Square Cash App Allows Automatic Bitcoin Purchases

Consumers will now be able to make automatic purchases of bitcoin via Cash App, and in smaller satoshi denominations that could lead to more accessibility, CoinDesk reports.

A tweet from Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, showing a screenshot of how the new option works, reveals that consumers can set up automated purchases denominated in satoshis, the smallest transaction unit valued at 0.00000001 percent of a bitcoin.

Because bitcoin is valued at around $10,000, even just one is too expensive for many retail investors. The coin is also somewhat scarce with just 21 million in existence.

But with satoshis, there are 2.1 quadrillion around, priced at $0.0009, making them more accessible to a broader range of people.

For comparison, few people set out to purchase whole troy ounces of gold, but instead go for smaller denominations.

Cash App, developed by Square, is now the largest payment app to offer satoshi payments.

There is a $10 cap, but the service, according to Cash App, will help to minimize risk. Volatile market swings might not have as debilitating an effect on those who spread out their purchases of the cryptocurrency over time and in smaller amounts, Cash App said in a tweet.

Cash App, which started bitcoin trading and allowing users to deposit the cryptocurrency last summer, said just under half of its current revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019 came from bitcoin purchases, and first-time buyers on the platform doubled in the third quarter last year.

The shift could mean bitcoin could soon see traders and investors using smaller units more often as the bitcoin protocol becomes larger and less accessible.

Bitcoin is having something of a moment as of late as more mainstream institutions begin to take it seriously – JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, is now providing banking services to crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini, with Coinbase being the largest U.S. crypto exchange.

The Wall Street Journal reported that JPMorgan will be providing cash-management services for those networks, with wire transfers, deposits and withdrawals handled by the Automated Clearing House Network.

The news was a surprise for those who remembered CEO Jamie Dimon’s past comments that bitcoin was fraud “worse than tulip bulbs.”