is one of the most vocal supporters of cryptos, claiming to have bought $10,000 worth of Bitcoin Core (BTC) in early March. He is also behind Square’s crypto initiatives. 

Dorsey sought to clarify that the group of five will work exclusively to better the crypto ecosystem. They will not work to further Square’s commercial interests, he insisted. All their resulting work will be open and free.

The group will report directly to him and will receive their payment in BTC. And while it’s a show of his belief in the future of cryptos, it also “aligns with Square’s broader interest: a more accessible global financial system for the internet.”

He concluded:

“I love this technology and community. I’ve found it to be deeply principled, purpose-driven, edgy, and…really weird. Just like the early internet! I’m excited to get to learn more directly.”

On Twitter, many applauded Dorsey’s initiative. Bill Barhydt, the CEO, and founder of fintech firm Abra described the initiative as a brilliant move. Crypto researcher and investor Matt Odell and financial broadcaster and crypto diehard Max Keiser also lauded the move.

While four engineers are a small percentage of the thousands of crypto developers globally, the initiative shows just how much Jack believes in crypto. And as he stated, replying to critics who said he could have done more, “You have to start somewhere.”