At the top of the 2017 bubble, Square, a fintech company based in America. It introduced a native Bitcoin to the market in its flagship product, the Cash application. While the integration received some criticism, especially for the inability of Square to be quick in the draw. The cryptocurrency product has grown along with the growing user base of the startup.
Square & Bitcoin
According to the company’s recent Letter of Shareholders, which corresponds to the fiscal fourth quarter of 2018, the company sold $ 52 million in Bitcoin. This means that in the course of 2018, which saw BTC collapse from an annual maximum of $ 17,000 to an annual minimum of $ 3,150, the San Francisco-based giant fintech sold $ 166 million of the iconic cryptocurrency, a non-small sum .
Although $ 166 million in fiat to cryptography volume seems dull, skeptics would be remiss in discarding fiat amplifiers. Due to shallow order books that are a byproduct of nascent markets. US dollars entering this market have often had an amplified effect on the value of digital assets.
According to the analysis by Alex Kruger, a leading market researcher, JP Morgan says that for cryptographic assets in general, a fiat amplifier of 117.5 is present. As a net inflow supposedly of 2,000 million dollars boosted the market capitalization of Bitcoin from 15,000 to 250,000 million dollars. This is not the whole story. Citigroup supposedly estimated an amplifier of 50, while Chris Burniske of Placeholder Ventures calculated the figure somewhere between two and 25.
Therefore, considering an estimated 10 fold low-end amplifier, the $ 166 million that Square customers assigned to BTC may have increased Bitcoin’s market capitalization by approximately $ 1.5 billion. It’s not bad huh!
Square’s revenue figures are also important because, throughout 2018, the company’s Bitcoin sales increased quarter on quarter. Underscoring Bitcoin’s continued demand from US retail investors.
Although this is great in itself, what is next for Square and its participation in this nascent market?
What’s next for Square & Bitcoin?
Well, the answer is quite simple. As reported by this media at an earlier date, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square and Twitter, took the podcast of Bitcoin bull Stephan Livera to confirm these rumors. During the podcast, which also saw Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark, the Twitter CEO explained that Square’s integration of the escalation protocol is a matter of when, not if. Speaking about the reason for eventually making such a move, Dorsey explained that his firm’s raison d’être is to serve customers better, with Lightning only accentuating this goal.
He added that Square sees the underlying nature of Bitcoin as a currency, rather than a speculative asset. And as it is, the widespread adoption of Lightning Network is the most promising means to reach that end.
While Dorsey’s comments regarding his fintech upstart plans to integrate the Lightning escalation solution were open. The magnitude of the future movement was quickly understood.
In an interview with Tim Copeland of Decrypt Media, Jeremy Welch, executive director of Bitcoin’s hardware and software provider Casa, said Square’s support for Lightning would simply be huge. Welch explained that Square is a highly respected company, with great technology, great equipment. Duplicating Bitcoin would be important for both adoption and reputation.
The entrepreneur explained, “Silicon Valley has not had the best view of Bitcoin in general. So it would be significant at multiple levels, both in terms of adoption and in reputation. And have prestige with many of the larger financial institutions.”
Also published on Medium.