Jack Dorsey: Square Could Build Hardware Bitcoin Wallet

Square is considering building a hardware bitcoin wallet that would give users more control over their cryptocurrency, the company’s CEO said on Friday (June 4).

According to CNBC, Square shares rose about 2.7 percent following Jack Dorsey’s remarks, which appeared on his Twitter feed.

Square has enjoyed a robust business thanks to bitcoin, allowing consumers to make purchases via its Cash App and store the currency digitally. Last year, Square’s bitcoin revenue was $4.7 billion, up from $516 million the previous year.

Now, Dorsey is looking at a way for users to store bitcoin that’s not controlled by Square or other companies. The wallet would be a secure gadget that lets consumers tuck away their bitcoin to spend later.

“Square is considering making a hardware wallet for bitcoin,” Dorsey said. “If we do it, we would build it entirely in the open, from software to hardware design, and in collaboration with the community.”′

According to Dorsey, Square might be able to simplify the way people hold bitcoin through an “assisted self-custody,” CNBC reported. This would make it easier for customers to spend some money on their phones while keeping the rest in their wallets.

Dorsey’s remarks this week follow his statement last month in favor of bitcoin, in which he said Square would always work to promote the currency. The Square and Twitter CEO will also headline an upcoming gathering of bitcoin enthusiasts in Miami, an event that is expected to draw 50,000 people. As PYMNTS noted earlier this week, this conference arrives at an unusual time for cryptocurrency, with bitcoin — the world’s highest-profile digital currency — dropping 30 percent in the last couple of months, from $60,000 in April to under $40,000 as of June 3.

“Crypto goes through this every couple of years,” noted CoinDesk’s Adam Levine. “There are signs that this cycle may be different — but it’s not so different, because you have a lot of opportunities coming out of the woodwork, and while some of those are good, a lot of them turn out to be scams.”