Bitcoin Mass Adoption is ‘Inevitable’ as Square Moves Closer to Its Crypto Project Launch
Coinspeaker
Bitcoin Mass Adoption is ‘Inevitable’ as Square Moves Closer to Its Crypto Project Launch
It seems that Square, a $32.7 billion mobile payment company, may be one step closer to launching its long-awaited crypto project. Its CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted that Bitcoin mass adoption is “inevitable” and it is close to making its first hire:
Took some time but getting there https://t.co/YpngV9u5Ic
— jack (@jack) May 21, 2019
Just for reminder, In February this year, in a podcast with the cryptocurrency space’s Stephen Livera, Dorsey revealed that he intends to add support for the Lightning Network into Square. He also admitted buying $10,000 of BTC saying that this is the way he attempts to establish a large foothold in the cryptocurrency market.
Just two months ago, Jack Dorsey’s fintech company unveiled Square Crypto, a branch dedicated to the growth of decentralized networks through the use of development, design, and marketing.
Dorsey then tweeted:
#BitcoinTwitter and #CryptoTwitter! Square is hiring 3-4 crypto engineers and 1 designer to work full-time on open source contributions to the bitcoin/crypto ecosystem. Work from anywhere, report directly to me, and we can even pay you in bitcoin! Introducing @SqCrypto. Why?
— jack (@jack) March 20, 2019
Dorsey also mentioned he wants to reallocate much of his time to this subsidiary, as it was remarked on Twitter that he intends for those he hires to report directly to him, in spite of his responsibilities managing Square’s 2,000 staffers and Twitter’s 4,000-strong workers.
If this isn’t good enough of an offer already, Square will be forking on Bitcoin to those they hire.
According to his announcement on Twitter, Dorsey asked his strategic development lead at Square, Mike Brock, “what is the most impactful thing we [Square] could do for the bitcoin community?”
Last week I was considering my hack week project, and asked @brockm: “what is the most impactful thing we could do for the bitcoin community?” His answer was simple: “pay people to make the broader crypto ecosystem better.” This resonated with me immediately, so we’re doing it.
— jack (@jack) March 20, 2019
By Square Crypto, Dorsey Wants to Give Back to Bitcoin Community
Dorsey claims the Square Crypto initiative is not a commercial pursuit, but an attempt to give back to the Bitcoin community.
In April he began meeting with potential developers that were suggested by ‘Crypto Twitter’ and although the new recruits will report directly to Dorsey, he kept claiming that their purpose is to improve the Bitcoin ecosystem, not make money for Square:
“These folks will focus entirely on what’s best for the crypto community and individual economic empowerment, not on Square’s commercial interests. All resulting work will be open and free.”
For now, it’s known that one full-time designer will be hired who will focus especially on UX.
There’s a reason why many of the brightest minds from CS to economics and beyond have dedicated their careers to crypto. That said, mass adoption is almost impossible without great design. One of our goals is to accelerate the role of UX design in crypto. 🧠👁🌀
— Square Crypto (@sqcrypto) April 15, 2019
Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao used Dorsey’s tweet to announce they are hiring too:
Failsafe, just in case if you don't get along with your future boss, @binance is hiring too. Won't be reporting to me, but we can pay in BTC or #BNB. Please apply on Binance homepage. https://t.co/EtPD2bFzOK
Some friendly competition for talent, lol. 🙂 https://t.co/45wteTw8l8
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) March 21, 2019
Let’s be reminded of Square’s great results. Three weeks ago, Square posted a record $65.5 million in quarterly Bitcoin sales for the first quarter of 2019, almost double Q1 volumes from 2018.
Since going public in November 2015, the company has seen strong growth and has generally beaten expectations. However, Square has reported a net loss for four of the last five quarters, and so any kind of slowdown in growth poses a challenge for turning that around.
Square continued to grow business operations like Square Cash — its instant money transfer service — and its core payments business (subscription and services revenue). The latter was up 126% to $219 million, led by growth of the Square Cash app, Caviar, Square Capital and Instant Deposit for sellers.
Since then Dorsey revealed he was maxing out the Cash App Bitcoin buying limit, effectively spending $10,000 a week on cryptocurrency. As for Square Crypto, the project’s Twitter account has reminded everyone to dial down their expectations.
He tweeted:
We get a lot of questions about who we're talking to, what we're working on, and when it will be released. Breathe. This project is not only a first for a company our size, it's also a first for any company ever. We're learning as we go. Big things are coming. Believe. 🌀👁
— Square Crypto (@sqcrypto) April 24, 2019
In March this year, Dorsey used $2.5 million of his personal funds to finance a startup working on the Lightning Network Bitcoin scaling solution. Once Lightning Network is fully implemented and understood, it is believed to allow sufficient numbers of transactions to take place that could see Bitcoin emerge as a serious competitor to the likes of VISA and MasterCard.
This could allow for the kind of adoption that Jack, and many others, are hoping for in the mid-to-long-term future.
Will the world have just one currency in the future, as Dorsey once said – it’s still for us to know, but until then, it is suggested to keep an eye of Dorsey and his semi-alike. It just might be worth it.
Bitcoin Mass Adoption is ‘Inevitable’ as Square Moves Closer to Its Crypto Project Launch
OhNoCrypto via https://www.ohnocrypto.com/ @Teuta Franjkovic, @Khareem Sudlow