Square doubles down on crypto, buying $170mn more in bitcoin

Jack Dorsey’s financial services company Square extended its crypto holdings by $170 million as part of an ongoing commitment to the cryptocurrency, the firm announced.

Square purchased approximately 3,318 bitcoins, it revealed on Tuesday before announcing its financial results for 2020. The investment brings the firm’s bitcoin holdings to around five percent of its cash and cash equivalents.

“Aligned with the company’s purpose, Square believes that cryptocurrency is an instrument of economic empowerment, providing a way for individuals to participate in a global monetary system and secure their own financial future,” the company said in a statement. Square said it has further plans “to assess its aggregate investment in bitcoin relative to its other investments on an ongoing basis.”

The firm more than tripled the previous investment it made in October 2020. Back then, Square piled $50 million into bitcoin, with the purchase amounting to about one percent of the company’s assets. Its CEO, Jack Dorsey, has long been an advocate of the digital currency.

Bitcoin was trading at around $48,000 at the time of the announcement on Tuesday, and rose to the current price of around $50,000 since then. The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged to a new high of over $58,000 over the weekend. Despite the drop this week, bitcoin is still up nearly 70 percent for the year.

Bitcoin has recently started gaining broader acceptance among mainstream investors and corporations, including Elon Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla, America’s oldest lender Bank of New York Mellon, and US asset manager BlackRock.

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