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Bitcoin users in Nashville will soon have access to a new Tennessee State workforce development grant aimed at training a workforce with the skills needed to succeed in the crypto industry.
The Department of Economic and Community Development has confirmed that it is in talks with the leadership of Nashville-based Bitcoin Park, an exclusive membership company based in Nashville that offers education and community events for Bitcoin users.
ECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter hinted at a partnership with Bitcoin Park during the Bitcoin2024 conference in Nashville last month, when he told a room full of hundreds of Bitcoin users that he was working closely with Governor Bill Lee and several lawmakers on a new incentive program aimed at bringing the crypto industry to Nashville.
“We are Music City. We want to be Bitcoin City,” McWhorter said, adding that more details about the new program would be announced in the coming months.
McWhorter said the idea came about during a visit to Bitcoin Park in Nashville a few months ago.
“We’re going to partner with Bitcoin Park and focus on the workforce. We’re going to provide grants to really attract the talent that needs to be here,” he said. “That’s something we’re very excited about.”
When asked about the upcoming partnership, department officials described McWhorter’s comments as “a general statement of ECD’s mission: to make Tennessee the best place to live and do business.” The department also confirmed discussions about grants specifically related to Bitcoin Park.
The company’s co-founder, Ron Roudi, stated in a social media post that the partnership would support “new meetups, support nuclear development, launch freedom tech, and much more.” Roudi founded Bitcoin Park in 2022.
The Department of Economic and Community Development has declined to release details of the upcoming grant program, citing confidentiality laws that allow the agency to keep these discussions secret.
“The grant to Bitcoin Park has not been fully executed at this time and is therefore confidential,” department spokesman Chris O’Brien said in an email to The Tennessean.
The department also declined to answer questions about where the idea for the grant program originated, which lawmakers the administration is working with or when discussions about the grant partnership began.
“Learning more about open source software development and the increasing interest in Bitcoin Park has certainly helped spark conversations about new recruiting and training opportunities,” O’Brien said. “We are constantly working to attract companies interested in Tennessee, primarily because we have the workforce to meet their needs. To continue to successfully attract and grow companies here, we are constantly thinking about ways to recruit and train talent locally.”
The grants for the Bitcoin Park partnership will be provided from the existing funds in the ministry budget allocated for human resource development projects.
“To be clear, we are not creating a new grant program focused on Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency,” O’Brien said. “We are leveraging existing funding from our existing workforce development budget, as we have done for other workforce initiatives.”
State officials have been on hand to visit Bitcoin Park on 21st Avenue in Nashville this year. McWhorter stopped by this spring. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti was there recently, too.
When a global Bitcoin conference was held in Nashville last month, the governor quietly attended a private roundtable discussion at Bitcoin Park with Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and TVA CEO Jeff Lyash on nuclear energy, the governor’s office confirmed. The event was closed and the media was not informed of the governor’s visit until Lee posted on social media.
Lee’s office told the Tennessean that there was no discussion of possible funding partnerships at the event.
“Workforce development is a top priority for Governor Lee. The state with the workers wins every time, and the Lee administration is always looking at strategic investments that will strengthen our economy, support families and provide greater opportunity for Tennesseans,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Johnson said in a statement to The Tennessean.
Bitcoin Park co-founder Harry Sudock subsequently thanked the governor for his visit in a social media post.
“Your leadership has helped make Tennessee one of the most attractive places to build bitcoin mining companies,” Sudock wrote. “I’m excited for whatever the future holds.”
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected] or on X @Vivian_E_Jones.
