Last updated on August 28th, 2021 at 03:03 pm
The financial payment company Square bought Bitcoin on the amount of approximately $50 million. The company acquired 4,709 bitcoins, according to an official statement cited by the SNBC. The amount of $50 million represents about 1% of the total assets of Square.
Why Bitcoin?
According to Square the cryptocurrencies “coincide with the purpose of the company” and are an instrument that empowers the economically the users. The price of the digital currency went up to about $10,900 from $7,100 in January.
We believe that Bitcoin has the potential to be a more ubiquitous currency in the future. For a company that is building products based on a more inclusive future, this investment is a step on that journey.
Chief Financial Officer, Amrita Ahuja
The founder and CEO of Square Inc. Jack Dorsey is a popular supporter of cryptocurrencies.
The investment is cementing Jack Dorsey’s vision of the currency as an instrument of economic empowerment. In 2014, Square started letting merchants accept Bitcoin and has since introduced Bitcoin trading for users of its Cash App. In 2019, the company formed Square Crypto, an independent team focused on contributing to open-source work in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The CEO of the company predicted that bitcoin will become the only currency in the world.
So far there is no prospect of this happening soon. During the 11-year history of bitcoin, the cryptocurrency experienced huge volatility. This, as well as the high costs per transaction, is preventing Bitcoin from becoming a universal method for daily payments.
Bitcoin dropped dramatically and it’s clawing its way back. Perhaps it’s just another way for investors to speculate on future volatility.
Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank
Square isn’t the first public company to make a big investment in cryptocurrency. A few months ago MicroStrategy Inc. announced it had purchased $250 million worth of bitcoins. Later on, the CEO bought an additional $175 million, telling Bloomberg News that he intended to continue buying.
[…] China has been doing digital currency tests for months now, whereas the EU and the US are more conservative in their approaches. PayPal’s decision to embrace cryptocurrencies comes after extended collaboration with central banks. However, PayPal is not the first entity to think of adopting digital currencies. Other fintech companies also offer a similar feature. These companies include Robinhood Markets Inc. and Square Inc. […]