Which CEO Has Emerged as the 'Savior' of Bitcoin Instead of Musk? [News Inside]

Jack Dorsey, Twitter Co-Founder and CEO

▲Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the cryptocurrency market fluctuates daily due to the outspoken remarks of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, a new 'savior' has emerged to lead the market's rise.

That person is Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter.

Jack Dorsey has long been known as a Bitcoin supporter. He has stated that "the introduction of a Bitcoin payment system on Twitter is only a matter of time" and expressed optimism about the future of cryptocurrency, saying, "If I were not affiliated with Twitter, I would be fully devoted to Bitcoin work."

Earlier, in a 2018 interview with a media outlet, he mentioned that "Bitcoin could become the world's sole currency by 2030."

Dorsey is currently considering creating a Bitcoin wallet for his financial services company, Square.

Jack Dorsey, who is gaining renewed attention through Bitcoin, is often compared to Apple’s founder Steve Jobs in the IT industry. This is because both dropped out of New York University and started their careers as programmers before venturing into entrepreneurship.

Dorsey seems to enjoy this comparison. According to the American business weekly Fortune, he frequently quotes Mahatma Gandhi and The Beatles, whom Jobs admired, and has openly tried to 'Jobsify' himself by recruiting Apple employees.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Another commonality with Jobs is his success in re-entrepreneurship. Jobs was known to have founded Pixar after being ousted from Apple, and similarly, Dorsey, who was a co-founder of Twitter but was sidelined, went on to establish Square. Later, in October 2015, Dorsey returned as Twitter’s CEO.

Even without imitating Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey showed exceptional talent from a young age. At 15, he demonstrated programming skills by creating 'Dispatch Routing,' software that provides optimal routes. This program is still used by some taxi companies today.

He enrolled at Missouri University of Science and Technology and transferred to New York University but dropped out to pursue entrepreneurship. One day, he had a sudden idea to create an online platform that would allow users to share their current status in real-time, much like sending a text message on a mobile phone. This idea led to the birth of Twitter.

Jack Dorsey founded Twitter in 2006 at the age of 29 while working at a startup called Odeo.

Twitter’s characteristic limit of 140 characters per post resonated strongly with young people who dislike complexity, and it has since become a platform used by major politicians and celebrities.

However, after being ousted in a management dispute in 2008, Dorsey successfully made a comeback by founding the mobile payment service Square the following year. Square gained great popularity among small business owners in the U.S. by allowing credit card payments through a small device plugged into smartphones.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

While he made a comeback with Square, Twitter, from which he had departed, was on a path of decline. When Dorsey returned as Twitter CEO in October 2015 as a savior, his annual salary was a mere $1.40 (about 1,600 KRW), surprising many. This is said to symbolize Twitter’s 140-character limit.

According to Bloomberg’s billionaire index, Jack Dorsey has assets worth $13.4 billion (about 15 trillion KRW), ranking him as the 157th richest person in the world. Despite this, he proudly maintains a frugal lifestyle, commuting by bus and not owning even a private office or desk at work. It is well known that he starts his day by waking up at 5 a.m. and meditating for 30 minutes.

In 2019, he announced that he would donate his entire fortune to society before he dies, and last year, he donated $1 billion (about 1.22 trillion KRW) to COVID-19 relief efforts. This amount accounts for about 28% of his assets and is the largest individual donation for COVID-19 response.

His dream is not to gain more wealth or fame. His ambition is to use his wealth to eliminate inequality.