In a positive development for open-source education, non-profit organization My First Bitcoin (MFB) has received a major donation from #starsmall to advance independent Bitcoin (BTC) education around the globe.
$1 Million Grant For Bitcoin Education
On Tuesday, My First Bitcoin announced it had received a $1 million grant from Jack Dorsey’s grantmaking initiative, #startsmall, allowing the Central American non-profit organization to continue serving “grassroots Bitcoin education initiatives worldwide.”
MFB, also known as Mi Primer Bitcoin, was created in El Salvador in 2021. The organization focuses on BTC education worldwide, including various programs and its Bitcoin Educators Unconference to bring enthusiasts and industry figures together.
According to the announcement, the grant will accelerate MFB’s work to create and distribute “free and open-source Bitcoin education materials and infrastructure,” helping improve the existing resources, including the Bitcoin Diploma, the BTC intro Course, and the teacher training workshops.
Moreover, it will reportedly help the organization scale its digital platforms, such as its Online School and Community hub.
In early 2022, the non-profit launched its BTC Diploma program to facilitate BTC education on different topics, like fiat money, BTC’s history, and the challenges of the flagship crypto’s multiple facets.
The program has become successful, reaching tens of thousands of students in El Salvador in the last four years. The 2023 workbook has also been translated into 23 languages and independently taught from South America to Asia.
MFB has also collaborated with El Salvador’s Ministry of Education to promote adoption and financial empowerment in the country, aiming to introduce the BTC diploma curriculum to the country’s public educational system in 2024.
Notably, it also launched the Independent Bitcoin Educators Node Network in 2023, aiming to provide a space for people to join MFB’s mission. The network, which spans over 65 projects from more than 35 countries, is now self-governing, but receives support from the non-profit organization.
Advancing Transparent BTC Education
In their Education Manifesto, MFB affirmed that the education system of the fiat world “has been corrupted and abused,” with a broken incentive structure. On the contrary, the funding of BTC education must be transparent, independent, impartial, community-led, and decentralized, the organization outlined.
As such, MFB considers #starsmall’s grant a “huge win” for BTC and independent BTC Education as it will enable them to “serve the global community better than ever before.” The organization also pledged to continue serving the community while working “for the public. In public.”
The founder and Executive Director of MFB, John Dennehy, asserted that “the revolution of Bitcoin education is that it teaches students HOW to think, not WHAT to think,” adding that “funding from sources with their own incentives is the greatest vulnerability that threatens that.”
Dennehy emphasized that “the subtle influence of funding has ruined fiat education and we need to create alternative models for the revolution of Bitcoin education to realize its full potential.”
Meanwhile, the Director of Communications of MFB, Arnold Hubach, stated, “Open-source money deserves open-source education. Over the past few years, we’ve seen growing demand for our resources around the world, and we remain committed to serving everyone in the Bitcoin space who needs support.”
He concluded that the funding will enable MFB to “plan further into the future and continue being the first-stop provider of free educational tools.”
