By
Bhushan Akolkar
November 3rd, 2023
Square, digital payments company, continues buying and selling Bitcoin. Experts believe that one day the firm could launch a cryptocurrency exchange.
Bitcoin is deemed as a “transformational technology” by Square, San Francisco-based digital payments company. Jack Dorsey, Square CEO, said that the firm “is not stopping at buying and selling Bitcoin.” According to J.P. Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, the big thing his company regrets missing out on over the past few years was creating a platform like Square Inc.
Square, Inc. is a financial services, merchant services aggregator and mobile payment company based in San Francisco, California. The company markets several software and hardware payments products, including Square Register and Square Reader, and has expanded into small business services such as Square Capital, a financing program, and Square Payroll.
Founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, the company launched its first app and service in 2010. It has been traded as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange since November 2015 with the ticker symbol SQ.
For now, bitcoin’s impact on Square’s bottom line “was really immaterial,” Dorsey said. In the final quarter of 2017, the company earned an adjusted $0.8 per share, though the price predicted by Wall Street was only $0.067.
According to Square’s 2017 report for the last quarter, the company’s total net revenue and adjusted revenue have significantly increased in comparison with the previous report. Square topped 7 million users in December, and users of Square Cash debit cards spent more than $90 million.
“Additionally, customers can now buy and sell Bitcoin in Cash App. We observed that this was a feature our customers wanted, and we support Bitcoin because we see it as a step in the long-term path toward greater financial access for all,” the report stated.
When Square officially started Bitcoin trading to its Cash App customers, Dorsey said that “Bitcoin is a long-term path towards greater financial access for all.” Currently Cash App is available in 50 states and allows its users to carry out instant fiat transactions, free cash-outs, and instant Bitcoin buy/sell option, which was first launched for a limited part of users in November, 2017. On Jan. 31, Square released the Bitcoin buy/sell option to almost all users.
“We believe that it does provide an opportunity to get more people access to the financial system. And certainly, that’s in stores of asset, but also ultimately, over time, through currency,” Dorsey said.
Dorsey also revealed the company’s plans to focus on developing increased options for Bitcoin use. “We do believe that this is a transformational technology for our industry, and we want to learn as quickly as possible,” he said.
Square plans to invest in areas where the company believes it has a “huge competitive advantage”. First of all, it includes the Square Cash peer-to-peer payment app. Sarah Friar, Square SFO, said that the company is also “going hard on the recruiting side to bring in incredible talent.”
It will not be surprising if Square expands its cryptocurrency-related product line. If Square launches a full-scale cryptocurrency exchange, it can be competitive with Coinbase, one of world’s largest cryptocurrency investment platforms.