Jack Dorsey’s Square adds 4,709 Bitcoin to his balance

They even referred to cryptomeda as „an instrument of economic empowerment“.

In a surprising move, Square announced the acquisition of 4,709 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about US$50 million at the time of this article. The company’s co-founder, Jack Dorsey, has long been an advocate of Bitcoin and cryptomeda, with the company’s CashApp allowing its users to invest in Bitcoin.

The news comes months after another publicly traded company, MicroStrategy, decided to convert a portion of its fortune into Bitcoin. Today, the company owns 38,250 BTC and its CEO Michael Saylor has become one of Bitcoin’s most active advocates. Although MicroStrategy is a large company with a market capitalization of $1.5 billion, it is pale compared to Square, which has a market capitalization of $81 billion.

Square’s press release indicates that this change is a kind of ideology statement:

„Square believes cryptomoeda is an instrument of economic Crypto Bank empowerment and provides a way for the world to participate in a global monetary system that aligns with the company’s purpose.
On September 30, Dorsey criticized Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong for his apolitical leadership:

Bitcoin (also known as „crypto“) is a direct activism against an unverifiable and exclusionary financial system that negatively affects much of our society. It is important, *at least*, to recognize and connect with the related social problems that its clients face daily. This leaves people behind: https://t.co/0LMlF1qcmG

The press release noted that investment represented approximately 1% of „Square’s assets at the end of the second quarter of 2020“. As of 30 June, the company’s total assets amounted to US$7.8 billion, so the acquisition may represent more precisely 0.64% of the company’s assets.