Less than two weeks after sharing that Square's crypto-currency earnings doubled in the second quarter, the payment company made the long-awaited announcement on Twitter: users can now use the Cash App to buy Bitcoin in all fifty states.
The announcement seems to be effective immediately, and users reported extensive availability in tweets.
The move is another in a series of actions and statements by Square CEO Jack Dorsey, who has long expressed a bullish view of cryptocurrency.
"The Internet will have a single currency. Personally I think it will be Bitcoin, "said Dorsey.
Square, which added the purchase and sale functionality of bitcoins to its payment application by the end of 2017, had gradually expanded the cryptocurrency functionality in the time since then.
The simple mobile interface was made available to users in selected states before the payment company acquired a license from the New York Department of Financial Services and added support in that same state in June.
Brian Grassadonia, Cash App Director, highlighted the importance of approval in the state of New York, revealing that more is coming: "We are very pleased to be able to offer New Yorkers the quick and easy way to buy and sell Bitcoin Cash App. Square and the DFS of the State of New York share a vision of empowering people with greater access to the financial system and today's news is an important step to achieve that goal. "
During the implementation, Square reported that it generated more than US $ 70 million in activity related to Bitcoin in the first half of 2018, earning less than half a million dollars in trading fees. During this period, Bitcoin fluctuated wildly, trading in a range of between US $ 6,000.00 and more than US $ 19,000.00 per currency.
Availability in all fifty states positions Square's Cash App to compete more directly with Coinbase, the leading consumer application for cryptocurrency purchases in the United States.
Coinbase claims to have enabled the trade of more than US $ 150 billion of cryptocurrencies since its launch in 2012, generating more than US $ 1000 million in revenues in 2017, starting with 20 million registered users.
At the end of 2017, Square reported more than 7 million monthly active users, many of whom joined for the US $ peer-to-peer shipping service.
Coinbase and competitor Abra offer support for multiple cryptocurrencies, an area where Square has not yet ventured.
Source: CCN