My First Bitcoin Goes Global, Empowering Educators Worldwide

Incorporated in 2021 My First Bitcoin It began as a class of only four students. In the following four years it expanded rapidly. It taught more than 27 000 students and created the first Bitcoin Diploma for public schools.

Now, First Bitcoin The focus is now on empowering educators, not running programs directly. John Dennehy, the founder of the organization, says that it is more important to empower educators than run programs.

“We want to help others succeed in their own communities and link them together,” Dennehy stated in a memo to Bitcoin Magazine.

The project will also be moving to a remote-only structure and closing its El Salvador office. The local meetups are now run by collectives independent of the project, and will use open-source blueprints created by First Bitcoin. 

The organization plans to continue creating curricula and digital platforms as well as fostering global connections between educators.

“Our mission remains the same,” Dennehy adds. “Independent, impartial Bitcoin education gives people agency, encourages critical thought, and builds long-term freedom. Bitcoin is the tool, education is the pathway.”

This move marks a new stage for the project. Teachers are trained, resources shared openly and community projects supported. First Bitcoin Aims to create a global revolution. The team invites educators and Bitcoin enthusiasts to join its network.

Background of My First Bitcoin

John Dennehy founded the company in August 2021. Mi Primer Bitcoin (My First Bitcoin) began as a small, community-led project in El Salvador with a mission to empower individuals through Bitcoin education. Dennehy is a thinker with a soft voice and a lot of introspection. He saw in education a way to restore individual agency and sovereignty in an age where so many people are powerless.

Dennehy’s idea was born during the COVID-19 epidemic, while he was walking in New York and pondering social issues. He decided that education was the key to solving society’s problems. So he traveled to Ecuador first to educate friends about Bitcoin. 

However, pandemic restrictions made in-person engagement difficult. Dennehy moved to El Salvador shortly after learning of the historic adoption by El Salvador of Bitcoins as legal tender.

Dennehy, upon landing in El Salvador drafted the organization’s mission and lesson plansBoth local and international students are recruited. In order to relate better to his students, he made the idea of community leadership one of his core principles. One person was present at the very first yoga class, which took place in a small studio. However, this initiative has grown steadily. Five students had been regularly attending the class by the end of the month.

Dennehy’s team and he formalized his curriculum in 2022. “Bitcoin Diploma” program. The diploma includes 10 lessons on monetary systems. Bitcoin fundamentals. Wallets. Nodes. Mining. Security. Lightning Network. Bitcoin’s future. In El Salvador, by the end that year 38 high-school students earned diplomas.

Since then, the organization has expanded its impact globally. The organization’s impact will be global by 2023. Mi Primer Bitcoin The Independent Bitcoin Educators Node Network was launched, which now encompasses over 65 projects in 35 countries. The initiatives, which range from local meetups to circular economies, are united by six principles. They include: independence, impartiality, community-led education, Bitcoin only, and high-quality, focused education that focuses on empowerment, rather than profits.

On May 20, 2025, nonprofit received Start Small, Jack Dorsey’s charity, has granted the organization a grant of $1,000,000 to expand its efforts globally, which includes improving its Bitcoin Diploma and enhancing teacher workshops and courses. 

Dennehy said that, despite receiving government funding for the first time, his nonprofit organization will not accept any other form of funding.