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Square acquires 4,709 Bitcoin (BTC) for $50M

Payments platform Square bought $50 million in Bitcoins representing one percent of its total assets as of the second quarter of 2020.

Image by MichaelWuensch from Pixabay

Fri, 09 Oct 2020, 07:00 am UTC

Cryptocurrency has been gaining attention from the corporate sector lately that as some firms are even investing in crypto assets as part of their capital allocation strategy. For instance, San-Francisco, CA-based payments giant Square recently purchased $50 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) as part of the firm’s larger investment in digital currencies.

On Thursday, October 9, Square Inc. announced that it purchased 4,709 BTCs valued at around $50 million, The Verge reported. The company added that the value of the recent crypto purchase is about 1 percent of its total assets as of the end of the second quarter of 2020.

Square explained that its Bitcoin purchase reflects its belief that “cryptocurrency is an instrument of economic empowerment and provides a way for the world to participate in a global monetary system.” The payments platform started accepting BTC as a form of payment in 2014.

The company expects Bitcoin usage to skyrocket in the coming years. It is planning to come up with more BTC-related projects in the future as the token goes mainstream.

“We believe that bitcoin has the potential to be a more ubiquitous currency in the future,” Square Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja said. “As it grows in adoption, we intend to learn and participate in a disciplined way. For a company that is building products based on a more inclusive future, this investment is a step on that journey.”

After accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment in 2014, Square has launched a number of BTC-related products and projects since then. For instance, it launched Bitcoin trading via its Cash App in 2018, allowing its users to buy and sell the crypto via their mobile devices.

In 2019, it also established Square Crypto, the company formed Square Crypto, an independent team that contributes to bitcoin open-source work. Just last month, it also launched the non-profit organization Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) that aims to encourage innovation.

The company’s decision to invest in Bitcoin has paid off big time. In May, it reported an astounding $306 million for the first quarter of 2020, representing a 367 percent increase from year-ago levels.

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